This article is a product of many people asking online how long after painting a room is it safe for toddler and after seeing it so many times, we decided it’s a good idea to create a perfect article with the answer.
Taking into account that painting your kids room is a very popular thing parents do, either before a new baby comes to the house or when moving, this article makes sense to create.
In this article we will cover how long you have to wait after painting your toddler’s room and provide many other advice and info on the topic.
How long after painting a room is it safe for toddler – The basics
So before simply giving you the answer to how long after painting a room it’s safe for your toddler, let’s first understand the basics of paintings and materials and why you actually need to wait.
What is wall paint
A paint is a colored liquid that you apply to walls or anything else and when it dries you get a nice layer of new color. Usually, a typical wall paint will be made of:
- Pigment
- Resin
- Solvent
- Additives
We won’t go into a deeper level of info on what each of these mean because this article is NOT about the chemical makings of wall paint, but you get the basic idea so it’s good.
The main reasons parents paint their kids room before they let them in the first time is mainly to have a nice fresh color, or they waited to know the sex of the baby and when they found out, they decided on the color ( usually blue for boys, pink for girls )
Why paint the toddler walls in the first place
So like we mentioned before, the main reasons parents decide to paint the walls of the baby room are:
- They waited to know the sex of the baby – A lot of parents don’t want to know the sex of their new baby and when they finally find out, they go and get the room ready, which means they also paint the walls.
- They moved houses – A lot of parents paint the walls of their new home before moving in. This is common practice among many people.
- They moved their toddler rooms in the same house – Another popular reason is that they have another baby, and suddenly there is no room so they must move their older child into a new room.
Most popular colors parents choose for their toddler room
Here are the most popular colors parents choose for their kids rooms, obviously, you will see blue and pink here, but let’s see more colors that are popular:
As you can see the most popular color for girls is Bubblegum Pink while the most popular color for boys is Sweet Baby Boy. In between are more color shades as you can read in the table below:
| Boys | Girls |
| Sweet Baby Boy | Bubble Gum Pink |
| Spring Blue Bell | Iced Purple |
| Early Morning Sun | Sweet Baby Girl |
| Walnut Bark | Walnut Bark |
Can you use a different color that is not on this illustration?
Sure you can! The choice is really up to you, we are here only to provide some info and advice, but at the end of the day, the decision is of the parents and they alone.
Getting back to the point on how long to wait after painting a baby room
So, you have your chosen color, you already started the work, now you wonder when will your little ray of sunshine will be able to sleep in his or hers new room.
Usually, a toddler can stay in a freshly painted room only after 48 – 72 hours. Which is two or three days after you finished painting
This time frame varies depending on the size of the room you just painted and how well it is ventilated.
If it’s a small room and has a window open, it can take just 2 days, however if it’s a large bedroom with small rooms or non, it can take longer. To be on the safe side, wait 72 hours before you re-enter the room.
If you have any doubts, give it another day, you can walk in the room yourself first, and see if you can still smell the paint or not.
Usually, if enough time has past, you should not be able to smell the fresh paint.
Health risks for babies breathing fresh paint
If a baby is exposed to fresh paint for a short period of time, it should not cause any damage – It’s NOT recomended at all, but if it happens you should not be worried.
However, if a baby is exposed to the fumes of paint for longer periods it can have a damaging affect on his health. The most common health risks of breathing the toxic fumes of paint by babies are:
- Dizziness
- Vision Problems
- Throat and lung irritation
- Headaches
It’s important to know that newer paint brands have much less toxic fumes and are much safer to use, for example water based paints and even oil based.
However, it is still recommended to wait after you paint before entering the room. To be on the safe side.
Is there a wall paint that is safe for babies?
Great question! It makes so much sense to create a wall paint that doesn’t produce toxic fumes so that parents can paint their child’s room with no worry.
Unfortunately, all wall paints contain some level of toxic fumes, but the good news is that there are brands that managed to reduced their amount to the bare minimum so they are much safer to use.
What are VOC levels
VOC stands for = Volatile Organic Compounds. This is basically the fumes that wall paint can eject in the air while you paint it. It is very common in many household products such as wall paint.
Related Read: How to get silly putty out of carpet
The lower the VOC levels, the better. That’s pretty much all you need to know about this term in relation to wall paints.
VOC free paint
YES, like the name suggests, this is a wall paint that does not release any toxic fumes into the air after using it, it is the recommended paint to use if you want to paint your child room. *Please keep in mind though that it’s still recommended to wait a day or two before letting your child sleep in the room, even with the VOC free paint.
Low VOC paint
If you can’t find the VOC free paint or just happen to have a low VOC paint on hand, it is still ok to use and you should wait the recommended time after using it. Like the name implies, it simply has a lower amount of VOC in it compared to regular wall paint.
Tips for what to do after you just finished painting your room or house and used regular wall paint
If you happen to use regular wall paint and don’t know what to do after it’s finished, here are a few tips to help you figure the next few days out:
- The first and most obvious tip is don’t paint the entire house all at once. You can do 1 or 2 rooms and stop, while you and the kids sleep in different rooms for a few days until the fumes are clear, and then continue to other rooms.
- You can stay out of the house with family or friends. If you have this ability, you can do the whole house at once and stay at friends for a few days until it’s cleared to come back.
- Keep the windows open and use fans to make sure the house is well ventilated to speed up the process
Here’s a video showing a quick and simple tip on how to get rid of paint smell faster:
Now you know how long after painting a room is it safe for toddler to re-enter and we hope we also gave you a few extra tips and advice. Let us know in the comment section what worked for you.