The Death of Rubber Duckie

While at my parent's house, I skimmed through this book and promptly got freaked out.  It's hard to avoid all of the Frankenstein chemicals floating around both inside and outside of our bodies, but it seems especially cruel that stuff purposely created for kids (and to make the lives of parents with kids a little bit easier) is what, in the long run, may harm them.

Anyway, I don't delude myself into believing that my little efforts in recycling or banning the use of plastic containers or using only paraben-free soaps on my child are going to protect her or this planet from anything, really, but it does give me a slight peace of mind that I'm sure the marketers of BPA-free products are eager to encourage.  Of course, in ten years we'll learn that the replacements for some of this stuff are equally bad for us, but in the meantime, I have decided that it's no more rubber duckie in our house.  Which is a shame, really, because Daisy Duck is so cute.  And Anika loves her.

So I've replaced her with these BPA-free and non-plastic but yet plastic-like bath toys, which are cool enough and which Anika will chew on if she doesn't spy Daisy high up on the shelf. (Do I toss her in the garbage can?  Recycling?  Down the toilet?  Honestly, I haven't gotten rid of the darn duck yet because I'm confounded as to how to dispose of her.  Ironic, yes.  A ridiculously yuppie conundrum, definitely.)  What really gets me is that these new toys were easily 10 times the cost of a made in China variety and unavailable anywhere except for the internet.  Honestly, we can't change our lives for the better if everything good for us is more costly, people.

At least this one is blissfully unaware that she's chewing on an expensive plastic replacement.  She's just excited that we got rid of the inflatable baby tub and she now has the entire bathtub to splash in and explore.  And attempt to stand up in, of course.  I'm expecting our first bloody nose or gash to the forehead any time now.  Does anyone know if Band-aids are BPA-free?