Are you aware that there are over 1,000 dangerous chemicals present in various children’s products? This is why parents need to be extra careful purchasing or receiving stuff for their children.
Buying baby products can be an emotional and very overwhelming experience for any shopper. There are so many products on the counter, and you’re wondering which of them would be not only effective but safe for your baby. Due to the delicate nature of babies, it’s important to get only items that have been tried, tested, and are well-known for their safety standards.
Their skin is very delicate, susceptible to irritability, and gets dry easily. You need to choose products that would be effective, not bring harm to them, and that will shield your child’s skin from irritants like dust. All these seem theoretical and don’t help your endeavor. Here’s an easy guide that would help you choose the safest items available for your baby.
Get The Right Information
In a time where there is so much information flying around, getting the right information about a particular product might be challenging with corporations marketing unhealthy items as though they were perfect. How do you know that an item is safe and effective? Run it by your doctor before purchase, check if it’s got labels from verified sources.
There are government agencies you can reach out to when in doubt about the safety of a product. They include the Food and Drug Administration, Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry that informs you if there are toxic substances present in a product, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) can help you choose the best seats for your baby, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), when contacted, can get you existing recall listings for children’s products, so you know which to avoid.
Only Use Products Meant For Babies
Babies might look very sweet and uncomplicated, but that’s not the case in reality. Their skin is fragile and needs to be properly cared for, thoroughly massaged, and keep moisturized regularly.
Their bodies get easily dried compared to adults and can’t sit well with the same products grown-ups would use. You can be easily tempted to apply your lotion for babies but don’t. That is why selecting products, no matter what type, that was specifically made for babies is important. Those kinds of items are gentle on their bodies and can make sure that your baby’s skin is neutral and well-protected against irritability.
You also need to be very mindful when receiving gifts for your kids. Even if they are baby pads, check for verified labels on the package. For other products like shampoo, ensure that what’s written on it is the same as what’s in the container. Be sure that it is suitable for the baby before using it. If it’s a lotion, apply it on a small portion and see what happens in 24hrs. That’d give you some insight about whether it is baby-fit. Better still, ask your doctor about the best options.
Be Mindful of Ingredients
When looking for baby products to buy, it would be helpful to have prior knowledge about common toxic substances to look out for. You can look through the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry for a list of substances to place on your watch list.
Thereafter, familiarize yourself with major ingredients to be found in various kinds of baby products. With that knowledge, you can compare the ingredients found on your baby’s products say the shampoo or soap with the toxic substances listed in the online registry. That would give you an inclination as to whether you’ve got a safe or harmful product.
Speak With A Healthcare Professional
This is like the icing on the cake when deciding which product is safe for your child. The healthcare professional in this context would be your pediatrician. Their wealth of experience, training, and qualification makes them the best source of information about safe products for your baby.
Get them to recommend any kind of product for you from baby gates, lotions, shampoos, cribs, to baby carriers, bathtubs, and playpens. You shouldn’t feel weird about asking them, they’re around kids all day and can easily point you in the right direction. Their recommendation would save you the stress of going through the points listed above.
This is a whole new experience, and you want to be careful to avoid any mistakes which is quite understandable. As a parent, your child’s safety is what matters most to you and that’s why the information in this guide should be adhered to.