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I’m January we had our first kiddy and like a lot of new parents I’ve been paranoid about the things he comes into contact with and how they might be dangerous. Now he’s seven months I’ve started to relax about most things but I’m still a bit worried about painting. I don’t have anywhere dedicated to pint so it’s a kitchen table job. I can put a cover down etc but I think I have a general exposure paranoia.

Metallic pigments could get about in the air so I’m prepared to not used stuff like that, but what’s the risk around using acrylic paints. I wouldn’t be using an airbrush and obviously all spray cans used outside. I think I’m worried about getting bits of paint on my hands and then handling my son etc and it getting on him.

I am generally someonewhat OCD about this stuff and I think I know the answer is that this stuff is safe as long as they aren’t drinking it but would be nice to know if there’s any areas I should be concerned about

I’d be more concerned with sharp objects.

Kids lick the floor. Trace amounts of paint is not going to do anything. Obviously, aerosol stuff is another issue, watch the resin dust/shavings/etc. don’t let them drink the paint water.

Acrylic paints are used for finger painting projects. It’s not hyper toxic stuff.

Read the warning labels, use some common sense, and don’t worry.

They’ll be grand. Don’t let them drink from the pot, not that it will do too much in the way of harm but the paint is not cheap!

Pretty much, most of it is safe. As you say, as long as it's securely stored where the bairn can't get to consuming it, that's 90% of your worries solved. Consider avoiding airbrushes or aerosols, as you've already noted, but good ventilation should take away any atomised paint after 30mins exclusion from the room. I wouldn't take any chances with aerosols indoors even as an adult.

Most acrylics are simply plasticised pigments suspended in water and are marketed as non-toxic. I wouldn't put that to the test, but a little residue on the skin won't harm and is easily washed off (especially as the skin is impermeable to water as the suspension medium).

I mean, you've also got to consider that if you live in the city your child is going to be encountering all sorts of pollutants unavoidably. And if you're in the country, there's also all sorts of organic germs floating about. That's not meant to alarm you, just to add a bit of context that your child will be developing a strong immune system to counter all of that - some errant paint here or there will be smashed out the way by youthful resilience. And a modicum of exposure to 'dirt' is healthy to develop a resilient immune system (Which is why vaccines contain a much-diluted version of whatever it's defending against - to provide a safe training environment for the white blood cells ).

Your best counter to any mishaps is to secure your painting substances when you're not in attendance - that should just about do it.

Due to my own health problems which come with chemical sensitivities, I probably wouldn't paint in an area with very young kids.

Once the paint is fully cured and not outgassing any more I'm not too concerned, but before that I don't really know what's in the paint and I don't trust that the effects have been properly studied. Water based paints should probably be called "water mixable", as you only have to open one and take a whiff to realise there's more than just water in it. I'm sure finger paints that are marketed to kids are probably more cautious as to what is added to it.

I wouldn't worry about it. I've got 2 kids, one of whom is an exploring toddler. All my stuff is kept in a stackable bathroom unit next to my desk and he was always trying to take things out of it, so it tucked it right into the corner and put a stand light in front of it and now he's not interested. Just keep any tools tucked away, any models and open paint pots away from table edges and you'll be fine.

 Warpig1815 wrote:
I mean, you've also got to consider that if you live in the city your child is going to be encountering all sorts of pollutants unavoidably. And if you're in the country, there's also all sorts of organic germs floating about. That's not meant to alarm you, just to add a bit of context that your child will be developing a strong immune system to counter all of that ...

My understanding is you don't really build a immune responses to many common chemicals in use these days, rather they build in your body and your body gets rid of them or your body doesn't get rid of them fast enough and they can impair or damage things. Younger kids having smaller and more delicate bodies are that are still developing are less tolerant than adults to such things.

This isn't talking about typical viruses and bacteria, where yes, I agree with you, this is talking about whatever-the-hell resins and binders they use in paints. The various glycol ethers and such.

Yeah I wasn't really talking about doing a Mithridates and consuming poison at dinner to build up an immunity. I was just pointing out that there are plenty of atomised pollutants which your body copes with to a degree. Not advocating that we all go out and siphon petrol out of tanks with our mouths, just that generally the body is not an impossibly fragile organism which can't deal with any upset to the system. We have a degree of resilience - which getting the odd spatter of paint on the skin is not going to shatter.

It was more to the point of 'Don't chase the paint rabbit hole, when our cars and industries are literally belching out worse into the atmosphere we breath to exist'. Basically - use common sense. There's a limit to where good cautious behaviour ends, and wrapping ones-self in bubble wrap starts...

Avoid the cadmium/chromium family of pigments, those are some of the few (moderately) toxic colourants still in service today. Any paint that specifically warns 'do not use with airbrush' is also suspect. Manufacturers should be able to provide a MSDS sheet on demand.

Same advice for chronic brush-lickers, really. At least you've got a bit to go before the mini-human unlocks the manual dexterity skill tree for opening bottles and containers reliably.

^^ It should be noted that even some AIRBRUSH paints use these compounds as part of their pigments. You can't avoid them for certain colours.
You SHOULD be wearing a paint-rated respirator when airbrushing anyway. Also, don't lick the brush, you gronks. Learn the lesson from "The Radium girls".

Aerosolised poly- and hexa-valent chromium fumes will give you cancer, but your child won't usually be exposed to these unless you live in an electroplating workshop.

 Warpig1815 wrote:
Yeah I wasn't really talking about doing a Mithridates and consuming poison at dinner to build up an immunity. I was just pointing out that there are plenty of atomised pollutants which your body copes with to a degree. Not advocating that we all go out and siphon petrol out of tanks with our mouths, just that generally the body is not an impossibly fragile organism which can't deal with any upset to the system. We have a degree of resilience - which getting the odd spatter of paint on the skin is not going to shatter.

It was more to the point of 'Don't chase the paint rabbit hole, when our cars and industries are literally belching out worse into the atmosphere we breath to exist'. Basically - use common sense. There's a limit to where good cautious behaviour ends, and wrapping ones-self in bubble wrap starts...

Fair enough, I just think in the case of many chemicals we are exposed to these days we don't actually have a good idea of the long term effects because they haven't been invented long enough ago to see those effects, testing is often limited, and testing on young children is usually not one of the briefs, lol. It seems too common these days that I read something along the lines of "That thing you've been doing your whole life, yeah, that can increase the risk of cancer". A recent one is Titanium Dioxide, that is used in white paint and even as a food additive, is now being investigated by the EU as a possible carcinogen. Granted some people are lucky, I know blokes at work that have been exposed to hideous supposedly carcinogenic resins since they were young and worked with asbestos without proper safety equipment and are still going strong into their 60's.

I don't have kids, if I did, I'd try and set up my hobby area in the shed rather than the house. Acknowledging that regular hobby acrylics are probably one of the lesser evils, I'd be more concerned about the glues, certain thinners and rattle cans. But either way I'd hate it if my trivial hobby resulted in them having a few less points of IQ or a raised risk of some disease down the track.

No that's fair, and I was in no way meaning to belittle your valid concerns Skink. I was merely attempting to ground the OP's (and any interested parties) concerns in context and also some reassurance that the human body is a wonderously regenerative thing (to a degree).

Certainly though, it is valid to worry about the toxicity of paints, but also to acknowledge that encountering adverse substances or events is unavoidable in the long run (and that paints are likely the least of it compared to the stuff our car exhausts pump out).

I mean, I've mouth-siphoned petrol before, and I'm fine. At least, that's what the nice man in the white coat told me...

PS. Skink raises a good point re. Child Safety - your plastic glues must be secured, because they are dangerous if swallowed. And even skin contact is ill-advised.

I'd worry less about the paints as the tools, as others have said. Craft knives, glues, magnets - these are the dangerous things. Airbrush cleaner is the thing you'll spray through your airbrush that you really don't want to inhale. The tiny magnets we use are an underrated danger. Swallow two of those and have them stick together pinching part of your stomach lining or something and you'll have a problem - they're very difficult to remove.

In a few years time, your kid will want to join in painting with you. You're not going to tell them they can't because there might be dangerous chemicals are you? You'd miss out on a fun part of being a mini-painting parent. Just be careful, make sure your tools are securely stored, try not to pour metallic paints over the child's food or spray cans of primer into their face too much, and you'll be fine.

I have one of those Ikea storage drawers that I put on the corner of my desk.

https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/p/moppe-mini-chest-of-drawers-birch-plywood-40216357/

It fits most of my tools and my paints. He doesn't go into it, and it could easily be moved if you are working on a kitchen table. I also don't airbrush with him around, and now that he's taller I can't even paint when the little one is awake because he pulls things off the desk. There is still time to work on projects during nap time and after he falls asleep though. I did find it easier to work by brush and keep to plastic minis though, with no weathering powders.