Why flame resistant pajamas

Additionally, the publicity given to Massachusetts' adoption of federal requirements for children's sleepwear might have meant that parents were more alert to potential dangers and dressed their children accordingly. Another explanation for decreased burn rates could stem from a social behavior on the decline in the late s.

Public health campaigns linking smoking and cancer resulted in a lower rate of smoking among many populations. It's possible, then, that the pediatric burn rate was in part affected by lack of smoking. There were fewer lighters and matches for children to discover in the wee hours of the morning, which is why the flame-resistant emphasis was placed on sleepwear in the first place.

The CPSC states in its introduction to the yellow tags, children are most likely to be burned by playing with fire "just before bedtime and just after rising in the morning.

The cancer fears that led to a decline in smoking rates also led to a change to the CPSC's children's sleepwear policy. In the late 70s, doctors were also concerned about new possible cancers resulting from the flame retardants used to treat children's sleepwear, which brings us to the current requirements that sleepwear be "either flame-resistant or snug-fitting. The CPSC regulations are intended to " protect children from serious burn injuries if they come in contact with a small flame, " like a candle, match, or lighter.

Now that many homes favor electric ranges to gas ones, LED candles, and even projector fireplaces, children might be at lower risk than ever of small flame burn injuries. So should I have kept those cute ghost pajamas, even though the fabric wasn't flame-resistant?

Right now, our small cache of matches is in a cupboard that even I can't reach without a stepstool Mom's fire safety lessons have stuck with me. So the risk of my toddler coming into contact with a small flame is minimal. I should have kept the pajamas. And now that the weather is turning, I think I'll even risk some flannel pajama pants.

Continue Reading. By entering your email and clicking the Submit button, you agree to receive marketing emails from ParentCo. Our Everyday Life explains that synthetics like polyester are considered fire-resistant because they melt rather than ignite.

Our Everyday Life points out that the melting fabric still causes burns on the skin. And just to make it all the more confusing, Jason Mills, where they produce various fabrics, explains,. Nylon and polyester are both flammable, but each reacts differently to fire: nylon melts before burning, whereas polyester melts and burns at the same time. Polyester has a higher flammability temperature than type 6 nylon, so it catches fire less easily.

Perhaps the root cause, removing open flames touching our children, is the way to go here rather than worrying quite so much about what they are wearing. Seeing the piece of PET that includes phthalate made me immediately think of this interview with Laura Adler. Adler is an environmental toxins expert and explained in great detail the endocrine-disrupting qualities of phthalates. That made me think, do I really want my kids sleeping in what amounts to plastic?

Besides that, every time we wash something made of polyester, tiny pieces of plastic get into the water supply. I recently learned that what we have all pictured as an island of plastic the size of Texas, most likely made up largely of straws if you lived through the great straw removal in restaurants , is actually more like a cloud of microplastics smog. As I said before, in the ideal world we could all choose organic fabrics. If a company is worth their salt, they will assure you that they are not using flame-retardant chemicals.

Anytime we make assumptions, we run the risk of making mistakes. For example, I think a lot of people have this warm, fuzzy feeling about Hanna Andersson brand. Many assume that Hanna Andersson pajamas are all organic. Two, sign up for Rakuten and get a few more percent back on each purchase. Click here to get looped in. She is passionate about researching natural remedies and making healthy cooking easier for busy families.

Busy moms look to this certified educator for honest, in-depth natural product reviews and thorough research. In she created the 1 bestselling online kids cooking course, Kids Cook Real Food, helping thousands of families around the world learn to cook. See all blog posts by Katie Kimball. A chemical engineer and mother told me second hand, like hand me downs, are less likely to still be offgassing. Thrifting FTW. The exposure will continue to lessen over time though.

I definitely consider that a benefit of hand-me-downs or buying second-hand though. I usually wait for a sale and then buy a few pairs. It helps to have multiple kids that I know I can use them several times over. Tea collection clothing has fabulous durability. Thank you for your research.

All long underwear I found for kids was lined with polyester. I was bummed. Have you felt Hanna Anderson jammies? A first time parent is shopping online for newborn pajamas. These garments are not flame resistant.

Loose-fitting garments are more likely to catch fire. In fact, the non-flame-resistant PJs are actually the better option! There were state-specific laws as well. Many people believe that the tobacco industry was behind all this because they wanted clothing and furniture manufacturers to be blamed for fires—rather than cigarettes. In , when researchers discovered that two commonly used fire retardant chemicals brominated and chlorinated tris were very dangerous.

Honestly, we feel confident putting our own children in them. Unless you have a ton of flammable objects that your young children access without your direct supervision, we feel like the known consequences of exposure to these chemicals outweighs the risk of your child catching fire. In fact, pajamas are the garment that got the most attention because young children were thought to be getting their hands on these lighters and matches in the early morning hours while their parents were still asleep.

What are the health impacts of fire-retardant chemicals in pajamas? A study published in August found that PBDEs polybrominated diphenyl ethers , the most commonly used fire-retardant chemicals, were linked to numerous health problems including thyroid disruption, early onset of puberty, cognitive problems, and delayed mental and physical development.