LOS ANGELES (AP) - The country's top product safety regulator is warning parents and caretakers to take cheap metal jewelry away from children out of concern they may be exposed to toxic heavy metals like lead and cadmium.

Inez (Tenenbaum, the chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission writes in a blog, to be posted Wednesday evening, "Do not allow young children to be given or to play with cheap metal jewelry, especially when they are unsupervised."

In making the recommendation, she cites an investigation by The Associated Press, which reported high cadmium levels in items including bracelet charms from Walmart and Claire's.

Lead and cadmium can hinder brain development in young children, according to research.