Kids Bedrooms

Why it's important to make their rooms healthy

If your kids are anything like mine, just trying to keep the kids bedrooms neat and tidy is a major challenge, let alone trying to keep them clean AND healthy! But let’s consider WHY it's so important to keep the kids rooms healthy (and it's really not as hard as it may seem):

ADVANTAGES:

* It can promote better sleep

* It will most definitely decrease their chemical exposures meaning the body will have less detoxifying to do at night.

* May decrease the risk of cancers or other long-term health problems caused in part by chemical exposures.

* It will promote better health-especially vital organs such as the brain, heart, liver, lungs--all of which are very sensitive to chemicals especially early in life.

* In some cases may help with, or stop bedwetting ( some cases are caused or exacerabated by chemical exposures) See the excellent book by Doris Rapp, M.D., Is This Your Child’s World? published by Bantam Books.


HERE ARE SOME EASY TIPS TO MAKE KIDS BEDROOMS HEALTHY:

Keep shoes out of the room:

these track in all kinds of things from outside such as many chemicals, lawn fertilizers, pesticides, dirt of course, and pet danders. Shoes should not be in a healthy sleeping environment.

Furthermore, the shoes themselves can outgas many chemicals into the room if stored in the kids bedrooms. Leather shoes in particular outgas a lot of petroleum distillates which can put your child’s health at risk. Try to store shoes in another area if at all possible to keep the kids bedrooms free of unnecessary toxic chemical exposures.

Keep closet doors closed:

Especially if your kids bedrooms are used to store their clothing ( as most are) this will cut down on some of the chemical exposures from clothing, especially new clothing.As mentioned in previous pages, newer clothing contains a lot of chemicals including formaldehyde ( especially if the fabrics are wrinkle-free) and other chemical finishers which can outgas into the room.

Keep stuffed animals out:

these harbor dust and dust-mites as well as chemicals due to the synthetic materials and stuffings used.

Keep books out of the kids bedrooms:

These can also harbor dust, especially if the books are older. Sometimes the inks used for the printing can be allergenic to children who are sensitive to those chemicals. If your child has allergies or asthma, keeping books out of their room can be helpful in decreasing irritants and their total load of exposures.

Be careful about the carpeting, bedding, and fabrics you choose for the bedrooms. These can outgas many harmful, toxic chemicals or cause or worsen allergic symptoms including asthma.

Keep plastic toys and furniture out of the room:

These also release chemicals into the room such as BPH and styrene. Also be diligent in choosing toys that do not contain lead. Unfortunately many Chinese-made toys contain unacceptable lead levels. They are often allowed to enter the U.S. without adequate testing before distribution in the marketplace.

Lead dust brushes off from objects easily and is also found on many painted toys or surfaces. Lead causes serious brain damage and learning problems, can cause colic, convulsions, and headaches as well as other serious health problems, so it’s important to check for this if you suspect it’s presence. Lead kits are inexpensive and can be purchased at most Home Improvement or Hardware stores.

Another growing concern is the level of cadmium, a heavy metal that is being found increasingly in toys imported into the U.S. Cadmium is also found in cigarette smoke, auto exhaust and from air pollution (factories). Sometimes this chemical is neither excreted or stored, rather it is incorporated into the tissues themselves and can cause damage. Kidney damage is one such consequence of cadmium exposure. Cancer is another, as well as eye, throat and lung irritation, anemia, headaches, and reproductive problems.

Lastly, keep pets out:

Pets cause many allergic symptoms in people. Cat danders remain in the rooms and furniture for at least 6-8 months even after thorough cleaning or removal of the pet. Also, if the pet is allowed to be outside, then comes and sleeps in the bedroom, it poses the same problems as allowing shoes in the room (as explained above.)

Finally and possibly most importantly, be careful about the types of cleaners you use in the bedrooms. For more healthy bedroom ideas...