In our attempt to revert back to a Green lifestyle, it’s only fitting to use Green principles when designing a baby’s room. After all, a newborn will spend an average of 17 hours a day in their nursery, and it should be an environment filtered from toxins.
Here are some of the key points to consider when setting up a Green baby nursery.
Paint: Use one of the new water-based, low-volatile organic compound paints and take your friends or family up on their request to help. If you’re pregnant, you shouldn’t be doing the painting. Try and complete the paint job at least a month before baby arrives to give it time to cure.
Flooring: Carpets are nice and soft for babies to crawl on, but they can harbor toxic material and bacteria. VOC’s can be found in the fibers, backing and glue as well as any stain resistant treatments that may have been applied. If you must go that route, choose an all-natural, biodegradable carpet made from wool fibers and no toxic adhesives. A better choice is a solid floor such as linoleum, cork or wood. Use natural fiber throw rugs with a non slip backing.
Crib: Choose real wood with natural finishes since the press wood versions can emit formaldehyde. The bedding should be an organic untreated material made from cotton or wool.
Window Coverings: Aluminum mini-blinds or wooden shutters are easy to keep clean and do a great job of adjusting the light levels.
Toys: Most toys are made of plastic, which is a major contributor to indoor air pollution. Try to purchase natural cloth or wood toys wherever possible.
Airflow: Make certain there is adequate ventilation in the nursery that allows for fresh air, but no drafts. An Air filter is also very effective, but use one that has both a HEPA filter and activated military carbon cloth. Change your furnace filters every three months to reduce dust and pollen.
Cleaning: Use 100 percent biodegradable nontoxic cleaning products.
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Thinking about the environment means looking at what one spends money on when it comes to children. Diapers, clothing, bedding and also nursery furniture and all considerations of an eco-friendly upbringing. When one first starts looking at these things in detail, it can be surprising to find that there are a lot of potentially hazardous issues. This article is going to talk about nursery furniture and nursery materials and their potential hazard to the health of your baby and the environment and what to look for instead.
First of all when it comes to the nursery there are many things one wants to do with it; paint it, put in new flooring and clean it. Carpets, paint and cleaning products all can emit toxic fumes called volatile organic compounds of which some are carcinogenic and can irritate the lungs and thus one’s breathing. Children are much more susceptible to toxins then adults as their lungs are smaller and they also breathe much faster. Babies are even more susceptible especially as their lungs are much smaller and haven’t developed as far as a child’s or adult’s. Their immune and nervous system are only in the early stages of development. They also breathe faster. As a result they inhale more toxins than adults do and have much smaller bodies. This is also a caution for pregnant women, as inhalation of toxins can also affect the baby.
First of all one will want to paint the nursery and many people leave to the last minute. If you are going to paint the nursery it is best to do it as soon as you can and ventilate it well. If you are pregnant this is a job best left to someone else to be extra safe. When painting you need to give at least a month or so for the room to properly air before putting your baby in there. The longer you leave a room to dry and let the paint settle the better. It is also best to avoid conventional paint and look for eco friendly paints and ones low in VOCs. You could also try looking for milk or natural paints. There are also paints that are completely VOC free and thus do not emit any fumes. These are well worth looking for to be extra safe.
Besides paint there is also the floor to contend with. Carpet is far from ideal when it comes to toxins and being green. New carpet will emit VOCs and with its flame-resistant properties will also add more toxins into the mix. Carpets can also trap in dust, mold and pesticides and your baby will be crawling on it and be very close to it. Carpet is best avoided but there are some great alternative carpets such as cork or bamboo that you could use without the toxic issues. If you do not like the idea of a bamboo or cork carpet then wood flooring is the better option. You can also use natural rugs on the floor for particular areas to add some cosiness and make it softer for your moving baby.
Lastly there is the issue of furniture. Many people do not think that furniture could possibly admit toxins – I didn’t at one point. However if you are buying cheap MDF/chipboard style furniture, this type of furniture usually contains formaldehydes that can be hazardous to health. Avoid them at all costs and only go for furniture that is formaldehyde free or solid wood.
Your skin is the first thing people see when they look at you. Even when you meet someone it is common to shake their hand in greeting in the United States. Skin allergies can affect that first impression. If you don’t suffer from skin allergies you may think of it as a cosmetic problem but anyone who has them knows that a skin allergy can be very uncomfortable and at times painful.
Some people may not realize that the skin is the largest organ that we have. We all want to take good care of our skin even though it can be challenging at times even when you don’t have skin allergies. We want our skin to look healthy, radiant and smooth. Unfortunately, many live day in day out with a variety of skin disorders usually caused by allergic reactions. There is hope for managing these allergies. The key is to be informed.
What Can Cause a Skin Allergy?
Here is a list of some typical triggers that cause a skin allergy:
*Chemical Household Cleaners
*Latex
*A Variety of Foods
*Pollen
*Dust
Chemical Household Cleaners: These cleaners have strong chemicals that are very harsh. If you are not wearing gloves the chemicals can not only cause rashes but they can even cause burns. I was cleaning my grill yesterday with an oven cleaner and thought I could get away with not using gloves. I was mistaken since I burned my thumb. Skin allergies are also known as allergic contact dermatitis because they generally surface when you come into contact with the allergen line the cleaners in this instance.
If you are affected by this type of skin allergy there are alternative natural cleaning products that you can use if you have been highly sensitive to these types of products. These products are made of less toxic and less harmful materials.
Latex: This material can cause skin allergies as well. Those who wear latex gloves may be sensitive to the latex that is used when these gloves are manufactured. When the latex comes in contact with the skin rashes, bumps, and other reactions can occur. You may also experience severe itching.
There are other gloves that are manufactured that do not have latex. Nowadays daycare and childcare facilities are really on top of allergies. They ask questions about your children’s allergies including latex since these facilities use gloves to keep from spreading germs when they change the children’s diapers.
Variety of Foods: Food sensitivities or intolerance can cause skin allergies. Unfortunately they are hard to diagnose because of the delayed reaction most people experience. Hives can occur rapidly after a certain food has been eaten. Some may be surprised to know that eczema can develop if a food is continually eaten. Eczema is a common skin disorder that has been linked to not only allergies but asthma as well.
Infants and children can develop reactions to dairy but older people can be affected as well. The person is usually reacting to the protein in the milk itself called casein. This reaction causes underlying skin irritations such as dermatitis and rashes. Wheat , citrus, peanuts, and eggs are other foods that can cause skin allergies to erupt.
Pollen and dust can also cause skin allergies but they are commonly known more for reactions affecting your breathink like wheezing, congestion and coughing.
Can Skin Allergies be Treated?
There are a variety of treatment options for treating these skin reactions. Doctors can prescribe certain creams and lotions that can reduce the inflammation or get rid of the rashes and itching. You may also want to consider natural or alternative treatments as well. Keep in mind once you identify your allergy you should do your best to avoid what causes your skin allergy.
Many parents don’t fully understand how having children changes in almost every way how they think of living as well as taking care of their house. From things they buy to cleaning to the way you organize stuff in your property, everything takes ona different aspect when a kid is running around. You’ve to think smaller. It is not quick to consider every thing your kid is certain to get into, drawers, bookshelves, cupboards, furniture, corners etc. In terms of little ones, pretty much regrettablyanything and everything is possible.
Here are some simple ways to make your home safer for your child:
Jewelry – Earrings, bracelets and chains present risks to your child. They are sharp, a choking hazard and attracting. Contrary to popular belief kids like shiny things more than you do. Keep your jewelry in containers and keep the boxes well out of reach of your youngster. Food – Make positive that food containers are covered correctly and that such things as cups, hot food and coffee mugs are never near enough to tables edges that your child could cause them to fall by tugging on the tablecloth. Cleaning Products – This is probably the most common, but given the occurrance and harshness of cases in which children end up with the poisonous and harmful disinfectants and cleaning solutions the point has to be made. Things That Break Easily – Photo frames, vases and different objets-d’art can bring a certain amount of appeal and class to the rooms, howevere, if those things are in the reach of your child, there exists a possibility they will knock them and hurt themselves on the broken pieces.
But thinking small isn’t enough. Thief proofing is as significant as baby proofing when it comes to your child’s safety. Think of it as a 2 part inside/outside process, with the inside step covering the tips above, and the outside step consisting of installing a home robber alarm system. With professional monitoring service of an alarm system, you, your spouse and your children can be watched over with 24 hour protection, all day every single day.
There are more than enough things to consider, concern yourself with and do when you are raising a child. Let someone else help take the burden off of thinking about the security of your home. A property alarm system can help take care of the exterior safety, leaving you more time to worry about the interior.