What's a mom to do?

I'm really bothered by the recent news stories of dangerous products coming from China. First it was pet food, and now toys. Thankfully, we don't have any of the toys listed on the recall list of Fisher Price toys, but that's only because on one shopping trip Stephen decided against a Diego play set and got something different. What bothers me most this time is that it's toys. Fisher Price nonetheless. I'd bet we'd be hard pressed to find a home with a small child in it that didn't also have some kind of Fisher Price product. I can think of several things, just off the top of my head that we have right now. We trust in names like Fisher Price to make safe toys for our kids. We spend so much time, energy and money keeping things safe in our homes and then we go to our nearest department store and unknowingly let our kids pick out something covered in lead. And now I look at everything my kids touch with a suspicious eye and a sick stomach.

My mom told me about one family who boycotted all things made in China for a year. The mom of the family had the idea and she said that her husband and kids were a hard sell at first (here's a Reuters story about them). They didn't do it because they have any negative feelings toward China (who would blame them if they did considering the way human rights are treated?) but she wanted to show Americans how "deeply tied they are to the international trading system". When I first heard about the boycott, I thought it was a little extreme. But now I wonder....

Here's an article about another family who boycotted all things made in China for good. This family boycotted because of the "corrupt" Chinese government among other reasons. It's a thought-provoking and convincing read (although, even though the writer said she's Catholic, I didn't like her references to "Mother Earth").

So here's what I struggle with: Would it make a difference if we boycotted Chinese products? Is the myth mentioned in the second article actually true that it wouldn't matter if we did? Should we get a behind a boycott on anything made outside the US in hopes of making a difference for our children and for the children workers half way around the world? Would only buying American made bust our budgets? Is it even possible???