5 Ways to Make Babies Nursery and Childrens Rooms Eco-Friendly Now

In the passed several months there have been recalls of children's toys due to dangerous toxic chemicals. This has parents concerned and right fully so. More than ever there are more toxic chemicals polluting the environment indoors and outdoors.

Where do the chemicals come from? Toxic chemicals are used to clean your home, on your body, to make furniture, beds, linens, carpets, house paints, stains the list is endless. These toxic chemicals are being linked to cancer, autism in children, they are neurotoxins, known skin irritatants; like eczema and rashes, they cause allergies, asthma flare ups, vomiting, birth defects, respiratory disease just to name a few.

Every year infants are born with 100's of toxic chemicals in their bodies. Furthermore, children under 10 are most susceptible to the dangers of toxins because their immune systems aren't yet fully developed. That means their little bodies don't eliminate the toxins they stay in their little bodies contaminating them. Perhaps that explains why asthma and autism in children is continually on the rise.

However you can protect your children by reducing toxins in their rooms and in baby's nursery. Below are 5 simple tricks you can use to eliminate toxic chemicals now.

1. Cleaning products ' the toxic chemicals used in cleaning products are not regulated and haven't been tested on humans or animals for safety. Cleaning products leave toxic residue on the surfaces in your home. Even after you rinse the surfaces.

Children and pets are most susceptible to coming into contact with these toxic residues simply due to the way they live. They are small and close to the ground. Children crawl on the floor, play on the floor, touch surfaces and then put their hands into their mouths thus absorbing and ingesting toxins.

How can you protect your children from toxic cleaning products? Try non-toxic, non-chemical products like Seventh Generations non-toxic cleaning products, Begley's Best, or Ecover's non-toxic line of cleaning products. They are found in health food markets and grocery stores.

Or you can use the following recipes to clean your home. You will notice that many of the ingredients for these recipes are edible and you probably have them in your kitchen.

a. All purpose counter top and window cleaner

¼ cup white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon non-toxic, clear liquid soap (not edible)

Water

15 to 20 drops of your favorite PURE ORGANIC essential oil (not edible)

In a 24oz or 32oz plastic spray bottle combine the first 3 ingredients. Then fill the bottle with water. This formula will clean glass and counter tops. Vinegar is an antiseptic as well so it kills germs.

b. For the floors

¾ cup vinegar

1 tablespoon of clear non-toxic liquid soap (not edible)

20 to 30 drops of your favorite PURE ORGANIC essential oil. Be sure the essential oil is pure and organic or you maybe getting chemical additives. (not edible)

In a 5 gallon bucket combine the first 2 ingredients and fill the bucket with warm to hot water. Then you can add 20 to 30 drops of your favorite PURE ORGANIC essential oil.

c. To remove odors from the laundry or if you have hard water this will soften the water and your clothes will be cleaner.

¼ cup to ½ cup baking soda

Baking soda is amazing for removing odors. When you wash baby's clothes, if you have towels or clothes that smell moldy or mildewy or you have hard water try adding a ¼ cup of baking soda to the wash. If the ¼ doesn't work then add ½ cup of baking soda. This is also a great trick when you forget to put your towels or clothes in the dryer and they smell moldy and mildewy add baking soda and run the rinse cycle. This really works.

2. Get rid of anti-bacterial products, all of them. I can't stress this enough. Anti-bacterial products have flooded the market. They come in the form of hand soap, laundry soap, dish soap, sponges, cleaning products. Marketers have you believing that your home is filled with dangerous germs and viruses. I suppose if you don't clean your home regularly that may be the case. The dangerous affects of anti-bacterial products far out weight the benefits.

The ingredient used in these products is called Triclosan and according to the Environmental Protection Agency it is a pesticide. The EPA says that pesticides are designed to kill any living organism; that includes plants, humans, animals and insects alike. Every time you wash your hands or your child's hands with anti-bacterial soaps you are washing with a pesticide. The pesticide is absorbed through the skin and into your body or your child's body. If your child puts their hands into their mouth then the pesticide is ingested.

Then you clean your home with anti-bacterial products adding another layer of pesticide to your home. Next you wash your clothes with laundry detergent that is anti-bacterial thus contains a pesticide. Count how many products in your home say anti-bacterial. Check the label to see if the ingredient Triclosan is listed. By law it must be listed.

After you count how many products you use with Tricolsan then understand that is how many layers of pesticide are in your home. Your children are swimming in the stuff. The irony is that simple soap and warm water kill the same bacteria and viruses that Tricolsan kill.

Even worse, the use of Triclosan is creating super bacteria and viruses that are stronger and more difficult to eliminate. These super viruses are making people sicker longer and even death.

3. In babies nursery and the children's rooms use organic cotton, hemp or bamboo towels and sheets. Cotton is one of the most toxic crops there is. Cotton is continuously sprayed with highly toxic pesticides. This residue is on your children's sheets and towels and is absorbed into their skin with each use.

4. Give children a natural, organic cotton/wool mattress. Conventional mattresses today are made with fire retardant-treated polyurethane foam, toxic dyes, formaldehyde and stain ' and water ' resistant chemicals. All of these chemicals off gas over time and can cause allergies.

The chemicals used to make fire retardant mattresses are called polybrominated diphenyl ethers and are being linked to thyroid dysfunctions, fetal brain development dysfunctions, they are cancer causing and are known neurotoxins.

Newborn babies spend 90% of their time in their cribs the first year of their life. They absorb and breathe in the toxic chemicals from the mattress.

If you can't buy a new healthy mattress for your children then cover the mattress with thick organic cotton material, underneath the organic sheets. For more information on organic mattresses go to What is an Organic Mattress.

5. Use safe non-toxic personal care products on baby's and children. The personal care products industry isn't regulated and dangerous toxic chemicals are used in these products. Baby's and children's personal care products contain chemicals that cause cancer, they have skin irritants, are known neurotoxins, endocrine disruptors, accelerate the aging of skin cells, mimic breast cancer cells to name a few.

Skin care products are absorbed through the biggest cell of the body, the skin. So why would you bath baby and children in a toxic bath and then slather toxic lotion onto their body.

Even worse are products with fragrance. Many times fragrance contains pthalates which are linked to reproductive system development and a possible human carcinogen. For more information on the safety of personal care products for babies and children go to the Environmental Working Groups Cosmetic Data Base at http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/research/. Here you will find information and studies on personal care products for children.

Absolutely do not use sunscreen on children unless you know that it is safe. Studies are finding that the increase in skin cancer cases may be due to the chemicals used in sunscreen. Babies under the age of 6 months shouldn't be in the sun anyway. For more information on the possible dangers of sunscreen go to http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/research/.

Remember to be patient with yourself and take one step at a time. The idea is to reduce the toxins in your home. It is better to do one thing at a time and live with it than to get overwhelmed and do nothing at all. Good luck. For more information on Greening Babies Nursery go to Are You Putting Your Unborn Babies Health At Risk?

The Green Queen is an expert in greening homes, businesses and productions. She has been living green and organic for over 8 years and greening homes, businesses and productions for 2 years.

She offers in home green consultations, teleclasses, E-classes, teleseminars and coaching. You can contact her at http://www.thegreenqueencorner.com or If you have a question about green, organic, non-toxic living click here to ask your question.