What the chief executive of Mattel, Robert Eckert and other major toy makers should apologize for is the toys themselves and the way they are promoted.

When I looked at Mattel's list of recently recalled toys, it became obvious that something more than our dependence on foreign goods or even the physical safety of children is at stake here. The problem is that the toys and the business model that creates them has so little to do with the needs of children and their parents.

On the list were 56 Polly Pocket sets (including a lip gloss studio playset), 11 Doggie Daycare toys, four Batman figures, 43 Sesame Street toys (not just Elmo stacking rings but giggle grabber soccer Elmo and grow me Elmo sprinkler), 10 Dora the Explorers and more than a score of assorted figures and cars.