I would wash it, paint on a coat of adhesion primer, then go to town with the low VOC paint. You can always test if it's lead with one of those rub-on kits, but I probably wouldn't want to go through the work of sanding if even it wasn't lead.

you could sand it wet. spray it down with some water first , then sand it. That way you don't breath in the powder from sanding, just make sure to wear gloves and a mask too.

you need to test to see if it's lead paint before you do anything because even if you do as sparkiy suggested you need to dispose of lead paint differently than non-lead paint. Get a test kit and go from there!

I'm not an expert but if you have any construction/painter friends, I would ask for their advise. I do know it can be very dangerous especially if you are pregnant. Please do post after pics. What a great find!

What a darling find! I have no advice because I don't know about these things. I just wanted to say that this is so cute!

You don't need to sand at all if you use Zinsser oil based primer (brown label -- NOT the blue label) -- it's the stickiest primer in the world. I've even painted laminate without sanding. And if you cover completely, you don't need to worry about lead paint, either, because it's all sealed inside (I have lead paint in my old house walls, and the nice people at the EPA told me that aside from doing a six figure abatement solution, the best thing to do was make sure I didn't have chipping pain and to keep everything painted well and sealed in.)

So I would suggest doing at least 2 coats of primer so it's all good and covered, let it cure for a day, then follow up with non-VOC paint (followed by Safecoat for a poly finish). I'm pregnant, and I just did this with a laminate dresser -- came out looking great.

Follow these instructions:
http://www.centsationalgirl.com/2010/04/go-right-ahead-and-paint-that-laminate/

I would ask the ppl at lowes or other home repair store. I do not agree with the" just prime" it posts. Paint ALWAYS scratches and the scratched or peeling paint will expose the paint under it. Its super cute though!!!

Keep in mind that if you have younger children who still like to bite things, they could potentially bite the edges and bite through the layers down to the old paint. This happened to our play kitchen when I was babysitting a toddler.

Get a lead paint test strip kit and go from there... you may be pleasantly surprised with the result. In any case, I have found it good to keep a supply of those test strips in the house.

It is a bad idea to just cover up the lead paint; paint can always come off one day -- through a bang, scratch, or peeling. And as the previous poster said, kids have been known to chew on furniture...!

You could check out wherther there are any companies that use alkali wash/baths to strip paint. We had our old interior doors cleaned this way. All the paint came off and we didn't have to inhale any fumes. :) The alkaliwash/bath as a finish for pine furniture was very popular a few years back. We first contacted a shop that sold this kind of furniture and found out through them where we could have our doors cleaned.

Young House Love did a post about testing for lead when they bought their nursery chair. It encouraged me to test because you might be pleasantly surprised.
http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/02/nursery-progress-chair-hunting-testing/

My husband did a lot of research and removal of lead paint around the house when I was pregnant. I agree, don't just prime over it if you can help it - most people think only flaking paint is a problem, but lead dust is too. We went through a few different chemical paint removers before finding one called Peel-Away that really worked - I got it at Shermin Williams I think, and there are different kinds for different applications. It does something to the pH of the paint and you can take it off like butter. Don't use it yourself, tho - call in a non-pregnant friend for help on this!

You could try stripping the paint off with Soy-Gel

It's a non-caustic, low-odor, biodegradable paint remover. It's advertised as ideal for possible lead paint situations since there's no dust. I've used it on painted furniture before with great results, just glop it on, wait 10-30 minutes, and then scrape the paint-laden goo off with a plastic scraper.

They've got a quart size which would do that cabinet and many other things. $21 at Amazon.com

If you decide not to paint it and want to sell it--I'll buy! Love it just as it is!