Toxic-free childcare guide

Childcare centres and preschools have been identified as significant places where children might be exposed to potentially hazardous substances. However, there is not much information available that can help childcare service operators identify risks and make changes.

This guide is intended to help childcare and preschool centre owners and staff, as well as relevant Australian state and territory policy makers, understand the risks and provide practical actions to help ensure the safety of children using these services.

Thankfully Australia has strict guidelines related to child health and safety. However, these guidelines do not yet account for many of the potentially hazardous substances that children can be exposed to. Unfortunately, only a fraction of these have been tested for their long-term effects on human health and the environment. Many of these chemicals are safe and useful, and make modern life possible. However, others are potentially hazardous and often unnecessary.

This guide provides an overview of the main chemical classes to look out for and their risks, in addition to looking into each space in a typical childcare centre or preschool and highlighting what types of products to avoid and lists some safer alternatives. Finally it provides advice specifically tailored to both childcare centre owners and staff, and policy makers, regarding what they can do to improve the safety of these services.

We appreciate that many of these changes may be challenging to make immediately, but even small actions can make a significant difference to the health of Australian kids.

Inside the guide

The guide was created by ISF researcher Rachael Wakefield-Rann in collaboration with graphic designer Rachel Zhu. It aims to communicate this serious information in a clear and visually engaging way. The design also allows the pages to be printed out and displayed as posters at childcare centres.