Non toxic homes

[Anonymous]

House plants. Peace Lily is a great air cleaner but google for the others. Plants are the best air purifiers but so out of vogue with our generation.

[Anonymous]

What is supposed to be the risk of having your child wear non organic clothes, drink from plastic bottles, etc.? Obviously the word “toxic” sounds bad but what do people actually think happens if a child uses a plastic toy or whatever?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What is supposed to be the risk of having your child wear non organic clothes, drink from plastic bottles, etc.? Obviously the word “toxic” sounds bad but what do people actually think happens if a child uses a plastic toy or whatever?

Endocrine disrupters impact all sorts of growth and development things. https://www.nrdc.org/stories/9-ways-avoid-hormone-disrupting-chemicals

Chemicals legal in the US (like glyphosate, found in Round Up) have been listed as likely carcinogens on other countries.

The Atlantic did a piece on why we are fatter now than previous generations and found that there is likely environmental (our daily environment, not like global warming) factors that lead our bodies to store more fat, because we tend to actually be more fit and active now.

Research has shown that chemicals leech from plastics, particularly when heated

I'm lucky enough to have the means to purchase better-for-you items, which I believe are both better for me, the world, and the workers that produce them (and by the way, this doesn't mean organic everything-/ it may mean buying local produce that is fresher and has a lower carbon footprint), so I figure... why not? But I don't care if others feed their kids hot pockets warmed up on a plastic plate. You do you. For me, trying to limit chemicals that may have e a negative impact had very little downside, so why not do it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Organic mattress, organic sheets, greenguard certified crib because baby spend so much time there (as PP noted). Glass bottles and storage containers to avoid food/beverages sitting in plastic (the new BPA alternatives may be no safer than BPA-- we just don't know yet).
I also did a lot of organic clothes for very early days but not convinced it matters.

Check out EWG rankings for soaps and stuff. A lot of the stuff marketed for babies, like Dreft, is actually awful in terms of parabens/etc.

And don't kill yourself re: toys and what others get you. It's not worth it, and other things are higher impact.

Burts Bees has lots of affordable organic bedding and clothing options. Also consider used clothes-- they've been washed so much any original chemicals are likely long gone.

+1

We don't microwave or put plastics in the dishwasher. I always wonder about the coffee maker and brita though bc those are both plastic and the coffee maker gets hot. But oh well, I need coffee.

I spent $ on organic crib bedding, mattress. Agree with other posters about airing out the house whenever possible. I use EWG for baby products, detergent, soaps.

I try and buy teethers that are silicone and made in the USA but otherwise I don't care about plastic toys. I wouldn't put them in dishwasher though. I just soak in vinegar if someone gets sick, etc.

We have a toddler and instead of buying a new twin mattress we are using an old one until its in the budget to buy an organic option.

Ikea is held to European standards for this type of thing so its also a good option for stuff like sofas. Also we have area rugs and aside from the entry, I stick with wool or cotton.

Organic milk, produce, meats but you can't lose sleep over this. There is just zero way to control everything a child eats, nor is it healthy to do so.

You don't control gifts from family unless its inappropriate. Some of the plastic fisher price toys given to us by my in laws are my kids favorites, and have been the source of the most creative, independent play.

[Anonymous]

We couldn't afford a ton of organic clothes because the baby outgrew then so fast, so also bout a lot of second hand clothing so that at least some of the worst dyes were washed a few times before DS wore them. Also, GOTs certified is the gold standard for organic clothing and bedding and you can sometimes find great sales on Amazon and west Elm (especially for sheets) if you use GOTs as a keyword.

If you know the brand you want, you can sometimes get high-quality organic things off of Craigslist. We also bought one flame-retardant free sofa but couldn't afford a second, so bought a nice used one so that at least it had off-gassed before we used it. Splurged on a good water filtration system to remove lead and the chemicals that we could (pharmaceuticals are mostly a lost cause.

DS2 was a preemie and we ended up having to use formula so organic formula was also a big expense for us. We went with Holle, which is an organic Gemma brand that uses fewer stabilizers, etc but is way more expensive than American brand. Our preemie couldn't manage the nipples on our lovely, non-toxic Life Factory bottles from DS1, so we ended up using plastic Dr Brown's bottles.

For us, the most important part has been making informed decisions. Money is a limited resource for us, so we chose to focus on a few things (especially good since it goes into our bodies directly) and then just do our best with the rest. As others here have said, you do the best you can and then don't beat yourself up over the rest.

[Anonymous]

Not to be argumentTive, but what happens to all these non toxic babies when they actually have to go out into the great wild world? Do you homeschool with only organic toys?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not to be argumentTive, but what happens to all these non toxic babies when they actually have to go out into the great wild world? Do you homeschool with only organic toys?

I think everyone on this thread has been pretty consistent that you do what you can, and don't stress otherwise. I think of it like a healthy diet-- it's what you do most of the time that matters, not making the occasional exception (or eating out now and then). So nightly 12 hr sleep plus naps= worth it for nontoxic stuff. And then letting go during play dates, etc. it's like feeding your kids well on a daily basis and not sweating the occasional cookie o cupcake.

[Anonymous]

We spent $$$ (for us, probably peanuts to some DCUMers!) on the best quality mattresses, protectors, etc that we could find for our kids, from newborn to toddler and then twin sizes.

Silicone teethers, freezer trays, etc

Making all baby food ourselves, and organic as much as possible (not always possible due to $ or availability).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We spent $$$ (for us, probably peanuts to some DCUMers!) on the best quality mattresses, protectors, etc that we could find for our kids, from newborn to toddler and then twin sizes.

Silicone teethers, freezer trays, etc

Making all baby food ourselves, and organic as much as possible (not always possible due to $ or availability).

Did it gain you anything? Is your child healthier or smarter than their cohort?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We couldn't afford a ton of organic clothes because the baby outgrew then so fast, so also bout a lot of second hand clothing so that at least some of the worst dyes were washed a few times before DS wore them. Also, GOTs certified is the gold standard for organic clothing and bedding and you can sometimes find great sales on Amazon and west Elm (especially for sheets) if you use GOTs as a keyword.

If you know the brand you want, you can sometimes get high-quality organic things off of Craigslist. We also bought one flame-retardant free sofa but couldn't afford a second, so bought a nice used one so that at least it had off-gassed before we used it. Splurged on a good water filtration system to remove lead and the chemicals that we could (pharmaceuticals are mostly a lost cause.

DS2 was a preemie and we ended up having to use formula so organic formula was also a big expense for us. We went with Holle, which is an organic Gemma brand that uses fewer stabilizers, etc but is way more expensive than American brand. Our preemie couldn't manage the nipples on our lovely, non-toxic Life Factory bottles from DS1, so we ended up using plastic Dr Brown's bottles.

For us, the most important part has been making informed decisions. Money is a limited resource for us, so we chose to focus on a few things (especially good since it goes into our bodies directly) and then just do our best with the rest. As others here have said, you do the best you can and then don't beat yourself up over the rest.

What kind of filtration system if you don't mind sharing?

[Anonymous]

I do most of things discussed here but why are silicone teethers preferred? Over what?

[Anonymous]

It's nearly impossible to create a toxin-free home environment for your baby. Sure, you can start with the obvious BPA-free toys and bottles, and go non-plastic if you can. Use organic clothes and blankets, but just be aware that clothing dye can also be toxic; for a similar result you could just skip the organic cotton and buy used cotton clothing that has already been laundered multiple times. Use low VOC paint. Don't use nail polish or acetone remover. Flame retardants in upholstery are some of the biggest indoor toxins: couches, mattresses, etc. Switch these out if you have the means. Also, check how far you live from a major road, highway, or airport - the further the better for neurological development, beginning in utero. Then there are home electronics, which can still be a big source of lead, not mention the lead/asbestos threat in older homes (test for lead if your home was built before 1978). You can really drive yourself crazy with all this. At some point, though, you will be too exhausted to stop your two-year-old from scarfing up the cheerio he just dropped on the floor, and you will stop worrying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We spent $$$ (for us, probably peanuts to some DCUMers!) on the best quality mattresses, protectors, etc that we could find for our kids, from newborn to toddler and then twin sizes.

Silicone teethers, freezer trays, etc

Making all baby food ourselves, and organic as much as possible (not always possible due to $ or availability).

Did it gain you anything? Is your child healthier or smarter than their cohort?

Definitely much healthier (rarely get sick, never been on antibiotics and only one kid on medication once), one is academically gifted and the other is just above average academically but way ahead of peers athletically. Of course, that's just n=2 and they may have been that way anyway, who knows. It doesn't seem to have hurt though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do most of things discussed here but why are silicone teethers preferred? Over what?

regular plastic. Some say "BPA free!" but then they just replace BPA with another compound that's basically the same but has a different name. Silicone is completely non-toxic.