DIY Life

It's pretty easy to stop your little one from eating things you don't want them to. A sharply stated icky!, yucky!, naughty! or no! will usually do the trick. However, how do you stop your child from ingesting a substance which you most likely can't see, such as lead?

I have here for you some excellent ideas and strategies from the Parent Center Newsletter for keeping lead out of your little one. If you have a toddler or know someone who does, you may wish to read the complete article.

Here are a few ideas for you:

1. Keep your child well fed. This has double benefits. First, a well fed child is less likely to ingest disgusting things and second, if your child does consume contaminated materials, a well fed tummy is less likely to absorb lead.
2. Keep the areas around painted windows and doors clean and dust free (especially in older homes). Also encourage you child to play away from these areas.
3. Instruct your child not to play in the soil right along side your home. If your home was ever painted with lead based paint, the chances are that the soil right next to the house is contaminated.
4. Be sure your child learns the importance of washing their hands routinely, especially before eating.
5. Consider having a professional home inspector come to your home to do a lead survey. They are trained to recognize specific hazards and will have specialized information about the homes in your area and the materials they were built with.

The number of children with traceable amounts of lead in their bodies is being reduced each year but this is still a situation of concern that you need to be aware of. Government agencies have taken great strides in attempting to reduce the incidences of lead poisoning in children.

Despite the government's efforts, countries with rapidly expanding manufacturing operations and less than modern regulatory agencies are still sending products into the U.S. which may contain concentrations of lead which are not acceptable. Please, when you are buying products for use with children between the ages of one and four, do a little research first to find out if you are buying products which can be trusted. The Consumer Product Safety Commission is a good place to start.