Children’s Toys and Lead Paint

Most often, the lead danger present in toys comes from their paint. Ironically, although lead-based paint was banned from residential use by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) in 1978, many children’s toys, particularly those made in China, are found to contain levels of lead in excess of that allowed.

Lead in paint resists moisture, increases durability, speeds drying, and allows the pain to retain a fresh appearance, factors which presumably account for its persisted use despite its known toxicity. Parents can help keep their children safe by regularly checking recall lists to see if their households have any hazardous toys. A comprehensive, month-by-month list is available through CPSC’s Product Safety and Recall News.

Symptoms of Lead Poisoning in Children

Children are particularly susceptible to the effects of lead poisoning, which involves the accumulation of lead in their bodies over time. Although mere contact with items containing lead does not in itself pose a threat, when children put toys with lead paint in their mouths (which young children are apt to do), lead lodges in their developing nervous systems, poisoning tissues and enzymes. And even a small amount of lead is enough to cause harm in young children.

Frighteningly, signs and symptoms of lead poisoning are often non-specific (they could be attributed to any number of typical childhood ailments) and are not apparent until lead levels have reached dangerous proportions. Symptoms of lead poisoning in children include weight loss, sluggishness, abdominal cramps, vomiting, loss of appetite, paleness, and constipation. Eventually, lead poisoning can lead to learning difficulties and even lowered intelligence.

Children younger than six are even more vulnerable. Attention deficit disorders, behavioral problems, stunted growth, hearing loss, kidney damage, and learning disabilities can result from even very low levels of exposure; high levels of exposure can cause mental retardation, comas, and even death.

Lead Dust & Other Sources of Lead Poisoning

Toys are not the only culprits of lead poisoning. Lead plumbing, lead-contaminated dirt, leaded crystal decanters, and painted ceramic dishware are also sources of the toxin. However, lead-based paint in older homes is the greatest cause for worry.

According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, about 38 million American homes still contain lead paint. Twenty-four million of these have lead paint that is in the most potentially harmful condition – deterioration. Paint chips ingested by children, or lead paint on places that children could chew, such as window sills, are one source of danger. But more sinister is the lead dust that threatens not only children, but adults as well.

Lead makes its way into the body not only through the stomach but also through the lungs, and inhaled lead is just as dangerous as ingested lead. Lead poisoning through lead dust is typically the cause of toxicity in adults, although much greater levels of exposure are necessary to produce adverse effects in adults as compared to children.

Symptoms of lead poisoning in adults include headache; abdominal pain; memory loss; mood disorders; pain, numbness, or tingling of the extremities; muscular weakness; and reproductive harm. Pregnant women are especially at risk: pregnancy releases lead that has accumulated in the mother’s body into her bloodstream and can expose the fetus to lead as well.

Lead Paint in the Home

The only way to find out if your home’s paint contains lead (and if was built before 1978, it probably does) is to test for it. If it does, the next step is to take the proper precautions in order to keep your household safe.

First, check the paint for any damage such as peeling, chipping, chalking, or cracking. Damaged paint creates lead dust, which contaminates the air quality of your home. Actions such as opening and closing a window or door that has lead paint, or even just the normal wear and tear on banisters or railings produces lead dust. Regular vacuuming with a vacuum cleaner equipped with a HEPA filter will trap lead particles.

It’s actually quite important to repair damaged surfaces; simply painting over them is not a permanent solution. Steps should be taken to replace the paint with safer materials.

Keep in mind that improperly removed lead spreads even more lead dust around the house and poses a greater hazard to your family. This danger is particularly relevant when remodeling or renovating a home containing lead-based paint.

In order to minimize the amount of lead dust and fumes, do not use a propane torch, heat gun, dry scraper, dry sandpaper, or a belt-sander. If possible, move your family to another location for the duration of the renovation; if this is impossible, make sure that the work area is sealed off. While work is in progress, anyone who enters the work area should be sure to wear a mask in order to keep from inhaling lead dust.

To prepare for your family’s return to the newly renovated living space, clean surfaces that may be contaminated by lead dust, making sure to wear a mask. Wash any items, especially toys such as stuffed animals, that may have come into contact with the dust. Using a HEPA air purifier is also a good idea, both during renovation and after, as it will capture lead particles and reduce your family’s risk of lead poisoning by inhalation.

In addition to these precautions during periods of reconstruction, the following routine measures can be taken to protect your family from lead poisoning:

- Check a toy recall list regularly, and also check your children’s toys to make sure none of them are on recall lists.

- Maintain a clean environment in your home by wiping floors, window frames and sills, and other surfaces on a weekly basis.

- Vacuum with a HEPA filter vacuum cleaner to trap lead dust particles that come either from paint or from contaminated soil that’s tracked inside. HEPA air purifiers also eliminate lead dust as well as other toxic substances.

- Wash children’s hands often, especially before they eat and prior to naptime or bedtime.

- Wash children’s toys, stuffed animals, bottles, pacifiers, and other toys regularly.

- Don’t allow children to chew on window sills, railings, or other painted surfaces.

- Finally, ensure that your children eat nutritious meals that are high in iron and calcium. Children with such diets absorb less lead.

• seems very frustrated when trying to read

• has started to avoid reading altogether,

• or has started to fight going to school

He or she may be dyslexic. And that is very good news.

It’s good news, because dyslexia really is a talent, once you get past the reading challenge, and there are ways to do that — in a relatively short period of time, for relatively little cash outlay.

The first step is the self-assessment test below, which is reliable if your child is at least seven years old. Most children age six and under do not have the brain development to read and write correctly. It is not unusual for them to reverse letters and numbers and to confuse words. Before they are seven, focus on such pre-reading skills as story telling, creative play and motor skill development, rather than on reading skills.

While reading through the questions, mark only those where the answer is “yes” to the question.

Does your child

1. Hesitate, stutter, omit words, insert words or replace abstract words with other words?

2. Intermittently and inconsistently skip abstract words when reading?

3. Inconsistently skip lines when reading?

4. Tend to guess wildly when a word is difficult to read?

5. Avoid reading and writing if at all possible?

6. Block read, meaning he/she sees a few familiar letters in a word and calls the word something other than what is written on the page?

7. Have difficulty sequencing numbers and letters while reading and writing?

8. Excel in such 3-dimensional activities as art, drama, music, inventing or sports?

9. Sometimes get accused of daydreaming or get labeled “lazy” by teachers?

10. Read below grade level (usually significantly below grade level)?

11. Avoid reading and homework if at all possible?

12. Have poor reading comprehension?

13. Use memorization to learn schoolwork; thinks memorizing is learning?

14. Spell creatively? (Often spelling is phonetically accurate but child is usually an extremely poor speller.)

15. Know the sound of each letter and yet cannot connect them to form the sound of the word, especially in early stages of learning?

16. Make up foreign pronunciations for a word and no one can understand them?

17. Have mood swings or seem hyperactive or compulsive?

18. Have difficulty staying focused and sitting still?

19. Exhibit creative, highly intuitive and environmentally aware behaviors?

20. Lose his/her train of thought an abnormal number of times throughout a conversation?

21. Have great coordination and balance or have the other extreme of very poor coordination and balance?

22. Feel dumb, have poor self esteem and not trust his/her own thoughts, insights or answers?

23. Not qualify for help because he/she isn’t behind enough?

24. Have trouble with “left and right” or “over and under”?

25. Find arithmetic easy, and word problems hard?

26. In math, have trouble with time, sequencing of steps and maintaining order?

27. Display the answers to 1, 2, 3 and 4 inconsistently, especially when reading abstract words?

28. Have difficulty expressing thoughts in written form?

29. Get confused about directions in space or time?

30. Have difficulty with his/her handwriting?

31. Often forget the correct answers that he knew just a few minutes ago?

Now that you have completed the test, add up how many questions you answered yes to and arrive at a total. The dyslexia probability scale is as follows:

If you answered “YES” for:

a. 11 or fewer items– there is a low probability that your child is dyslexic.

b. 12-20 items– there is a good chance that your child is dyslexic.

c. 21 or more items–the probability is high that your child is dyslexic.

There are many existing, useful techniques to assist your child in his learning journey and, in many ways, dyslexia is a gift. After all, some of the world’s most esteemed individuals, including Albert Einstein, Henry Ford, Winston Churchill and General Patton, have been dyslexic. Once you have confirmed that your child is dyslexic, you can learn effective strategies to make learning a joy again! Look at that list of famous dyslexics again—it really is a talent, with one small obstacle, that you and your child can overcome.

My son, on the other hand, likes to do different things than my daughter and I do. Hard to believe he doesn’t like to get his nails done, go shopping, or do crafts, I know. As his mom, however, I want to be sure to seize as many bonding moments with him as I do with my daughter.

But how?

Here are a few ideas for activities moms can enjoy with their sons. Because all boys are not created equal, this list is by no means exclusive. There are a gazillion things you’re your boys may like to do that are not included here. But these are the things I’ve found that help me to connect with my own son.

1. For the Sports-Minded – Whether tickets to a ball game or shooting hoops in the driveway, you’ll score some major points by integrating sports into your time together. My son’s favorite sport is tennis and we often take to the courts for a game or two. Sometimes he even wins!

2. For the Adventurous – Even if you don’t particularly relish the thought of skydiving, rock climbing or bungee jumping, allowing him to participate in an adventurous activity like these will not only get his adrenaline pumping but will immediately put you on the “cool mom” list.

3. For the Action-Oriented – I played laser tag for the first time on my son’s thirteenth birthday and I had a blast! Guys love the chance to play Rambo and practice their shooting skills. If you haven’t tried laser tag or paint ball, give it a shot. You may just discover a new way to connect with the target – your son’s heart.

4. For the Comedian – If your guy loves to laugh and joke around, how about taking him to a comedy club? Check out comedy clubs that cater to teens. There are also plenty of Christian Improv groups who appear in local churches. Another option is heading to the movie theater to see the latest comedy. Just be sure to check out www.pluggedinonline.com to see whether the content is suitable for your son.

5. For the Hungry Man – All the guys I know love to eat! While many boys aren’t really into baking, if you ask them to help you whip up a big batch of brownies, you’ll probably be surprised at how quickly they show up in the kitchen. Baking (or cooking) together provides a great opportunity to get to your son’s heart through his stomach.

6. For the Creative – If your son is musical, consider tickets to a concert. If he loves to paint, surprise him with a trip to your local art gallery. Is he a writer? Take him to a book signing of an author he enjoys.

7. For the Gamer – Spend the day at an arcade. Shoot pool, play air hockey or try your hand at a few popular video games. Ask your son to teach you how to play. This gives him a chance to show off his knowledge and will help bring your relationship to another level.

Relating to your son is not always easy. But by taking an interest into an activity he loves, you’ll be on your way to bonding in a new and exciting way. And who knows? You may just find a new favorite hobby along the way.

In order that first time daddies would not be lost in translation and in the oblivion of how to’s let me share some few pointer in taking care of that little angel.

First of all, it will all begin with the search and meeting the baby’s pediatrician. Such task should be done even before the baby is born so that you can start establishing a good relationship with the pediatrician. Through thorough consultations, identifying high risk situations in your wife’s pregnancy will be known and thus, it will be easier for the first time fathers to handle the situation.

Secondly, during the birth of your angel, do not fret over uneven color spots on the skin, the funny looking head with soft spots and the puffy eyes. They are all normal. There is no need to be alarmed inasmuch as the baby will soon transformed into that perfect angel looking kid that you and your partner dreamed of.

Thirdly, first time daddies should remember that picking up baby is not a hard thing to do. One of my friends told me that her husband never picks up the baby because her husband is too scared that he may broke the baby’s neck or bones. Holding the baby is like holding a sack of potato. You just have to make sure that the baby’s head and neck are supported. In that way no breaking of the bones, necks or other parts of the body is done. There is one more important thing, never shake the baby. That’s it, easy.

Fourth, the biggest dilemma of all: the choice of whether you will use cloth or disposable diapers. Well the answer is really up to you, but when counting costs, you may also consider the water and the soap that you will need to wash those clothes. Expert says that the best choice is to choose both, combine and alternate using disposable and cloth diapers to let the baby’s bottom breathe after being covered with an elastic material for hours. Diaper rash however may be seen if the baby’s sensitive skin is constantly soaked with wetness from his urine and dirt from the baby’s stool, adding more is the heat from the diaper. Thus, in order to prevent diaper rash, a father who is in charge has to clean the area very well with mild soap and water and drying them up first before changing the diaper. Anti-diaper rash cream may also be used.

Remember that these are the most common dilemmas in fatherhood when it comes to taking care of his new born child. Expect a lot more though. But never fret and take each day at a time. Consider them as happy activities, activities that will surely help you and your partner in life grow together.