Rub a Dub Dub, Be Safe at Meals and in the Tub
It's dinnertime... your toddler just smeared pasta sauce onto the wood table, and then used his shirt as a napkin. Now it's definitely time for a bath! Before you get the tub water running, do you know if your mealtime and bathtime accessories are safe for your kids?
Growing Up Green
March 2010
It's
dinnertime... your toddler just smeared pasta sauce onto the wood
table, and then used his shirt as a napkin. Now it's definitely time
for a bath! Before you get the tub water running, do you know if your
mealtime and bathtime accessories are safe for your kids?
One of the important guidelines for choosing safer children's products
is to avoid vinyl/PVC. But vinyl is a traditional mainstay for
waterproof materials, so this can be pretty challenging when shopping
for feeding and bath products. The good news is there are some great
alternatives. Here are some tips to help you make safer choices when
shopping for bibs, placemats, and bath toys:
Bibs
Look for all-cotton bibs or bibs labeled as vinyl-free or PVC-free.
Examples include Mimi the Sardine, Baby Chaleco, i play, and Bumkins.
Placemats
Again,
choose vinyl-free or PVC-free placemats. Look for polypropylene,
acrylic-coated fabric, or plain fabric such as cotton or polyester.
Wipeable, PVC-free placemats are made by Crocodile Creek and Mimi the Sardine.
Bath Toys
Vinyl/PVC
is commonly found in squeeze toys, bath books, and the infamous vinyl
rubber ducky. Safer alternatives for bathtime play include washcloth
puppet animals, wooden bath boats, and toys made of safer plastics
without PVC, phthalates, and BPA.
Ideas include Under the Nile animal washcloths, wooden bath toys, and Boon toys.
Bath Mats
Shop
for PVC-free bath mats, without anti-bacterial or anti-mildew coatings.
Look for natural rubber material. Don't forget to hang up the bathmat
after each use to prevent mildew!
Examples include Ikea's Patrull bathtub mat, VitaFutura, as well as natural rubber bathmats at local retailers like Fred Meyer.
