Teething Babies and Hazards to Look For
What a baby eats on a normal day is important. Just as important: whatever else they get their hands on, that ends up in their mouth. Teething babies are keen to grab any and everything they can grab and it’s no surprise that sometimes, those items may be a little less than ideal. As you look around your house for dangerous baby items here are some hazards to look for, even in baby teethers, to help decide what products you should keep out of sight or keep on the shelf at the supermarket.
Ingredient Lists
As a parent, it can be easy to ignore toy ingridient lists, but understanding what is in your child’s toy is a great first line of defense when trying to protect them for toxic materials. Ingredient lists are one of the key places to look when it comes to hazards in baby toys, and these ingridient lists are just as important when they grow up!
Items like talc, toxic paint, and asbestos have been found in children’s toys in the past, and are still prevalent today, even though they’re known to be hazardous toxins. Consumer products produced overseas may still contain these items even though they’ve been regulated in the U.S. Some common places in your homes where asbestos products and products made with toxic paint can be found include, older household appliances, vintage toys, crayons, and more.
Do note that toys aren’t the only place to look at ingredient labels. Any product made for your baby should be organic and free of toxic chemicals. Today, more clothes than ever are made using synthetic fabrics, such as polyester, which can lead to health issues and is bad for the environment. Choosing sustainably sourced baby clothing made from only organic ingredients will keep your baby healthy for years to come.
Checking any toy or product, new or old, through the Consumer Product Safety Commission can help protect you and your children from exposure that can lead to health risks. Even second-hand exposure to these toxins can still cause potential issues. After all, babies can get their hands on anything, so it’s important that what they grab onto is safe, even if they shouldn’t have it.
Choking Hazards
While choking hazards in children can seem like a non-issue when picking out some of the items for a nursery, thinking about picking safe items can make a huge difference in your child’s health. Smaller items such as teethers, crayons and markers, even buttons on shirts can be ingested if we’re not careful.
Smaller toys like marbles, legos, and balloons should be avoided until your child is old enough to understand the dangers of chewing on toys. If you are ever unsure of the safety of a toy, you can always ask your pediatrician for toy recommendations. As fun as these toys can be for your kids, their health and safety come first.
When it comes to baby accessories, keeping dazzling pieces to a minimum is key. Snaps and fasteners are a great option for clothing, and items you can roll up and take with you for travel keep your hands free, but also your baby safe. Having teethers that are FDA approved is a great way to make sure you’re keeping these choking hazards in mind.
Recalls
After doing your due diligence in checking ingredient lists and making sure you don’t buy products that your child could choke on, the next step to keeping your baby safe is to monitor recalls over time.
You likely have experienced a time where you were using a product that was recently recalled. Depending on the nature of a recall, continuing to use the tainted product could lead to serious health issues. This is especially true when it comes to baby and childrens products.
As a parent, it is your responsibility to check up on recalls from time to time to make sure that an old toy, or recently purchased food item isn’t going to harm your child. An item can be recalled for just about anything discussed above. Use of toxic materials, items that malfunction, or products with choking hazards are all common reasons for a recall.
Last year, multiple types of popular baby formula brands were recalled due to a potentially lethal bacteria that was present in the powders. If you were a parent who wasn’t watching the news or up to date in recalls, you could have been giving your child tainted formula without ever knowing.
Just like with reading ingredient lists, checking for recalls will be a part of parenthood for years to come. As your child ages, they likely will be playing with more intricate toys that have a higher chance of injuring them. Items with batteries, like hoverboards, powerwheels, and electric scooters have all been recalled at one point or another due to fire hazards. Again, as your baby gets older, checking up on recalls will keep them and your family safe.
