Keeping Little Ones Safe
You hold your seven pound miracle for the first time and fall completely in love. You bring that bundle home determined to shield her from all that might harm her. At some point you give your bundle of joy her first official at home bath. You may even commemorate the occasion on video. You reach for the bottle of shampoo to lather those downy locks and then massage in a liberal amount of lotion on her skin. It is what nuturing parents do. Now there is a study that suggests what was a bonding moment might really be unintentionally causing harm.
The University of Washington study found that baby lotions, shampoos and powders are strongly associated with higher levels of chemical compounds, known as phthalates in the urine of babies. These phthalates are involved in the fragrances one associates with products. Since companies are not required to list components of fragrances the consumer does not have a way of knowing the amount of phthalates we are putting on our children. The reality is newborns do not need to bathe everyday. Nor do they need bubbles in their bath, plain water will work just fine. It is not like they are going to find the nearest mud hole and take a dip.
Limiting the number of fragrant products used on your little one is not that big a sacrifice, after all wouldn’t you do anything to keep them safe? You can always put the savings in unpurchased products into the little darling’s college fund until the experts sort this out.
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