Crawling is a very important part of the baby's growth process, the baby not only through crawling to understand the world, but also can exercise muscles, increase the coordination of the whole body, promote the development of cognitive ability!
But the baby climbs on the bed, if you are not careful, there will be a risk of falling, coupled with the fact that the bed is very soft, the baby is not good at exerting power, which is easy to cause crawling difficulties! At this time, a crawling pad can solve the problem, not only can exercise crawling ability, but also can be used to prevent the baby from bruising and falling while crawling.
But what you may not know is that in order to reduce costs, some unscrupulous merchants will use inferior materials to make crawling mats, which may contain a substance that is at risk of carcinogen - formamide.
Formamide, also known as aminoformaldehyde, is often used as a reducing agent and industrial chemical, and is currently classified as a substance with reproductive toxicity by the European Chemicals Agency. It can be absorbed into the body through the respiratory tract, digestive tract and mucous membranes of the skin, damaging the blood and nervous system.
Moreover, formamide will release ammonia gas when encountering high temperatures, which will cause children to have skin allergies, lacrimation, photophobia, congestion of the conjunctiva of the eyes, sore throat and even difficulty breathing.
If the baby plays on the crawling mat of this material for a long time, it will lead to poisoning and even affect fertility.
Last year, there was an incident in which the baby was allergic due to crawling mats, and the child had a rash on his arms and legs, and his eyes were also somewhat swollen.
After Bao Ma sent the crawling mat to the test, the results showed that the white parts in this crawling mat had a formamide content exceeding the standard by more than 10 times!
The Jiangsu Provincial Bureau of Quality Supervision has also conducted two risk monitoring of children's crawling mats, and sampled more than 120 children's crawling mats of different materials and styles on physical stores and e-commerce platforms, as well as mother and baby stores. The final test results show:
54 batches of splicing crawl mats, all containing varying degrees of formamide.
Among them, 38 batches contained more formamide than the 200 mg required by the European Union and Taiwan. There are 6 batches with a formamide content of more than 1000 mg.
The highest batch of formamide reached 2206 mg, more than 11 times the standard limit!
Therefore, for the baby to choose a crawling mat, be sure to choose a safe and qualified product.
Xpe, PVC material is preferred
There are four main materials for crawling mats, namely EVA, EPE, XPE, and PVC.
It is recommended to buy XPE and PVC crawling mats as much as possible.
The advantages of XPE are durable, odorless, good elasticity, waterproof and good heat insulation. The content of formamide is small, the price is not expensive, and it is the mainstream material at present.
The PVC material is a high-end material, most of the PVC crawling mats on the market do not contain formamide, and while ensuring safety, the softness is much better than XPE, the main drawback is that it is too expensive.
EVA and EPE are inexpensive, but may contain unhealthy ingredients such as formamide and are not recommended for purchase.
If there is enough space, try to choose the whole sheet
There are three main types of crawling mats: whole sheet, folding and splicing. The advantages of splicing are flexible, good ductility, adapting to different areas of rooms, but poor storage, and some parts will be put in the mouth by the baby, there is a risk of choking and throat.
The whole crawling mat has no scattered small parts, no small gaps, which is safer for young babies, but the area is limited and the storage is more troublesome.
Folding crawl pads are easier to store, but may not be thick enough.
Therefore, the three styles have their own uses, it is recommended to choose according to the actual situation, but if there is enough space, try to give priority to the entire crawling mat.
Thickness decreases with age
Crawling pad thickness selection is also a factor to consider when buying, usually available in thicknesses of 4 cm, 2 cm, and 1 cm. Generally 2 cm thickness is enough, not too soft, conducive to the baby crawling.
Smell the smell
If the crawling mat is purchased to have a clear pungent odor, try not to buy it, and do not listen to the excuse of the store that "it is good to get outdoors to disperse the air".
In particular, many crawling mats are printed with cute patterns, if it is an inferior crawling mat, it is easy to fade, and the baby often plays on the crawling mat, it is easy to eat inferior harmful substances. So don't buy faded, bad-smelling mats.
Be sure to check out the test report
Most crawl mats have SGS and 3C certification, and only with two-factor safety certification, moms can choose with confidence. It is recommended that mothers directly read the SGS test report, if the test results show ND, it means that this crawling mat does not contain toxic substances and can be purchased with confidence.
After the crawling mat is bought home, in daily use, mothers should also pay attention to these problems:
Clean and dry before use
Although the manufacturer has done the deodorization treatment, but for the sake of safety, the new crawling mat is bought back, or first wiped with a wet towel, and then ventilated and dried.
Clean and disinfect regularly
You only need to wipe it with a towel or wipe every day, but at least once a week, make sure to dry it under the sun, and if you don't use it for a long time, it is best to thoroughly sterilize it before putting it away.
Do not put sharp objects
Do not put too many toys on the crawling mat, especially sharp objects, toy parts, etc., to avoid being swallowed or scratched by the baby.
In addition, parents can make a fence for the baby around the crawling mat to ensure that the baby crawls within the "safe range".