As Spring approaches and I think about putting away my son’s winter clothes and sorting through hand-me-downs appropriate to the season and his size, I want to briefly address children’s pajamas. It goes against reason for some people, but I never buy any children’s clothing that claims to be pajamas! Unless, of course, it’s those close-fitting thermal underwear style pjs. Why? Well, pajamas are soaked in a flame-resistant chemical. I know you’re thinking, “sounds good, I want my child protected from fire while they sleep.” But what you’re doing is exposing the skin of their entire body to PBDEs - the family of chemicals that act as flame retardants. Never mind what these chemicals do when released into the environment, they are on your children for 8 to 12 hours out of a 24 hour day! A quick internet search will show you why this is less than desirable, including the connection between PBDEs and impaired brain function and motor skills in children, as well as neurodevelopmental and behavioral deficits, thyroid hormone disruption, and possibly cancer in animal studies.

So look for pajamas that specifically say something along the lines of ” not meant as pajamas” or ” should not be used for sleeping.” That means they are not flame retardant and the manufacturer doesn’t want to be sued for not following the law. But be sure to buy pjs that are made from natural fibers. It’s important to protect your child from chemicals, but it is still important that they aren’t in flammable clothes! Man-made fibers are very flammable, and will either burst into flames on your body or melt right to your skin when exposed to flames. When cheap man-made fibers started to be used in clothing, they realized the fire problems that produced and introduced chemicals to fix the problem, rather than going back to natural fiber cloth. It is difficult to burn a natural fiber, and for even more safety, use wool which is actually naturally fire-proof!

I would, of course, always recommend that any clothes you put on yourself or your child be made of natural fibers, but sometimes you’ll get a gift that doesn’t conform to your personal standards. Sometimes, it’s no big deal, but in my opinion, if it’s PBDE-treated sleepwear - it’s not worth chancing. I think this can end up being one of the easiest “green” kid choices to make, and it will pay off in your children’s health and the health of our planet!