Are Crayons Safe for Your Children?

There are so many toxic chemicals in the things we have in our homes and the things we give to our children. Do you ever stop and think about the chemicals in the cleaning supplies that you use? Or the plastic toys that your children put in their mouth? The toy safety issue has become more well known as people are becoming more aware of their options on natural wood toys or organic cotton dolls that are widely available at many small businesses such as Hip Mountain Mama.

But what else are your kids putting in their mouth and maybe even swallowing that may be toxic? Do you have Crayola Crayons in your house? Do you realize that crayons are make of paraffin wax which is a petroleum by-product. This is right. You kid probably has a petroleum by-product in their mouth either at home or when they go to school. Is it safe for your child to be playing with petroleum?

To be fair I have visited the Crayola website and was surprised to find safety information acknowledging that testing by the CPSC found asbestos and talc fibers in the crayons. Check it out for yourself here. The site says, "The body of scientific knowledge on talc fibers, in which transitional fibers are included, does not show they pose any known health risk." However, they also state they are changing the current formula to a new safer formula. Do you trust the current scientific knowledge or the corporations to decide what is safe for your children?

These petroleum crayons as so popular and they are everywhere. You probably can't keep your child completely away from them. But please be sure to let you children know that putting them in their mouth is definitely a bad thing.

There are some all natural art supplies available. My children currently use Stockmar Crayons. They are made of all natural bees wax instead of petroleum. The colors are very vibrant and the crayons are thicker and don't break easily like traditional crayons. These safe crayons, chalk, and other natural children art supplies are available here.

Toy Safety

Thanksgiving is here and the mad rush of holiday shopping has begun. 2007 was a busy year for toy recalls with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission issuing a record 138 toy recalls. But that's all behind us now, right. Think again. The number of toy recalls so far in 2008 is down 46 percent, to 74 recalls, according to a CPSC report released in mid-November.

The main cause of toy recalls is for elevated lead levels, mostly in paint. Lead is harmful to a child's developing brain. The effects of lead exposure to children include reduced IQ, shorter attention span and learning disabilities.

In response to last year's wake-up call, regulators, manufacturers and retailers have all introduced new toy safety standards unfortunately these new safety standards take effect after this year's holiday season. Isn't this saying, 'Hey we know this stuff is bad but lets just sell the inventory we have then we'll make better stuff next year.' I don't know about you but that is unacceptable for my children.

Last year's recalls got a lot of attention, but what really was the risk involved in those toys? Well, in 2007 the CPSC recorded 18 toy-related deaths of U.S. children under 15 and estimates 170,100 injuries required emergency-room treatment.

The important thing is to be careful and watch what kind of toys you purchase for your children. You can check some of the current recalls Here. Please get informed and watch out for toxic toys.