1. Get your child tested for lead at least once a year, even if he or she seems healthy.
2. Get your home tested for lead.
3. Keep your child away from loose, chipping, or peeling paint.
- Check all the places where your child spends time for cracked or peeling paint (homes of relatives, babysitters, daycare centers).
- Tell your landlord or housing authority right away when paint begins to peel.
- Report peeling paint to your local health department and work with them to get rid of these hazards in a safe way.
- Cover peeling paint with tape or contact paper to temporarily protect your child.
4. Make sure your child eats properly.
- Make sure your child eats three to four meals a day. Children’s stomachs absorb more lead when they are empty.
- Give your child foods that have iron: greens, beans, lean meats, tuna, eggs. These foods help protect the body against lead. Give your child foods that have calcium: leafy greens, milk, cheese. Calcium helps protect your child’s bones against lead.
- Give healthy snacks like raisins, fruit, cheese, or yogurt. Try not to give your child too many fatty, junk foods like fried foods or potato chips. Fatty foods allow the body to absorb lead faster.
5. Wash your child’s hands before every snack and meal, and before bedtime.
6. Wash children’s bottles, pacifiers, toys, and other objects that children put into their mouths often.
7. Wash floors and window sills with warm water and a household cleaner at least once a week to control dust.
8. Avoid lead in drinking water.
- Let the water run from the faucet for a minute or until it runs cold before using it for drinking, cooking, or preparing baby formulas. Fill a pitcher of water after letting the water run, and keep it in the refrigerator for drinking during the day.
- Do not use water from the hot water faucet for cooking or drinking or making baby formulas.
9. Do not store food in metal cans after they have been opened. Use non- metal containers to store food.
10. Do not use a belt-sander, propane torch, dry scraper, or dry sandpaper on painted surfaces that may contain lead. Do not try to remove lead-based paint yourself.
Adapted from HUD, “Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home” (June 2003).
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Copyright © 2010 Legal Services of New Jersey
This information last reviewed 10/26/11 |
