The holiday shopping rush is on, but with a twist: Several prominent toys, from Diego and Dora to Sesame Street characters to Barbie and Batman playsets, have been recalled for lead-based paint and small magnets that can be swallowed.

The recalls have included some Diego and Dora toys, some Nickelodeon and Sesame Street toys made by Mattel under the Fisher-Price label, some items from the Thomas and Friends wooden railway toy line, some Barbie sets and some Batman items.

Most of the focus has been on lead.

Children may chew on toys and ingest lead paint. Lead can cause brain damage, and sending it to landfills pollutes the environment. It's of particular concern for children under three, who constantly put things in their mouth.

The issue came to the forefront this summer when toy giant Mattel recalled millions of toys after discovering that lead paint was used in some of its Chinese toy factories.

It has increased the focus on toy safety and put pressure on the toy industry, American regulators and the Chinese government to beef up safety standards and testing.

"We know that millions of toys have been recalled due to safety issues," said Pedro Morillas, legislative advocate at the California Public Interest Research Group.

"It is at this point up to the manufacturers to make sure that their products are safe," Morillas said.

Wal-Mart has stepped up testing and is asking for new documentation from suppliers like Mattel, said spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien.

Wal-Mart, followed by Target, are the biggest toy retailers in Kings County.

"We've really put forth an effort to reassure parents that products on our shelves have been rigorously reviewed," O'Brien said.

Buyers at the Hanford Target on Saturday were paying extra attention and they walked past aisles jammed with a variety of toys, most of them made overseas.

"It's a real big (concern). I have a grandson that puts everything in his mouth," said Hanford resident Francine Shaw as she looked over dozens of toy cars.

Shaw was looking for small parts that might come off. She said she would check the warning labels. She also planned to examine the toys as soon as they were opened on Christmas day.

"It's real hard to find something that they can't take apart," she said.

LaDonna Sutphin was looking over the Tech Deck Dude toys, a line of miniaturized skateboarder figurines that have small magnets in the feet. The warning labels noted that the magnets, if swallowed, can attract each other across intestinal walls and cause serious injury or death.

Sutphin said that her 9-year-old son, William, already had several Dude items and had never had a problem with the magnets coming off.

"He has a lot of little toys like that, and I never see the magnets (separate) from the toys," she said.

Sutphin said she checks for recalled products online and "wouldn't even go near those."

Most shoppers said they don't think that the situation is being hyped.

"I think we're too lax on imports. We don't have controls over things coming into this country," said Hanford resident Bill Brubaker.

Some people said they are looking away from the latest toy crazes.

"We're trying to focus on imaginative toys this year, things they can use outside," said Hanford resident Allyson Sullivan.

Sullivan said the recalls of Chinese-made products "makes her leery," but she said that Chinese products can't be avoided.

"The kids have a list," she said.

"I can't avoid it. I'm going to buy a few things made of plastic that could be an issue," she said.

Sullivan said she would continue looking online and in newspaper articles for recalls.

"Hopefully, nothing we've purchased will fall into that category," she said.

The reporter can be reached at 582-0471, ext. 3061.

(Nov. 25, 2007)