Reduce the chemicals your kids are exposed to

Children absorb more of everything, pound for pound, than adults do. Their liver and kidneys have not fully matured, their skin is more permeable and they spend more time on floors where dust accumulates. You cannot eliminate every exposure, and you do not need to. A handful of targeted changes in the rooms your kids use most covers the majority of the practical risk. This page is the shortest path to making those changes.

Start here

The five changes that make the biggest difference. In order.

1. 1

   Replace non-stick cookware with cast iron or stainless steel

   Scratched non-stick pans release PFAS and PFOA into food. Lodge cast iron pays for itself in a decade and lasts a lifetime.

2. 2

   Swap plastic food storage for glass

   Heat plus fat plus time equals leaching. Glass containers with bamboo or stainless lids cost little more and remove the variable entirely.

3. 3

   Stainless steel water bottles and lunch boxes

   A kid will drink from the same bottle hundreds of times per year. Stainless eliminates the largest source of daily microplastic intake.

4. 4

   Fragrance-free, paraben-free personal care for bath time

   Synthetic fragrance is an undeclared cocktail of phthalates. Baby shampoo and lotion are applied to thin skin every day.

5. 5

   Organic cotton sheets and a flame-retardant-free mattress

   Kids sleep ten to twelve hours a day. PBDEs and formaldehyde off-gas from conventional bedding for months.

Most relevant chemicals

What matters most for your situation, and why. Each links to a deeper guide.

Guides and articles

Where to focus in your home

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