How to keep your children safe from dangerous chemicals

• It is important to read labels of household products, and to recognize toxic ingredients
• Try not to use plastic containers, especially when storing or reheating food, say experts
• Don't use plug-in air fresheners as they broadcast phthalates, a toxic substance, into the air
• Avoid pesticides, flame retardants, imported toys containing lead and stain-resistant materials

Tips on how to keep your family safe from chemicals from the

Children's Environmental Health Center

at The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

Avoid these ingredients

Phthalates: Not listed on labels, but may appear as "fragrance" or "parfum." Phthalates are endocrine-disrupting chemicals that can damage children's brain development.

Triclosan: Commonly found in antibacterial products.

Chemicals ending in "eth" and PEG: in personal-care products

Parabens: Found in personal-care products, including shampoos and lotions

Formaldehyde: Also DMDM hydantoin, diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidinyl urea

1,4-dioxane: Not on labels; may be listed as sodium laureth sulfate, ceteareth, polyethylene glycol/PEG

PFOA: Found in non-stick pans and stain-resistant fabrics

Bisphenol A (BPA) and BPS: Not listed on labels. Found in cans, hard plastic baby bottles, sippy cups, receipts and thermal paper.

PVC and vinyl: Found in soft plastics (toys, inflatable toys, shower curtains) and flooring.

How to protect your family from toxins

• Avoid handling cash-register receipts. Thermal paper generally contains BPA, which transfers easily to the skin.

• Don't use plug-in fragrances at home. If you're driving a new car, open the windows to let in fresh air (the new-car smell is produced by phthalates).

• Use sunscreen with limited ingredients and without oxybenzone, which mimics estrogen and can disrupt normal hormone function.

• Avoid plastics whenever possible, especially those labeled Nos. 3, 6 and 7. Never heat plastic containers in the microwave, dishwasher or even in the sun. Heat can cause endocrine-disrupting chemicals to leach into food and drinks.

• Store your food in glass. "It's a small thing, but it works," said the Children's Environmental Health Center's Dr. Philip Landrigan. "That minimizes exposure to phthalates and bisphenol A."

• Beware of brominated flame retardants, which can be found in furniture and electronics.

• Don't use pesticides.

• Eat fresh foods, avoid processed foods and go organic whenever possible. Landrigan and his wife, Mary, have a small garden behind their Mamaroneck home, where they grow most of the vegetables they eat all summer.

• Use steel or cast-iron cookware, rather than non-stick.

• Avoid stain-resistant materials, and don't spray items to make them stain-resistant.

• Choose household cleaning products that don't have warnings that say "caution," "danger," "corrosive" or "caustic." Pick products that list ingredients and use essential oils for scent.

• Avoid lead (check for lead paint if you're moving into a house built before 1975). Lead-painted trains, dolls and lunchboxes imported from other countries, are also a major health threat to children. "I tell my grandkids, 'Buy unpainted wooden toys,' " said Landrigan. "Wood is better than plastic."

• Eat fish, but be careful to avoid those high in methylmercury.