Disclosure: In any review for a product or service, products or compensation may have been provided to me to help facilitate my review. All opinions are my own and honest. I am disclosing this in accordance with FTC Guidelines. Please see “Disclose” and "Terms of Use" tabs for more information.
There are about 80,000 chemicals in the marketplace today – more than enough to make parents who are concerned about chemicals pull out their hair. Simplify and pay attention to just 3 ways your child might be exposed.
1) What goes in the mouth. Choose clean food and drinks, and pay special attention to the plastics that go in the mouth, especially those used to store, heat, or serve food and drinks. Chemicals in the plastics can leach out and enter your child. Notice the recycling symbols on the bottoms of many plastics. Opt for symbols 1, 2, 4, or 5. Or choose brands like BornFree, where the entire line of toddler sippy cups, pacifiers, baby bottles and plastic water bottles are free from BPA, phthalates and PVC. Or skip plastic, and go with something like glass or stainless steel.
2) What goes on the skin. Chemicals in lotions and creams can be absorbed through the skin. We read the ingredients on food; it’s time to learn to read ingredient lists on skin products as well, and choose those you trust. Sunscreen is a great place to start. I prefer sunscreens that rely on minerals, like zinc or titanium, rather than relying on chemicals that might act as hormones in the body.
3) What goes in the nose. Clean air may seem overwhelming. After all, you don’t have much control over other people’s exhaust pipes and smokestacks. But the air that matters most is the air in your own home, where your child sleeps at night. Indoor air is usually more polluted than outdoor air, so you can often make a big difference just by opening the windows. Replace cleaning products that have harsh fumes or artificial fragrances (anything that says, “Use in a Well-Ventilated Space” probably isn’t good for your child). And you might consider houseplants or an air filter to help clean your air.
Dr. Greene is the author of Raising Baby Green, Feeding Baby Green, and is a consulting pediatrician for BornFree.
This was a guest post, no compensation was received for this post.
Wonderful post! The smell of some fragrances totally overwhelm me.
I have switched to using Norwex cleaning cloths from @MandyNorwex instead of my every day cleaning products so I don’t have to use ANY chemicals for the most part at all!
great post. I really worry about this at our house and try to use as many home made, chemical free cleaners as I can and use organic materials when possible, but it is so hard to avoid all of the toxins thrown at us on a regular basis.
Household chemicals scare me so badly. A few months ago we were at Bible study when one of the member came in and told us a terrifying story. This lady’s husband is a fireman. He called his wife and asked us to pray for a toddler who had just ingested a large amount of a toxic cleaning substance. The baby was turning blue and it looked bad. Thankfully for the family it was God’s will that the toddler live. I freaked me out so badly. Little Bit is 19 months old and into EVERYTHING. I could so see him doing that. I makes you consider detoxing your house to keep your little ones safe.