They're bright, awesomely nifty, some of their workmanship is outstanding­-all smooth edges- colourful hooks, door stoppers, complex building blocks that you can make a space station with. Toys today are amazing. We once ran a business feature show called The power of an Idea & we bought toy props for corporates to get them to think out of the box. And the things we unearthed- soap bubbles that don't burst, sponge animals that come out of dissolving capsules, complex water guns and what have you. It really is the best time to be young! Most times I go past the windows wishing it were 15 years ago.

So when we did pick up toys for our Special Investigation, it was another chance to see how consumerism had had its way in the organized toys industry.

(Must say it wasn't easy seeing all them being cut up and ashed in a lab). When the results finally came showing trace to heavy amounts of lead in our toy samples, my first thought was- all that money on technology, innovation, branding & top-of-shelf space, so why the slip-up on safety?!

Its like the pesticides-in-Cola issue really, how much is OK? Why should even a little of it be OK? And should we be fussing if everything else that we consume may have it?

Well it may NOT be OK, because its not about Colas, water guns or complex building blocks, its about the seemingly innocuous things we willingly hand out to newborns & toddlers, well before 'pester power' kicks in. Our investigation showed that the toys with the highest lead content, were those meant for children under 2.

On the day the story broke we had a huge response from concerned parents. But I also met people who said "but we've grown up on branded & unbranded toys, we turned out alright!" Perhaps, but with even WHO reviewing its blood-lead levels, my take is that parents should be aware. Then it's really up to them to consider or dismiss the matter

Lead is a wily heavy metal, toxic even in trace amounts, with potential to cause severe problems in growing children over a prolonged period & with symptoms that rarely show-up. I mean we had doctors & senior pediatricians telling us that these days when children come with things like low IQ & learning disabilities, instead of just running the routine tests, it was prudent to rule out lead positioning!

But while doctors aren't taking chances, the same cannot be said about the government. India has no enforceable safety standards for toys.

Though we do have them for bulbs! This is what I unearthed our during our investigation.

The Bureau of Indian Standards was asked to make safety guidelines for bulbs mandatory only after of the huge pressure from consumers and consumer groups. With toys there have been very few complainants, so the commerce ministry has not been pushed into doing what they should have willingly put in place a long time ago.

I'm one of those people who believe that its essential for children to sample mud & chalk, chew on flowers, taste outside food and grow up with a well-built immunity. But that should NOT include a toxic heavy metal.