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Ditch the Dyes Cheat Sheets

Dear SafeMama: Tylenol and Melamine

By Kristie Turck •  Published 10/01/08 •  3 min read

Last updated on August 20th, 2022 at 12:20 am

Is there any product out there that is comparable to Children’s Tylenol that doesn’t contain artificial colors/flavors and high fructose corn syrup, which most likely is genetically modified.  I haven’t been able to find anything that is an all natural form of pain medicine/fever reducer for children. Any help in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you!

Ok, first things first.  Legal Mumbo Jumbo first:

We are NOT DOCTORS.  Any medical advice should be answered by your highly trained and qualified pediatrician. If your child is sick with a fever, call the doctor.  Do not pass go, do not collect $200.

I feel your pain sister, I really do.   Once I really took a good hard look at what was in that stuff, you’d have thought it was radioactive.  There is a dye free version, howver it contains aspartame, which in my book is worse.  The other alternative you could look into is dye free Motrin, which contains sucrose, only marginally better.  Again, call your doctor to get their approval before administering any medication.   The short answer to your question is no:  There is no organic or natural version of Tylenol.  If there were, I suspect that the makers of Tylenol would be out of business.  Or at least significantly poorer.

Hi!  I love your site and the great information it provides!  I’ve been reading a lot about melamine lately, with it showing up in milk in China.  All my kids plates are melamine.  Are they safe?

We get this question A LOT.   At least twice a day, so I thought I’d address it.  We’ve been told by some companies that melamine is safe, however, extensive research by us, and other parent safety bloggers out there has yielded almost no results as to exactly what melamine is comprised of.  This has been frustrating at best.   And with all of the news about melamine harming children in China, I know that lots of parents are nervous about using dishware of the same material.  Keep in mind, that the melamine that was found in formula was consumed, I doubt your kids are eating their plates, but you’re still concerned, we understand.  So here are some tips:

1. If you don’t have any melamine in your house, we say to avoid buying it, for now.  I know this is a little tough because a lot of the licensed character dishware is made from melamine.  But there are safer alternatives out there.  Albeit, they are plain, but I’d rather have my kid eat off of plain, safe dishware, than have them eat off of something that we’re unsure of whether or not it’ll harm them.

2. If you do have melamine plates, and your child HAS to eat off of them (and let’s face it, we all know how stubborn and willful toddlers and young children are sometimes), limit how much they’re eating off of it.   Never EVER microwave melamine dishware (this is standard protocol on all melamine dishes, and is usually stamped right on the bottom).  Always wash melamine by hand with warm soapy water, and never put it in the dishwasher.

In the meantime, we’re still hoping to find an answer, so keep your other questions coming.

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