What to Expect the Toddler Years (226 page)

Nonstick cookware fumes.
Although pots and pans coated with Teflon or Silverstone are apparently safe for cooking, the fumes given off when they are overheated or scorched may be toxic. So: Never use nonstick drip pans under the burners on your range (they overheat rapidly); never use nonstick cookware at the highest temperature settings (range-top or oven); don’t use it to catch drips on the oven bottom; and take extra care not to let liquids cook out (allowing burning of the nonstick surface).

Electromagnetic fields (EMFs).
EMFs aren’t strictly air pollutants, but they do travel through the air and there is some question as to their safety—though all the scientific answers are far from in. To play it safe until more is known, avoid electric blankets, mattress pads, and waterbed heaters made before 1990, all of which generate significant amounts of EMFs. Or heat the device and turn off the heat once you slip your toddler (or yourself) under the covers. Motor-driven clocks and fans also give off EMFs, so place them at least a foot from the bedside, or use a digital, wind-up, or battery-powered clock. If your toddler uses a computer, be sure the monitor is set about 2 feet back on the desk. Two feet should also be the minimum distance between viewer and television set. If you have a microwave oven, make it a family policy that no one stand in front of it while it is on. If you are considering buying a new home, check the proximity to major power lines.

Most fires can be prevented, but when a fire is not foreseeable, injury can often be prevented by thoughtful preparation. To be sure “it can’t happen here”:

Never leave your toddler alone in the house, even for a moment. Should a fire suddenly break out you might not be able to get back in to save your child.

If smoking is permitted in your home (everyone will be better off if it isn’t), extinguish and dispose of all cigar and cigarette butts and ashes, pipe ashes, and used matches carefully and never leave them within a child’s reach. Any smokers in your home should make a habit of properly disposing of butts immediately after smoking; when guests smoke, be sure to empty ashtrays promptly.