From the age of about 10 months onwards my DS was completely obsessed with keys. He would grab them at any opportunity he got and mouth them all over. This obsession endured and has only really started to lessen in the last couple of months (he's now two and a half). When he was a baby I would take the keys back from him but i admit that when we were out and about it was often easier just to let him have them rather than have him cry. Obviously I supervised him at all times with them but I still worried about germs.
Then a family member got him a set of his own blank keys from a locksmiths when he was about 14 months old. So I sterilised them in hot water and let him get on with it. He loved them! Also when we were around other family or friends he would nearly always end up with their keys.
I have just found out last night that nearly all brass door keys contain lead (around 2%), that children under the age of 6 absorb 70% of the lead they come into contact with and that even small levels of lead in the blood of infants can lead to all kinds of terrible problems such as brain damage etc.
I would say DS spent at least an hour a day in total with the keys in and out of his mouth for over a year. Also I usually wouldn't wash his hands after playing with them (because the keys were regularly cleaned by me) and he would then put his fingers in his mouth and eat food etc. He has also played regularly and occasionally mouthed my husbands old toy cars which I have found could also contain lead in the paint.
Symptoms of of lead poisoning in children can be loss of appetite (DS was a milk monster when he was a baby but he's always had a tiny appetite since we weaned him and is a fussy eater), trouble sleeping (he is a nightmare sleeper and still wakes most nights), growth delay (he is 2 and a half and still wears 12-18 month trousers).
I feel so sick, I've been awake most of the night thinking about it. Trying to get hold of the doctors for an appointment to get a blood test. Feeling so terrified. I often see other children with keys and apparently the locksmith that got the keys for our DS says he gets asked for blank keys regularly by parents for their children. Why aren't people made aware of the dangers? Apparently most children with lead poisoning have zero symptoms but the most horrific damage is caused to the brain, kidneys, nervous system, reproductive system and lots more. I read one article that said a baby who regularly puts keys in their mouth would have similar levels of lead in their blood to an adult who has worked intensively with lead throughout their life. All the info I could get online was American where they seem to be having awareness campaigns but nothing from the uk about the dangers with children & lead keys.
What makes it even worse is that although all our other keys are nickel plated which reduces the lead exposure, the keys my DS was given for his own are plain brass so they offer zero protection from the lead!
I just feel so sick, guilty, the worst mum ever.