If you’re going holiday shopping, you still need to look out for lead in toys. A children’s health advocacy group has found children’s toys with the Barbie and Disney logos contain high lead levels, The Associated Press reports.

The Center for Environmental Health tested about 250 children's products bought at major retailers including TJ Maxx, Sears, Walmart, Walgreens and Target and found lead levels greater than federal limits in seven of them.

As parents know from the onslaught of recalls in recent years, lead can cause irreversible brain damage, which is why The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which regulates toys, is following up.

In the meantime, parents should keep their eyes out for news of recalls. CarolinaParent.com’s Safety Recalls page, (look under the Resources tab on our home page), offers links to the latest CPSC recalls—including toy hazards— and other product safety news.

But safety isn’t the only issue if you’re out toy shopping. As parents, we want to find the best gifts for our kids. Of course, we want them to enjoy our gifts, but we also want our presents to inspire creativity and learning rather than destruction.

Speaking of destruction, avoid "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," one of the hottest video games this season. My sister and brother-in-law allowed their teenage boys to get it, and now their home – at least their basement – has been turned into a virtual horrific battlefield. It’s also affected their teens’ brains. The point of the game is to take down Russian terrorists, but players need to allow a slaughter of innocents at the airport in order to win the war.

“It glorifies war in ways we as parents find hard to accept,” my brother-in-law told me. “To get in good with the terrorists (and win), you have to sell part of your soul.”

It’s controversial, horrible and graphic, he says, but the way the game handles and plays is amazing, so he can see why kids find it exciting. “But the violence is over the top, and the language is questionable," he says. "They try to make it realistic.”

Because the game is live, my sister says her kids are playing with kids around the world, and the general atmosphere is bad. “Kids use foul language while it’s on,” she says, adding that her son seems completely transported to a terrible world. “It’s his reality.”

Now that Modern Warfare 2 has infiltrated their house, it’s evident they’re going to have to take back control in not so subtle ways. I foresee a terrible battle of the wills coming to their basement!

For sure, as kids grow and fads take over, parents need to keep up with their interests to see what’s appropriate. If you’re looking for good toys, games, software, DVDs, music, books and magazines, check out the winners 2009 National Parenting Publications Awards, where you’ll find age-appropriate ideas.