We do not compete with Montessori equipment makers!
A lot of parents buy Montessori equipment for their children and everyone is looking for discount materials since name brand manufacturers such as Nienhuis (the original equipment maker for Montessori) are so expensive.
I suggest testing everything for lead. Remember that different colors of paint on one product might come from different suppliers, so if you test one color, it isn't enough. Especially with Montessori materials, everything is supposed to fit perfectly (e.g. if you buy Metal Insets for tracing practice, the insets are supposed to fit exactly into the frame).
Smell it. If your equipment has a strong odor, test it, and maybe toss it even if it does not have lead. Some varnishes being used in China contain cancer-causing chemicals and a lot of them smell weird because of it. Thankfully.
We evaluate a lot of equipment and manufacturers in China, so we've seen lots of different factory conditions. Some of them are fine and some of them are obviously using products that are not child-safe. The situation is so bad that we decided two years ago NOT to produce children's equipment in China for this reason.
A lot of parents buy Montessori equipment for their children and everyone is looking for discount materials since name brand manufacturers such as Nienhuis (the original equipment maker for Montessori) are so expensive.
I suggest testing everything for lead. Remember that different colors of paint on one product might come from different suppliers, so if you test one color, it isn't enough. Especially with Montessori materials, everything is supposed to fit perfectly (e.g. if you buy Metal Insets for tracing practice, the insets are supposed to fit exactly into the frame).
Smell it. If your equipment has a strong odor, test it, and maybe toss it even if it does not have lead. Some varnishes being used in China contain cancer-causing chemicals and a lot of them smell weird because of it. Thankfully.
We evaluate a lot of equipment and manufacturers in China, so we've seen lots of different factory conditions. Some of them are fine and some of them are obviously using products that are not child-safe. The situation is so bad that we decided two years ago NOT to produce children's equipment in China for this reason.
Guide created: 08/09/07 (updated 07/15/08)
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