Creating a Safe Nursery for Your Baby

You of course have been eagerly waiting for the arrival of your unborn child, but how prepared are you with their nursery? Creating a baby’s rooms involves a lot of considerations —you’ll not only be looking for the cutest but safe elements to complete the decoration without affecting your child’s health. There are a lot of toxins and contaminants that a house can have. For adults, these toxins are less noticeable and often harmless but harmful for babies whose bodies and organs are still developing. Children are more susceptible to the exposure and health effects of these chemicals.

Fortunately, the concerns of many parents have led to the manufacturing of safe nursery furnishings and health-focused paints. Thinking of where to start with the nursery! Read on to understand the key components of safe nursery decorations.

1. Choosing Non Toxic Paint for Nursery

If you’re planning to paint your baby’s room, perhaps the first thing to consider is health-focused paints that won’t have any potential effect on your child. While a good selection of paint can help spruce up the look of a room, household paints are often considered harmful with some of them highly contributing towards toxins exposure and poor indoor air quality. Traditional household paints are made up of thousands of chemicals, including hundreds of cancer-causing toxins which have a lasting effect even after drying.

Types of Non-Toxic Paints for Nurseries include:

Low VOC Paints

Unlike conventional oil-based household paints which release harmful volatile organic compounds in the air when dry, low-VOC latex paints are safe and provide an excellent coating that looks like enamel paint. Zero-VOC paints come in an array of color options much like what you’d get with regular paints. When shopping for a low VOC paint for your baby’s rooms, check for the Green Seal stamp which indicates the product meets the required standards for paints and coatings.

Organic Paints

Choose eco-friendly and health-focused paints for your nursery and keep your baby safe from harmful elements —a good example is an organic house paint which is free from harmful chemicals and VOCs. Organic paints consist of citrus, casein, egg, clay, lime and other essential minerals. However, there are limited color options for organic paints since they mainly consist of dye-pigments.

2. Installing Decorations and Wallpapers

Perhaps you’re looking to obscure an old-looking wall surface, or simply want patterns for wall decorations minus all the hassle that comes with painting, try installing wallpapers in the nursery. Wallpaper paste is a safer option than regular paints and more appealing to use. Another great option is chalkboard paints —they are low on VOC and allows easy application with no odor at all. Chalkboard paints can also be removed easily in case you want to apply other types of health-focused paints.

3. Choose Good Flooring Material and Floor Covers

Kids will turn any part of the house into a playground, meaning you need to always make sure the floors are clean and safe for them to roam on. If it’s possible, just have a bare floor because carpets trap specks of dust and can cause allergies to children. However, you can also choose soft and comfortable flooring carpets, which not only offers a smooth surface but protects your wobbly baby from accidental bumps.

Flooring carpets especially those covering wall-to-wall are not the best option as they tend to create a safe breeding space for mites and molds. New carpets are also known to contain harmful toxins and VOCs that could potentially cause serious health problems to your little one. For these reasons, you need to buy a carpet with the Green Label Plus, an industrial standard for carpets and adhesives. The label indicates lower-toxicity adhesives and padding on the carpet.

With these considerations in mind, you are sure to create a safe nursery for your baby. Other things you may also want to look at include the furniture and beddings, which greatly determine the indoor air quality. Ensure you use furniture with non-toxic glues and finishes.