Just an update regarding safety of foam mat. France and Belgium reversed their ban on formamide. There's now a limitation on how much formamide it can contain while they do more research: http://newsletter.sgs.com/eNewsletterPro/uploadedimages/000006/sgs-safeguards-1291212-france-extends-temporary-ban-for-formamide-in-puzzle-mats-a4-en-12.pdf

Australia did their own testing on this topic:
http://www.productsafety.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/989496

ewonderworld.com carries formamide non-detectable mats here:

http://www.ewonderworld.com/index.php/mats/formamide-nd.html

You can find their test reports here:

http://www.ewonderworld.com/test%20report/ACT-Mats_FormamideNDTestReport.pdf

Supply is limited as they plan on discontinuing it due to low demand and formamide has not been proven to be a health risk.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, don't forget the carcingens in the DC tap water!

i agree, what's in our water supply is really REALLY scary

People laugh at us for being "far out" and on well water, and I admit that making the shift to well water sort of freaked me out. But I am grateful at this point to have it.

What makes you think your unregulated and untested well water is necessarily safer?

Very old thread. No longer true

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP, don't forget the carcingens in the DC tap water!

i agree, what's in our water supply is really REALLY scary

People laugh at us for being "far out" and on well water, and I admit that making the shift to well water sort of freaked me out. But I am grateful at this point to have it.

Note that the article linked earlier about Step 2 mats did add an update that the Step 2 mats are safe:

We’re pleased to announce that Step 2 foam mats have been tested Formamide-free. They’re so safe our staff ate off of them. You’ll be seeing these playmats back in our classrooms and on our shelves.

When I was looking into getting a mat for my DS I had heard this was a problem. So, I googled around, found a website (perhaps it safe baby), and found these mats were safe according to their testing.

We ended up getting these, and I LOVE them. We covered almost our entire basement in them and they look fantastic, have a nice sloped edge so you don't trip hold up incredibly well.

http://softtiles.com/

Seriously worth the extra $.

Anonymous wrote:PP, don't forget the carcingens in the DC tap water!

i agree, what's in our water supply is really REALLY scary

This site also has toxin free mats, worth checking out: http://babyplaymats.ca

Anonymous wrote:Those of you avoiding plastics, do you not have mother-in-laws?

We have an epic battle every single year keeping the mountain of plastic stuff she buys out of our house. She thinks we are overly worried zealots.

And, as a prior poster noted, mothers as well as mothers in law! I think my in laws must have stock in Fisher Price, ugh! And the frustrating thing is they should know better. My mom gets some "natural" toy catalogs and always points out to me how nice the toys look, then she gives us the latest junk from Costco. She just can't resist the Costco toy aisle. And my MIL told me how she loved Haba for her kids, and I told her they still make it and it's still considered a nice quality brand (hint, hint), and what did she buy for Christmas? More Costco junk and more Fisher Price.

For the posters who suggested telling your mother/MIL your views, we've done this (diplomatically I think), but they can't seem to be convinced that their picks are not nice quality toys. And as far as throwing it out, well, they are my baby's grandparents and you have to balance rocking those important relationships I think.

Anonymous wrote:To the PP poster who feels like its hard to keep up with he latest info on toxics:

My family generally just goes with the old tried and true materials for everything. Steel, glass, natural fibers, etc.

We figure if our great grandmothers used it, its probably safe and if its a new thing from the last 50 years, we'll likely avoid it. Makes it easy. We use: cotton diapers with wool covers (just like my grandmother did), glass baby bottles, wood toys. We avoid: all plastics.

Yes, like the lead paint that our grandmothers used to paint their walls. Or let's not forgot all the crap that was spewing out of cars before auto emission regulations were seriously implemented in the 70s. Or let's see...grandma and grandpa were probably blowing cigarette smoke in baby's face without even realizing they were doing anything wrong.

I agree with the general idea that avoiding plastics is a good idea, but I also think it's always going to be something and it always has been something. And the human race seems to have survived OK. People just didn't have as much information back then. Or message boards like DCUM to spread the news. Honestly, sometimes it sounds completely and utterly wonderful.

ITA, PP. I enjoy reading all of these posts about what parents limit and am curious to see how that works out for them in a few years. I'm not knocking it. I just wonder if it turns out to be realistic and how the children end up feeling about it.

Here are my 2 cents...

It is easy (and good) to limit plastics when your child is a baby/infant. It is pretty easy to find good wooden and other toys that your child will enjoy.

As another poster mentioned, limiting these types of toys when your child gets older (i.e., preschool and elementary school) is pretty much impossible. My 5 yo DS is obsessed with Bakugan and Ben 10. He didn't become obsessed with this stuff by us (his parents) but b/c one of his classmates (with older brothers) was really into it. He got into it too so you know what? We've got a lot of Bakugan toys lying around. At some point, when your kid starts going to school, having playdates, you are faced with a choice - (1) stick to your principles and refuse to buy these toys and watch your kid get ostracized at school or (2) give in and limit it as best you can.

While it may be easy for you (right now) to say - hey, I'm not letting my kids watch this stuff on TV, play with this stuff, etc. - trust me, you will be singing a different tune if your kid is pretty much ostracized for it. And don't kid yourself into thinking your adorable, sweet kid is nice/cool/awesome enough that his/her peers will like him/her regardless. It just doesn't work like that. After your child hasn't gotten invited to a few birthday parties, etc. that *all* the kids are talking about at school, and comes home crying, you will have to decide what is more important to you...