Stay Vigilant about Lead in Toys, Jewelry, and Feeding Gear—

I had the honor to testify last week in support of a bill that would significantly reduce the exposure of Vermont's children to lead. I expressed parents' worries about lead in products, and the fact that there is no one place that lists or even tests the billions of children's products out there. The panel seemed surprised to learn that items that have been recalled in other states are still for sale in Vermont (and many other states). In fact, I was reading in Parents magazine the other day that it is even LEGAL in other states to sell recalled items. I stopped, and read this again. How exactly do recalls help protect our kids when there is no legal "teeth" behind them? I am perplexed.

At the hearing I listened to the testimony from two doctors, Dr. Best of the George Washington School of Medicine and Dr. Bruce Lanphear, pediatrics professor at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. They explained how new research shows even low levels of lead (blood levels lower than what is considered "safe" at 5 mcg/L )can lead to multiple problems for growing children, such as reading problems, behavioral and attention problems, school failure, and a decreased IQ. Dr. Lanphear said "we should not wait for the CPSC and the EPA" as they often are prompted to act by individual state action, and can't be counted on to lead the way.

Dr. Best shared that young children can have mouth to toy contact as much as 20 times per hour, and that lead levels less than 10 mcg/L can have life long negative effects. She made the astute comparisons of lead from children's products being proven as unsafe, just like we all know using cigarettes and alcohol during a pregnancy is as well. Dr. Best expanded on Dr. Lanphear's consequences of lead exposure to include crime, sleep disturbances and depression. She said that fetuses and babies from in utero to three years old are at the greatest risk, due to their rapid rate of development. Both of these doctors testified in Congress in support of a similar bill, but with all of the other problems our country is facing, it is not clear that any new legislation to protect our kids will be passed soon.

It was both moving and downright scary to hear these medical professionals discuss the ramifications of lead exposure on our kids. This is a societal problem, not just a problem of families and kids. Dr. Best called lead exposure a "disease of poverty". Everyone will see the effects of lead poisoning in one way or another, through the education system, the judicial system, decreased productivity and increased needs for social programs and taxes.

The bill will hopefully move to the Senate floor in the next week or two. I am hopeful, and want other states to tackle this issue to protect all of our nation's kids.

My take home message from all this is for parents not to forget out lead. Keep testing toys, and be skeptical about older toys in your child's daycare or school. Also, be very wary of any jewelry marketed to children, these have had numerous problems with high levels of lead.

Links for more information:
Here is some coverage of the hearing from our local TV station.

And here is a link to Parents magazine's list of the top recalled toys in 2008. It is a handy quick reference with pictures. Here also is the list from 2007.

Another thing to think about (as if we don't have enough!). Many recalled toys and children's items are still for sale on EBay or consignment stores. Here is an article about this problem, again from Parents magazine.

In the hearing the Illinois Department of Health was cited as having a website that is an excellent source for recalled toys and children's products. Visit it here.

Dangerous Magnets in Toys a Health Risk for Kids--

I just watched this video this morning and wanted to share it with Non-Toxic Kids' readers as soon as possible. I can easily see this happening to one of my girls, or any of our friends.

Click here to view this clip from abc news.

I started researching magnets in toys and found them readily available on in the toy market, despite the injuries they can cause. See this article from the Centers for Disease Control outlining several cases of injury (and one death) to children from the ingestion of magnets.

This made me wonder about all the magnetic letters on my fridge and making sure my 10 month old (who eats everything) stays away from them. One of the magnets could easily be dislodged from the letters.

Here is more information about magnets in toys, written in the Consumer Reports blog. It references the annual report by US PIRG called Trouble in Toyland, which identified magnets as a potentially dangerous and fatal toy.

My take? Forget any magnetic toys until my kids are much older. It’s just not worth the risk. And I've got to keep a close eye on the refrigerator--

Bisphenol-A (BPA) Free Sippy Cups, Pacifers, Teethers and other Baby Gear--

In case you haven't heard about the chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) in baby products, check out this video from ABC news.



It's been awhile since I first wrote about my recommendations for BPA free sippy cups. Several more have come in to the market, and you might be wondering about other safe BPA products to use with your baby and kids. Lots of mamas are writing about this on the web, and I provide links to some helpful resources in this post. Thanks to all the great research and work by mamas everywhere to help get the BPA out of our kids! Here is a link roundup of the latest information about BPA free gear for your kids.

I found the motherload of a site about BPA! Check out The Soft Landing, an online store featuring BPA free everything and a blog about non-toxic living. Run by a mama and nurse, this site is packed with helpful information about raising kids as "softly" as possible.

Safe Mama has a helpful (and brief- good for us sleep deprived parents!) list of safe, non-toxic teethers and pacifiers. If you must buy plastic, these are some solid BPA free choices.

The folks at Z recommends have seriously done their homework! This post has a great graphic that shares simply what brands are their "top picks", "proceed with caution", and "ones to avoid" in the areas of bottles, sippy cups and pacifers.

A new BPA free Sippy Cup: The Safe Sippy This is real pretty and priced at 14.95.

Here is a brand called Nuby, with more affordable options, but there is a bit of confusion about which products might contain BPA, and which might not. My gut reaction would be to avoid them altogether, but you can check out a thorough review of Nuby's products for yourself.

Also, see my posts about safer baby bottles and toddler cups for more information.

New Study on Phthalates in Baby Shampoo, Lotion, and Powder--

Here is a link to a new study about chemicals called phthalates found in young babies' blood after they used a shampoo, lotion or powder.

Read the MSN article here.

What are phthalates? A chemical found in many of our everyday products, including soft plastic toys, any vinyl product (shower curtains, bags, changing pads, or bibs), vinyl flooring, body and hair care products, and cosmetics.

Why are phthalates a concern? When administered at high doses to animals, phthalates caused increased cancer rates and damage to the liver, kidneys and other organs.

Read more about phthalates in teethers and safer alternatives here. As for baby shampoo, lotions and powder, until more is known about phthalates, I recommend using products that are labeled phthalate free and do not contain DEP and DEHP. California Baby makes a great line of lotion, shampoo and soaps that are phthalate free, as well as preservative and allergen free, that we use and like very much. Badger Balm is also a skin lotion and diaper cream without chemical additives that I recently purchased. Both of these companies also rate well on Environmental Working Group's product safety database.

Here are links for more information about phthalates:
Green Peace
Chec Healthy House