I’m so glad I’m over at Green…Your Way today, not only because I’m quite excited about what I get to share with you, but also because I’ve been dealing with a lot of this since 5 a.m. Like, every 10 minutes for my 2-year-old. We’d appreciate prayers for relief for her if you’re a prayin’ person!
If your kids have (or wish they had) those fuzzy pajamas with feet, flannel nightgowns, or any fuzzy jam that’s not tight to the skin, you probably know that they’re treated with a flame retardant chemical per U.S. law.
I’m not a fan.
Today’s post is about how to get flame retardant chemicals out of children’s pajamas so you all can rest easier at night.
I honestly don’t even know how to grab an excerpt to share with you here because it’s all such fascinating, aggravating, and important information, including how the law works, why it’s there, some crazy statistics and 3 ways to avoid fire resistant chemicals.
Just this Christmas we got four pair between our two kids with the fear-inducing label "flame resistant." If your kids opened fuzzies on Christmas morning, it’s not too late to treat them to avoid the chemicals. Read it all right HERE.
Need Fresh Winter Recipes?
With just a month or two left of winter (or three if you’re way up north where I grew up!), you might find yourself in a menu planning rut, waiting for fresh produce season to begin. If so, I recommend checking out Simple Food {for winter} from Shannon of Nourishing Days.
She shares 30 recipes, all grain-free, perfect for the dark days. They both utilize what’s available right now and work to keep your immune system going strong until springtime sunshine can help out.
For example, are you ready to pull that package of liver or beef heart out of your freezer? 
Psssst! I’m giving away a brand new Nutrimill grain mill next week! Sign up for a free email subscription or grab my reader feed now so you don’t miss out. You can also follow me on Twitter, get KS for Kindle, or see my Facebook Fan Page.
Disclosure: I collaborate with Shannon to promote her books, so I do earn a commission on any books you buy starting with my link above. See my full disclosure statement here.
This past Fall when we switched from summer to winter PJs, I purchased all “close fitting” PJs to avoid the chemicals. Wal-Mart sells organic ones for $5! Unfortunately, they don’t go past size 5.
I saw a segment on Good Morning America recently where they lit 2 rooms on fire to show how quickly fire spreads. One room contained man made materials in pillows, couches, etc that are found in most homes. They room went up in seconds! The second room had all natural, cotton, bamboo, etc materials. Most of the fire just fizzled out. Turns out that these natural materials are NATURALLY flame retardant. So why we’re putting chemicals on PJs to make them self-extinguish is beyond me.
I also read recently that when firefighters enter a burning building today, the always wear an oxygen mask because of the toxic fumes given off by almost everything as it burns.
I used to balk at paying the extra cost for “organic” or “natural” household items like bed sheets and such. Now I do all I can to find them!
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We simply buy cotton sweats for the kids to sleep in once they are old enough to keep a blanket on (about 3 years old). They are warm and snuggly (a must on our cold Colorado winter nights) and they aren’t full of chemicals. Also, they are much easier for kiddos to get off to go potty in the night. Seriously, would you want to strip practically naked just to use the restroom at night?!
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Katie Reply:
February 12th, 2011 at 6:45 pm
Sarah,
Katie
That’s probably the best advice yet!
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All this time I have felt guilty for NOT buying flame retardant clothes and bedding. Who knew? Everyone except me I guess…
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I am so sorry about the flu! I hope you all get better!!
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Our kids just sleep in street clothes with socks on if they are cold. They didn’t have anything to wear the other night to Pajama Night at Awana!
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I choose not to let my kids wear them. I have several sets of PJs in my garage, waiting for me to post them on Craig’s List. I have plenty of flame retardants in my house (electronics, furniture) without having them on my kids’ PJs. I wouldn’t trust myself to remove them completely. And, frankly, I don’t like my kids in synthetic PJs anyway. They have sensitive skin.
I did read your technique, and I’m sure it does help get some stuff off. Sounds similar to what is recommended to get formaldehyde finishes off sheets and clothes. Green Guide or somebody had info on that.
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We don’t do polyester jammies. I always hated them when I was a kid, ’cause they made me sweat. Diaper-age kids sleep in wool longies (usually upcycled from rummage sale sweaters), over cloth diapers, and a T-shirt. Socks, if it’s really cold, but kids that little sleep with us, so they’re toasty from cuddling. For older kids, I am friends with my sewing machine, and cotton flannel is cheap. My little guy has boy-style nightshirts, and my little girl has flannel nightgowns–both happen to be from patterns easy enough for a sewing newbie, although I’m not. For summer, I’ll make ‘em jammies from the same patterns, only in lightweight cotton or seersucker.
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Praying for your little one. I’m also wondering how I can enter the NutriMill giveaway? I subscribed via email last week and don’t know if that is all I need to do or not…I’d really love to have one since I have been running next door to the SIL’s to use hers for a while now.
I really like your site! I stumbled upon it recently when looking up info on soaking grains.
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Katie Reply:
February 12th, 2011 at 12:06 am
Sheila,
Katie
Next Friday the actual giveaway post will go up with all the instructions you’ll need!
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I suppose you wouldn’t have to buy pj’s at all if you were concerned. . . nothing wrong with sleeping in soft pants and a tshirt! Or nothing at all, like my kids.
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Many years ago, I made footie pj’s from a 100% cotton blanket fabric. You can buy the gripper fabric and patterns.
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I have a pattern for footie pj’s for grownups, which I made a couple sets of years ago, out of cotton sweatshirt fleece (I didn’t have kids yet). Very comfy! Right now, I wouldn’t bother with them even for my kids, as they need to be able to use the toilet easily at their age. So nightgowns are best.
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