Top 7 Toxic Ingredients to Avoid When Shopping for Your Kids

by Jeanne Sager June 12, 2012 at 3:30 PM

safe for kids Do you remember when shopping for kids was easy? Back when the main criteria for making a purchase were price and cuteness factor? Oh, those were the days ... before everything was so loaded down with toxic chemicals that buying a bottle of stuff to untangle your 6-year-old's mane requires a dictionary to decipher the ingredient list.

Most of the time that means buying something that "looks" like it should be OK. But how do you know if that new sport bottle really is safe? If that new bottle of "kids" shampoo is going to give them cancer? How about a list of the biggest, baddest toxic nasties that you need to avoid at all costs when you're shopping for your kids?

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The Stir asked the experts at the non-profit watchdog the Environmental Working Group to help us come up with a list of the top five ingredients in any child product that parents need to avoid. They did that and threw in two more biggies to keep away from the kids.

No more trying to figure out what every single word on the back of the bottle means: if any of these terms show up, you'd be better off putting it right back on the shelf.

What are the words you look for on the ingredients list of any kid product?

Image by Jeanne Sager

Toxic Ingredients Hiding in Kids' Products

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BPA

BPA or Bisphenol-A is a hot topic these days, but that doesn't mean it's gone... VIEW MORE

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BPA

BPA or Bisphenol-A is a hot topic these days, but that doesn't mean it's gone away.

Where It's Hiding: Plastics, from the water bottle you buy for your kid's soccer practice to the inner lining of cans of children's soups.

Why You Need to Avoid It: According to the EWG, BPA exposure has been shown to disrupt the endocrine system and trigger a wide variety of disorders, including chromosomal and reproductive system abnormalities, impaired brain and neurological functions, cancer, cardiovascular system damage, adult-onset diabetes, early puberty, obesity, and resistance to chemotherapy.

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Comments 37

Nonmember comment from Misty Zappelli

June 13, 2012 at 11:41 AM

Its funny how things get posted and everyone jumps. In ur slideshow u say fragrances are a bad thing. I work for a nayural product company and we use that word. We use essential oils from the plant/fruit but that is the word if falls under for ingredient classification

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Nonmember comment from Donna

June 13, 2012 at 11:43 AM

I think that this article is ridiculous. I grew up in the 80' and we didn't have "chemical free" stuff; guess what I turned out just fine. I also grew up eating mudd, and playing outside all day, and I'm just fine. The companies are just trying to scare people into buying their products.

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Lulu425

June 13, 2012 at 1:31 PM

^ Donna hit it on the head.

For example, flame retardants. Would you rather have your kid "hyperactive" or dead?

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Facebook comment from Amanda Leon Mehan

June 13, 2012 at 3:27 PM

the way i see it is the more they try to come out with the newer and more improved the worse it is for you. If we worried about every little thing that they say is harmful or will give you cancer, then you will be using nothing at all. Someone comes out with something great, then a few years later you learn you just subjected yourself to cancer in some way. Stop worrying and go with your gut not how flashy a bottle is. If you have something that already works good then continue using it. A lot of the times companies just change the bottles and one tiny ingredient and call it new just to amp up there sales and that something new is some form of cancer.

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SaphronScribble

June 13, 2012 at 4:13 PM

@Donna, I grew up in the 80s & 90s too (was born in '87), but keep in mind some (many?) of the chemicals and products that exist now didn't exist then, and/or they existed but weren't as wide-spread, and/or they existed, were widespread, and caused harm, but people didn't realize until years later that they caused harm. Saying you turned out fine is kind of specious reasoning. It's the nature of capatalism to be ever profit-oriented, so as corporations and companies continue to grow, they'll continue to find ways to cut costs and use cheap potentially toxic ingrediants, not to mention as politics has become increasingly tied to corporate interests & lobbies, our regulatory bodies will lose more and more of their power, so the entire situation will esculate unless conscientious consumers do something to fight back against the system. In general it's not the best idea to completely freak out and over stress about every product, but at the same time, it's smart to be vigilant about some of the worst offendors and take steps to protect your health and the health of your family. It's common sense...

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Facebook comment from Katie Elizabeth Anne

June 13, 2012 at 5:19 PM

How about someone rights a helpful article that tells you what signs and numbers on packaging to avoid and what products ARE good. This is just stupid, it is not invormative or helpful in any way!

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Nonmember comment from Ruth

June 13, 2012 at 7:11 PM

Oh please, give me a break with your liberal views! Why don't you spend your energy on a reform of punishment for pedophiles, the same that a murderer gets (child molestation in my opinion is just as bad, if not worse!), instead of whining about whether or not we should make the father a hero?????!!!! I really don't give a damn who killed this guy, just as long as he can no longer hurt another child. I also believe you would feel differently if you have a child/grandchild with a similar fate, and I pray that you will NEVER find out what it feels like for a parent. If we had tougher sentences, we wouldn't have as many pedophiles as we have now. You liberals fought "castration" of pedophiles in Washington state a few years ago because you thought it was inhumane, and I'm sure you'd find a death sentence just as inhumane. Before you write crap like this article, maybe you should consider putting your talent of writing to better use!

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PintoReads

June 13, 2012 at 7:17 PM

these slideshows are terrible. they are just bad. BAD BAD BAD BAD BAD. I don't even care about the information anymore. The slideshow ruins it.

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Facebook comment from Melanie L. Moody

June 13, 2012 at 7:34 PM

I have to disagree with the addition of PEG to this list. My research towards my doctorate focused almost exclusively on this compound as an alternative to other volatile organics in chemical separations. This compound has been used for years in biological separations involving protiens because it is considered a softer technique than some of the more harsher techniques involving volatiles and the use of this allows for the proteins to be isolated with out the loss of the protein effectiveness. PEG is used in its current applications because of its relative benignness.

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kkbush

June 13, 2012 at 9:52 PM

Just because it's "all natural" doesn't mean it's safe. There are many things that are found in nature that can be just as harmful and I think that people are blinded about seeing all natural on the label and automatically assuming it's 100% safe or even safer than the man made stuff. And a lot of these "bad" chemicals/products were fine a couple years ago so what's going to come out in a few years about the alternatives to these. Best advice do your own research and make your own decisions on what products to use

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