When it comes to toxic chemicals, kids are not just little adults. You’d think a newborn baby would have a fresh start when it comes to toxic chemicals. But chemicals move across the placenta, so a baby emerges with some of the same pollution in its system as its mother. Tests of umbilical blood have detected chemicals that cause cancer and birth defects as well as those that are toxic to the brain and nervous system.
Once born, infants take in even more pollution, through breathing, eating, and passage through the skin, just as adults do. But they are at greater risk from these exposures because of their physical differences. They have a faster metabolism. Their bodies are still developing rapidly, and exposures to toxic chemicals may disrupt a critical developmental step. They may not be able to protect themselves from chemicals as well as adults, because their immune systems are immature. And, per pound of body weight, they receive a greater dose of any chemical they’re exposed to. Some of the differences are stark.
Per pound of body weight, a young child
- Breathes two times as much air as an adult.
- Eats more than three times as much food and tends to have less variety. For example, kids consume 10 times as much apple products, such as juice.
- Drinks two to seven times more liquid. An infant living on breast milk or formula, for instance, consumes about one-seventh of its body weight each day. In a 155-pound adult, that would be the equivalent of 10 quarts!
- Has 2.5 times more skin surface area, as well as skin that is as much as 30% thinner than adults’.
What You Can Do
- Bedding. Make sure your bundle of joy isn’t wrapped in fabrics with toxic finishes or surrounded by dust mites. Our article on beds and bedding will tell you all you need to know about mattresses, sheets, pillows, beds, and blankets.
- Cleaning products. If cleanliness is next to godliness, then parents who use buy anti-bacterial soaps should be a couple of steps closer to heaven, right? Wrong. Our survey of cleaning products explains why these soaps are doing more harm than good.
- Floor Coverings. Kids spend a lot of time close to the ground. So before you buy a cushy new carpet for your favorite rug rat, make sure the fibers are not going to emit a known carcinogen, formaldehyde, or other chemicals that could be harmful to your child’s developing body.
- Personal care products. People who crawl on the ground and make mud pies need plenty of soap and shampoo. They also likely need sunscreen and maybe even bug repellant. Before you buy, learn the do’s and don’ts of personal care products, for adults and kids alike.
