She typically buys only established brands such as Mattel for her 17-month-old son, Zach. Now the company's toy recall has her questioning her judgment.
Her assumption is being severely tested by the toy recalls and other recent safety issues with Chinese-made products such as pet food and toothpaste.
But when it comes to toys, parents who are nervous about China's quality standards have few alternatives. According to the Toy Industry Association, 80% of toys are made in China.
"It's got the potential to be a really big problem," said Eric Beder, a retail analyst for Brean Murray, Carret & Co. "We can accept shoddy products for adults. But for children? No, we have much higher standards for children."
That is forcing the toy industry to act. Frank Clarke, a consultant to the Toy Industry Association, said Mattel and other toy companies are working to improve testing. Instead of randomly inspecting paint, all batches of paint will now be tested for lead, he said.
Scott Wolfson, a spokesman for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency charged with protecting consumers from certain potentially faulty products, said the agency is holding a summit with its counterpart in China's government soon to discuss product safety.
"We aren't just sitting back and counting recall after recall of China-made products," Wolfson said. "We are going to the source."
Still, the agency, which has more than 15,000 products under its jurisdiction, has a gargantuan task. With 100 investigators and a $62 million budget, the commission can do only limited spot checks of toys, fireworks, electrical appliances and other products housed in ports, warehouses and retail stores across the nation.
The agency's random check of children's metal jewelry - much of which is made in China - found that about 20% of it posed a risk to children.
"We have a very, very large mission," Wolfson said.
Jim Silver, editor in chief of industry publication Toy Wishes, said if Mattel and others act with due diligence, consumers will most likely overlook the spate of toy recalls that included Thomas & Friends trains.
"Look at toothpaste sales and pet food sales. People are still buying them," Silver said. "Thomas the Tank Engine sales are back to where they were before the recall."
While many parents interviewed at toy stores around the county expressed some concern, most said it wouldn't dramatically alter their buying habits.
Outside the Geppetto's toy store in San Diego's Fashion Valley Mall, Lisa Ropp of nearby El Cajon, Calif., said she is concerned about the latest recall because her 6-year-old daughter favors Polly Pockets toys.
Ropp said she intends to go online and check the product model numbers being recalled. She also plans to be more careful about buying Chinese-made toys.
"I suppose we can look for some made in the USA," the 38-year-old speech pathologist said.
But that's easier said than done, Silver said.
"I'm having trouble thinking of things that are made here," he said. "Very little is made in the U.S. of A. That's just the facts."
Darlene Dennis, who was shopping at Geppetto's, said she hadn't realized until recently that so many toys came from China.
She searched for the card game Quiddler and plucked it from the shelf.
"This is made in China, too," she said, with a laugh, as she perused the box.
The reason for China's dominance is simple: U.S. consumers are hooked on inexpensive toys.
"Consumers want cheap prices, so consumers put pressure on retailers and then retailers put pressure on manufacturers," Silver said. "It's the reason that things are made in China - because it costs less."
Celia Castro, who was shopping with her daughter Ivette, 8, and her granddaughter, Ida, 10, at a Toys "R" Us, complained that price pressure has hurt the products.
"There's not many local toys. It's a shame," said Castro. "They don't care about quality anymore. They care about quantity."
While it's unknown whether a backlash against Chinese toys will hurt retail giants such as Wal-Mart, Target and Toys "R" Us, small U.S. toy makers said they are seeing interest spike in their products.
Sue Dennison, co-owner of Roy Toy, a maker of wood toys in Maine, has seen consumer calls to her company increase from one or two a week to five a day.
"I'm seeing that people are really starting to sit up and take notice - as they should be," she said.
Tim Cooke, owner of usmadetoys.com, said activity has doubled and he expects sales to jump about 20% this year. Still, he doesn't expect the bump to last.
"People are forgiving," he said. "To say that this will end the global economy is naive. People will push for independent testing."
Shopping at another Toys "R" Us in San Diego County, Kerstin Lodman, 44, said the latest recalls will make her become more vigilant about inspecting product labels.
"As additional products are being recalled, you have to start questioning everything," said Lodman, as her 9-year-old daughter played with Pokemon figurines. "Buyer beware."
Writers Chet Barfield, Yuxing Zheng, Chris Moran and Liz Neely contributed to this report.
