by Liu Hong

    WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 (Xinhua) -- Speaking over the phone with his wife, Mr. Todd, a father of three boys, was facing a whole shelf full of colorful toy cars, undecided.

    In front of him was a shopping cart already stacked with some toys and books. Todd said that his wife, a lawyer, was too busy to shop around to find the perfect Christmas gifts for the children.

    All the husband could do was to purchase for everybody while, of course, strictly obeying the instructions from his wife.

    What Todd didn't realize is that what he chose were all made in China, but this was not surprising to him.

    "It seems to me that all the toys on these shelves are made in China. I know some Chinese toys have problems, but my children have already grown up. There should be no big problem." he said.

    Todd's opinion was echoed by many American parents.

    U.S. toy giant Mattel recalled more than 21 million Chinese toys this summer, but later apologized to the Chinese government and admitted a majority of the recalls resulted from design flaws.

    Young said that she followed the toy recall news closely.

    "It is the companies to blame for the recalls, not the country," Young said. She also noticed that some recalls were a result of design defects and that the Chinese government had also beefed up measures to ensure product safety.

    Young planned to spend 400 to 500 U.S. dollars on Christmas presents. "Kids love these toys. Toys are the best gifts for kids." She said.