Kid and eco-friendly paints

I’ve slowly been making progress on redoing my unborn son’s nursery. I ripped the ceiling and walls down to the studs from their former plaster and paneling coverings. I’m just about done with the drywall, so the topic of paint is coming up on the radar.

In the course of my never ending surfing I’ve read multiple articles about how VOCs (volatile organic compounds) present in many paints can cause headaches and nausea for adults and are more dangerous for children and newborns. Accordingly, many suggest a two month period of ventilation between when the paint dries and a child first sleeps in that room.

Mother Earth News.com has an informative page on natural paints, gives instruction on how to make your own paint, where to buy the materials and commercial eco-friendly paints for those of us who have neither the time nor inclination to try making their own paint, but want to avoid or reduce the effect of VOCs.