It's been all over the news lately: toxic chemicals in products designed for kids. Whether it's lead in toys and zipper pulls, PVC and phthalates in teethers and toys, or BPA in cups and bottles, there are major reasons to be concerned.
One of the hardest things, as a parent aware of these issues, is choosing safe products for my children to use. In general, I simply try to avoid plastics. When I have to buy plastics, I look for plastics that are considered safer, and absolutely avoid phthalate-containing PVC products and BPA-laden polycarbonates. Of course, not all products are labeled. More and more "safe" products will have labels such as "BPA-free" and "PVC-free" on their packaging, but what can we assume about an unlabeled product?
Enter ZRecs! Z Recommends is a blog dedicated to "what's fun; what's smart; what's safe." I discovered ZRecs for their Report on BPA in Children's Products. This break-down of major brands based on their commitment to being BPA-free is a must-have resource for concerned parents. What's more, they are offering a free mobile service that allows you to look up the Report information from your cell phone!
This is an amazing idea, and eminently useful. Simply save the Zrecs mobile number in your cell phone, and then send a text message to it with your search criteria while at the store. You can search by brand or product type. I was able to use the service to confirm that the Munchkin products carried at my local Whole Foods are, in fact, BPA-free. I even found out that the Gerber pacifier I had so carefully chosen for the baby (having only silicone touching the baby's face), actually has BPA in the handle. So, next time I'm at Babies'R'Us, I'll be texting Zrecs with the "pacifier" query to find out what kinds are actually safe - and don't just look it.
How did we find baby safe products - we basically avoided baby products. To entice us parents, companies add all sorts of things into baby products: perfumes, sugar, etc. So instead of baby bath, we used Ivory soap. Instead of baby wipes, a warm washcloth. Instead of commercial baby food, we used plain versions of our own food and before they were on whole food, we used the breast. No pacifiers, their thumb or nothing. Not only were these choices better for the environmnet, they were much less expensive. It is amazing what the media can convince us we need to raise a baby.
Posted by: Dawn | July 20, 2008 at 06:48 AM