It’s no secret that we want the best for our children. Afterall, many of us have spent long hours baby proofing our homes, finding the best educational toys, locating the perfect daycare, and researching the safest car seats. We strive to find the healthiest foods, diligently weighing the pros and cons of organic versus the foods produced with chemicals and hybridization. It’s a natural instinct to want to limit our sons’ and daughters’ exposure to all things negative and harmful. Unfortunately, in our search to keep our kids safe, we might be overlooking some surprising hidden dangers lurking in our children’s jewelry and toys.

Yes, a seemingly innocent product specifically geared towards kids might be posing a very real health hazard. When we first mention dangers associated with jewelry, many of us immediately consider the possibility of strangulation or choking hazards. However, it may come as a shock to many of us that the materials used to manufacture our child’s favorite bling are often composed of heavy metals and other harmful substances.

4 Shocking Ways Children’s Jewelry Harms Our Kids

Unknown to many of us, the seemingly innocent rings, trinkets, and gadgets that we are buying our kids can pose the following safety hazards:

Exposure to toxic heavy metals. We often associate heavy metals like lead, antimony, cadmium, and barium with a variety of health issues and learning disabilities- not jewelry intended for children. Unfortunately, many manufacturers love using these metals to craft cheap and affordable products. A study from 2013 uncovered that 25 percent of Walmart’s children’s jewelry had 300 times the recommended amount of lead in their composition. To help put this into perspective, there were 50 recalls totaling of over 180 million pieces within the last few years.

Cheap materials can trigger allergic reactions. In addition to harmful metals, often jewelry makers rely on nickel to reduce costs. Even expensive jewelry has been known to be composed with this metal, especially in rings and earring posts to save on costs. It’s fairly common for people to experience contact dermatitis (uncomfortable rashes, blisters, and bumps) when they come into contact with nickel laden jewelry.

Access to magnetic pieces and closures. A lot of jewelry that is geared toward children comes with easy to use magnetic clasps and closures. This makes the pieces a breeze to wear and even reduces the possibility of strangulation. Unfortunately, if the small magnetic parts are broken or swallowed they can wreak havoc to a child’s inner body. The magnets can attract each other deep inside the intestines and bowels which can be a deadly combination.

Susceptibility to button battery ingestion. Our kids love those flashing and pulsating lighted jewelry that are often found at the circus, theme parks, sporting events, birthday parties, and arcades. We need to remember that these novelties run on small button batteries. If these pieces were to break and a child ingested the batteries, they would probably experience serious health risks ranging from internal burns to death.

9 Children’s Jewelry Safety Do’s and Don’ts

Realizing our child’s beloved jewelry might potentially be dangerous can be mind blowing. Thankfully, awareness is the first step in reducing our son’s and daughter’s risks. However, it can be difficult to identify the dangerous pieces just by looking at them. To help protect our kids, we have compiled the following do’s and don’ts for children’s jewelry safety:

DO have children properly wash their hands after handling any jewelry.

DO buy quality pieces made from sterling silver, hypoallergenic materials, and gold instead of cheap metal jewelry.

DON’T forget to remove all jewelry before naps or bedtime.

DO throw away older jewelry pieces from toy and jewelry boxes that might not meet today’s safety standards.

DO keep a close eye on kids while they are wearing or playing with jewelry. It’s best to never leave them unattended.

DON’T buy jewelry with batteries or metal clasps. If you do, please make sure they are intact and secure.

DO feel free to ask retailers questions about their products before purchasing.

DO realize that our adult jewelry might pose health risks to children and use caution when allowing kids to wear or play with our jewelry.

DON’T forget to look for a list of items and jewelry that has been recalled on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website.

What tips and ideas do you have for keeping our children safe when it comes to jewelry and similar products?

Thank you again to Cassie Brewer on another amazing guest post from her!

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