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Non-Food Items Your Baby Or Child Needs To Avoid

Esther Sparhawk

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Esther Sparhawk Contributor
Esther Sparhawk
Posted

Did you know PlayDough is made from wheat? And a kid can't help but get that gunk under their fingernails. Once it's under their fingernails, it's going in their mouth, sure as shootin'!

Tonight I visited with a lady whose child had recently been diagnosed with celiac. Like most of us when we first start out, she wasn't aware that PlayDough could be a problem. I mean, who eats PlayDough, right? But the problem isn't usually one of intentional ingestion, it's about little kids whose fingers go from their nose, to their mouth, to God-knows-where. Kids can be pretty messy.

So I thought maybe it was time, once again, to post the non-food items we parents need to be careful about. Feel free to add to my list, but here's a starter:



  • school glue (we use Elmers, but we also wash hands after use)
  • nail polish remover (none are safe, so we wash with a nail scrubber after use)
  • lotion (contact the company--Vaseline is a no-no)
  • Chapstick and other lip balms (we use Kiss My Face)
  • sunscreen (last summer Coppertone was fine)
  • PlayDough (Colorations makes one that's gluten-free)
  • finger paints (I haven't been able to find any that are safe)
  • other kinds of paints (we wash hands after use)
  • crayons (Crayola are safe--or were last Sept.)
  • wet wipes (we avoid them)
  • hand sanitizer (I haven't found any that are safe)
  • topical medicines (we avoid stuff like Cortizone)
  • lick-ables (like the glue on an envelope--we use self-sealing envelopes)
  • shampoo (Suave for Kids is safe)
  • soap (we use Ivory or Dove, but I haven't called the companies in a while)
  • laundry detergent (ALL is safe)
  • dish soap (we use Dawn, but I haven't called the company for more than a year)
  • cat food/dog food (we don't let Annie feed the pets... EVER)
  • toothpaste (we use Crest, but some others are safe too--call the company to make sure)

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sa1937 Community Regular
sa1937
Posted

Just curious...how old is this list? I think it has some inaccuracies.

As far as I know Chapstick is safe as is Blistex Medicated Lip Balm (in the blue-green tube), which I've used for years.

Gluten in envelope glue is a myth, not that it's very tasty and many people choose not to lick envelopes but it's not because of gluten..

I've never heard of gluten being in nail polish remover or Wet Wipes or hand sanitizer, etc.

kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

This list has a lot of "myths". For instance the Elmer's glue myth:

"Is Elmer's glue gluten free?

All of our products are gluten free except for the Elmer's Finger Paints. The finger paints contain wheat and oat products."

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Juliebove Rising Star
Juliebove
Posted

Chapstick is a brand. And AFAIK everything they make is fine. People do seem to use that word to mean lip balm. I have seen wheatgerm oil in some lip balms but I can't remember which ones now.

There is a children's bath product with wheat in it but I can't remember the name now. I want to say Alba. But that might be wrong.

Also a reminder that you may want to not use items containing gluten for yourself. I gave my daughter a rash from using a wheat containing shampoo and also an oat containing bath product. I thought I had rinsed the tub well but it wasn't enough.

One of my big beefs when my daughter was younger was the amount of food used in school for math lessons. The teachers were aware of my daughter's allergies and still expected her to handle things like pizza and cookies and Twizzlers. She also has a peanut allergy and had to count M & Ms.

StephanieL Enthusiast
StephanieL
Posted

This post needs to be deleted. The inaccuracies are going to cause issues for people if they don't read the entire thing.

psawyer Proficient
psawyer
Posted

The original post is more fiction than fact. It is correct, however, about Play-Doh brand modeling compound.

7yrslater Rookie
7yrslater
Posted

Cortizone??? You mean the stuff I've been lathering on my daughter's intensely itchy skin might be more of a hinderance than a help? She hasn't been diagnosed (The blood work came back negative but we are going gluten free to see if it helps her myriad of issues but the doc's have given us creams and lotions, and pills and... grrr! Not one of them made one dang bit of difference!

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curlyfries Contributor
curlyfries
Posted

Cortizone??? You mean the stuff I've been lathering on my daughter's intensely itchy skin might be more of a hinderance than a help? She hasn't been diagnosed (The blood work came back negative but we are going gluten free to see if it helps her myriad of issues but the doc's have given us creams and lotions, and pills and... grrr! Not one of them made one dang bit of difference!

Many of the op's statements are inaccurate. Please do some research before reacting to this thread.

Juliebove Rising Star
Juliebove
Posted

Cortizone??? You mean the stuff I've been lathering on my daughter's intensely itchy skin might be more of a hinderance than a help? She hasn't been diagnosed (The blood work came back negative but we are going gluten free to see if it helps her myriad of issues but the doc's have given us creams and lotions, and pills and... grrr! Not one of them made one dang bit of difference!

Note that she didn't say there was gluten in there. She just said she avoided it. Just like she avoids hand sanitizer and wipes.

I have never heard of gluten in crayons but some do contain soy if you're allergic to that.

I don't go by lists anyway. I always check the labels.

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