Keeping Our Children Clean....Naturally!

So...

We've established that many personal care products are harmful to our health.

We've discussed a few natural options for hair and facial care.

But what about our children??

Infants and children are very vulnerable to harmful chemicals in personal care products. Children's skin is 30% thinner on average, which means they can absorb more chemicals from the skin's surface. Also, the blood-brain barrier that helps block chemicals from penetrating brain tissue is not fully formed until a baby reaches 6 months of age. (more info)

Phthalates are chemicals that are getting an increased amount of public attention due to potential toxicity.

This is a recent article published in the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. It basically describes a study that found a link to phthalate exposure and the use of infant care products.

This is an article put out by msnbc about the study.

And this is a follow up article where leading pediatricians answer some questions from concerned parents. I'm going to cut and paste two of these questions and answers here and give some of my own comments:

How concerned should parents be?

• Dr. Catherine Karr, a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Pediatrics and assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington specializing in environmental health issues, says:

"We don’t really know the answer to the health impact of childhood exposure to phthalates. But if parents want to decrease their children’s exposure, they can limit the amount of baby products they use on their child, and only use products that a doctor prescribes or recommends. "

• Dr. Lev Linkner, who practices family medicine in Ann Arbor, Mich., and specializes in holistic primary care, warns:

"These are chemicals that are really unknown to nature, and there are no good studies on what a lot of these chemicals do to our babies and pregnant mothers. The article that came out on phthalates is very important because it’s usually not put on labels, so we don’t even know what chemicals we’re slopping on our babies."

• Dr. Benjamin Danielson, a pediatrician and clinic chief of the Odessa Brown Children’s Clinic in Seattle, agrees:

"Sometimes you need to be able to get a little more information before deciding which way to jump. I think that this is an important issue, but it’s also a stay-tuned issue. It’s a good sign when issues are brought to light and people have a chance to address them, but I also worry about getting too panicked, too quickly."


Ok, I'm not really a "stay tuned" type of gal :o)

I totally understand that we shouldn't make a huge deal about something before we know the facts, but we are talking about our precious children here. I think that these products should be deemed safe BEFORE we use them on our babies, not after! The way I see it, if a product has even the slightest potential to cause harm to my child, why wouldn't I just use something else? It's not like there aren't other perfectly safe options out there...


What’s the alternative to using these baby products?

• Karr: "In terms of bathing your baby, plain water is all that you need. Special soaps and shampoos marketed for your baby are really just a cosmetic choice, so parents can save money and save worry just by using plain water. With the exception of maybe excessively dry skin, most babies don’t need lotions or creams at all."

• Linkner: "Parents should go to health food stores, and read labels the best they can. Buy organic as much as possible. If they’re concerned about diaper rashes, they can look for a non-petroleum, natural product. But natural soap and water is what you can use most of the time. Let’s face it – do babies really care what they smell like?"

• Danielson: "You don’t really need to bathe your baby every day — a couple times a week is enough. Let the natural oils that your baby produces stay on the skin and keep them moisturized. "

On the day we were leaving the hospital to take our sweet little newborn home, I remember the nurse telling me things very similar to the comments above..."You don't need to wash her everyday....you can wash her with plain water...skip the lotion so her skin learns to balance itself....etc"

But I remember thinking..."Of course I'm going to bathe my baby with soap. I want her to be CLEAN, don't I? And I thought all babies use lotion after a bath? Isn't that what I'm supposed to do?"

Well, now I realize how silly my thinking was...

As consumers, we are lead to believe that we are not clean unless we have scrubbed ourselves down with something that is pleasing to the senses...fragrant and bubbly. But the chemicals used to make these products lather and smell nice are anything but healthy!

In the Mothering forum that I've mentioned before, I read this post that inspired me to break free from conventional ways of keeping my child clean:

Hi, my name is Rachelle -

When I was pregnant, Richard and I decided we wanted to be as 'natural' as
possible in EVERY way for our child - extended breastfeeding with me eating
organic food, etc etc.

I also had this aspiration through researching chemicals in toiletries
products that I didn't want her covered head to toe in Johnson and
Johnson cocktails, so I looked into 'green companies' for alternatives and was
shocked at my findings - the loopholes in the laws, the amount of rubbish allowed
into products, the 'mass medication' I suppose that we enforce onto
ourselves and our children through the efforts of being a 'good consumer'.

We finally decided that we would use no products at all - we made up a
combination of distilled witch hazel and grapeseed oil for her nappy
area and that was the sum total of her toiletries. I did an experiment while I was
pregnant because I strongly felt I did not want to wash Verona's hair, so I
stopped washing mine.

For two months, hats and scarves became my closest friends - my hair
looked dreadful; lank and greasy, but interestingly neither smelly or itchy -
from going through dietary changes at various stages in my life I saw this
greasiness as a 'detox' process and just went with it; rinsing my hair with warm
water, brushing it with a natural fiber brush and tying it back.

After a couple of months things changed and my hair started to look
better, *Much* better - the thickest it has ever looked (my hair has always
been impossibly fine), shiny and just in superb quality and condition.

I'll fast forward here, otherwise this will turn out rather long:

Verona (2 1/2) has never had a product anywhere near her - never had shampoo, soap, powders or lotions and strangers still comment on her beautiful hair and skin. She is an active child who loves mud and running food through her hair :-) but everything has come out with water alone. She has not had the natural balance of oils disturbed, so things just wash out easily - even things that you would consider not easily water soluble such as scrambled eggs or butter just come out with a bit of water. It is a wonderful indication of her health too - when she is ill then it is clearly reflected in her hair, so it acts as a kind of 'health signal' for us; as soon as she is getting better, any oiliness or dryness readjusts itself.

blessings
Rachelle

So after some research and inspiration, we decided to cut down on our product use on Hannah. Her baths are so easy now! All I do is rinse her hair and body with warm water, and use a little soap on her diaper area. Her hair looks just as beautiful as it always did - she gets compliments on it all the time! If her skin needs a little extra moisture, I rub coconut oil on it.

Now let's be realistic here...I'm sure if Hannah were to roll around in the mud one day, I'd probably use some soap to clean her up. But for basic everyday care, all she needs is water to keep her clean and smelling great!