Safe Alternatives for Baby and Child

The feeling of Christmas probably just wouldn’t be the same with out all the decorative lights. I mean they are everywhere, inside and out.

Here at our place we haven’t really decorated for the holidays. We will be traveling, so we haven’t really desired to put up the lights, the tinsels, or the wreaths this year. But that doesn’t mean that we will still not be around all of the festive decorations, Granny will have it all decked out.

So whether your place is decked out or not, it is almost certain that at this time of year there will be the potential for some type of exposure to Christmas lights.

CNN has just released a report on the toxic dangers of Christmas Lights, and what they have found is that analysis of four common brands of lights have levels of lead that experts say are high enough to be dangerous to children.

The lab ran a standard procedure “wipe test” to see how much lead from the coated PVC cords would wipe off onto someone’s hands. The levels were of big concern, far exceeding the allowed amount for children. A child’s recommended limit is 15 micrograms, and the test results ranged from 3.2 to 132.7!

The dangers really occur once you have touched these lights and eat something without washing your hands. Babies are constantly putting their hands into their mouths, and this can be of great concern.

The following quotes were taken directly from CNN’s report. (Dr. Transande is a specialist in children’s environmental health at New York’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine).

“There is no level at which lead exposure is safe,” Dr. Trasande said. “Even at one microgram/deciliter — the lowest level in a person’s blood stream that we can detect — that level has been associated with cognitive impairment in children.”

“I wouldn’t needlessly expose [children] to a lead-based hazard that could have significant lifelong consequences for that child’s cognitive capacity or their attention or other health problems,” Trasande said. He recommended leaving lights off trees entirely.

So, some safe alternatives to maybe still keeping those Christmas Lights out this year:

• Wear gloves, and only let adults handle.
• Keep all lights at a high enough level that curious toddlers can not reach.
• Wash hands after touching any Christmas lighting.
• Be extra careful when you are out at relatives/friends houses. They may have lots of interesting lights in reach for curious baby.

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