Non-Toxic Kids

The Big Air 3: Allergies, Autism, And Asthma (new post at Moms Clean Air Force)

2012-05-24T17:18:00.000-07:00

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

I should say read more about it. There are more and more reports and articles showing the link between air pollution and health conditions, diseases, and delays.

Here’s the latest in how air pollution and chemical exposures are linked to allergies, autismand asthma, three particularly vexing health problems that are fueled by air pollution and increasing rapidly in children.

Allergies:

Are your allergies bad this year? Turns out you are not alone. Many health experts are pointing to climate change making allergies worse for many people. A combination of a warm winter and an early spring, have brought out more pollens much earlier in the year. According to Leonard Bielory, an allergy specialist with the Rutgers Center of Environmental Prediction, and an attending physician at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Allergy and Immunology:

”Pollen is an important trigger for both allergic reactions and asthma attacks. The longer and more intense exposure to pollen, especially when combined with pollutants, intensifies the severity of allergic reactions and asthmatic responses.” ~ The Star-Ledger

3 Steps to Making Your Own Baby Food from Scratch

2012-05-23T18:42:00.000-07:00

Don't click away from this post! You can do it. Making your own baby food doesn't really take that much time, even for a domestically challenged person like myself! And it is so much healthier-- fresh, no packaging, no preservatives for your new beauty.

1. Grab a copy of Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron. This book is an extensive guide for making your own baby food, and for healthy eating in general. It is loaded with recipes, nutritional information, month by month baby feeding guidelines and lots more. My copy is worn and stained with baby food in various stages of creation. Now that my kids aren't babies anymore, I'm still keeping it for the recipes featuring whole foods and for the play section with homemade craft and art materials.

2. The short of it? You simply steam up large batches of organic, hopefully local vegetables, blend them with water, and freeze them in BPA free ice cube trays.

3. Then, pop them out and store in a BPA free (they now make biodegradable ones) bag or glass container in the freezer. Then you can heat it on the stovetop or in the microwave (not in plastic!). Remember, heating in the microwave can make foods unevenly hot, which might burn your little one’s mouth, so be careful.

I made many more batches for my first daughter, I must admit. If you buy store- bought baby food, buy a brand that is organic and stored in glass, such as Earth’s Best. Also look for baby food that does not contain additional sugar, food coloring, or other artificial additives.

Readers, what are your tips for making baby food? Help out a new, sleep deprived mama reader out there and share, please!

This is an excerpt from my ebook, Eat Non-Toxic: a manual for busy parents. Check it out for more ways to avoid BPA and eat healthy with your family. It's loaded with practical tips for parents looking to lessen their family's exposures to chemicals in feeding, drinking, and storage gear.

Crayola, collect and recycle your markers!

2012-05-21T06:00:00.000-07:00

(Hooray for this group of students in California, asking Crayola to step up and take back their markers for recycling! Let's help show them that their voice matters. Please sign on to their petition and spread the word.)

A group of elementary school students concerned about the environmental impact of Crayola products has launched “Crayola: Make Your Mark!,” a fast-growing campaign on Change.org that has gained 42,000 signatures.

Their petition asks Crayola executives to give consumers a convenient way to recycle the millions of Crayola markers manufactured every year. The students say there is no current way to recycle the nearly half a billion markers made every year, so they are petitioning Crayola to create a “take-back” program that would allow consumers to easily recycle their plastic markers.

“I’m so proud of these kids,” said Land Wilson, who volunteers at the school to staff the student group, called Kids that Care. “After learning how many plastic products end up in landfills, incinerators, and our oceans, these students decided to take action and ask this major international company to help.”

Comprised of children from kindergarten to fifth grade, Kids that Care is a project of Sun Valley School’s “Green Team” led by Wilson, known as Mr. Land to students. Wilson says the kids are hopeful Crayola will make their current recycling program – an internal program that includes only markers malformed during production – available to all consumers.

In just one week, thousands of people have signed on to the campaign.

“Plastics are a resource that must be kept within industrial cycles,” said Wilson. “We want Crayola to help lead the way with a convenient take-back program for their plastic markers that kids can easily partake in. If Crayola can do it, we know other companies will follow. Crayola can be a leader for the environment.”

“It’s impressive to watch this group of young people recognize a concern and mobilize to do something about it,” said Corinne Ball, Deputy Campaign Director at Change.org. “Using Change.org, the world’s fastest growing social change platform, anyone can do what these students are doing.”

Journalists interested in setting up an interview should use the contact details at the top of the page.

Live signature totals from the class campaign on Change.org: http://www.change.org/crayola

Comments from Mr. Land’s Kids That Care students:

“If we all came from the Earth… Then why are we hurting it so much? Earth is all we have left.” - Olivia, age 8

”Will we ever be able to fix the hole in the ozone layer? I don’t like pollution because it hurts the Earth.” - Georgia, age 7

“I love your markers, but I’d like to tell you it’s polluting. So can I please send some of your markers back? I love your product, but hate pollution.” - Zachary, age 9

“I want to let you know that I am not a useless little kid. I can make a difference! By telling you to recycle your pens.” - Dante, age 11

Pick of the Week: Tea Collection (dress and T-shirt sale)

2012-05-18T05:00:00.003-07:00

Tea Collection Sale:

I love the breezy global styles at Tea. I read about this sale and thought I'd share it with you. I'm hoping to pick up a few of these dresses for my daughters for the warmer (finally!) season.

Check out Tea Collection's page and vote for your favorite girl dresses and/or boys tops on Facebook. Once an item has received 1,000 Facebook Likes, it will go on sale--$15 dresses and $10 boys tops!

My fav, the Starling Batik dress, is almost to 1,000, and I will be picking that one up as soon as I can.

Vote for your favorite girls dresses and boys tops to be sure that your favorites go on sale. Then stay tuned for when they go on sale (I'll try to let you know about that, too!). Happy Friday!

*I'm an affiliate of Tea, so if you buy through these links, you can support the writing here at Non-Toxic Kids. I only share what I think is helpful for readers and what I would buy or use myself.

Does “One click activism” Matter?

2012-05-16T18:42:00.002-07:00

(Here is a guest post from our friend, Lindsay Dahl, from Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families. Please join us in supporting the Safe Chemicals Act. The lies, deceit, and influence of the chemical industry is rampant. We need to band together to take all the meaningful action that we can to create a safer, healthier world for our kids.)

Like you, I get a lot of “action alerts” in my email each day. They all come from various organizations and causes I care deeply about, but the barrage of email can create a sense of saturation.

People often ask me if signing online petitions and sending emails to Congress actually works. Does it mean anything?

The short answer is yes, it matters. A lot.

I work with an incredible coalition of public health, environmental leaders and moms working to protect American families from toxic chemicals. Our goal is to reform out of date federal laws that are failing to protect public health in this country.

We started a coalition wide petition to generate signatures in support of the Safe Chemicals Act. In a few short weeks, we blew past our goal and are already to 125,000 signatures.

As an organizer it is my responsibility to ensure those signatures are delivered in a meaningful way. I think we can all agree that sending an email into a black hole has limited value, but when your petition signature is hand delivered to your Senator by people from your state, it matters. A lot.

A recent series by the Chicago Tribune, exposed the deep level of deception and dirty tricks from the chemical industry. Just weeks before that we discovered the chemical industry spent $52 million dollars lobbying Congress in 2011.

We need to fight back. Signing our petition is just one step in a long process to pass strong laws in Washington. We will need you call your Senators, show up for local events, and in some cases come to D.C. for our National Stroller Brigade.

Activism takes many shapes and forms, but each step along the way is important.

So please take a minute to sign and share this petition. Because every click of the mouse, every phone call, and every event matters.

America: Are You Family Enough?

2012-05-15T19:17:00.000-07:00

(Last night after reading some of the responses to Time magazine's Are you mom enough story, I wrote the title to this post. The magazine cover seems to divert attention from the much more pressing issues facing American mothers right now.

It doesn't matter what kind of parent you want to be-- many of us can't even chose or come close to our goals because our culture doesn't support working families. Many of America's moms don't have access to paid maternity leave, sick days, or health care for their families.

After reading about this article, and the media coverage afterward, I couldn't help but ask, America: Are You Family Enough? Apparently I wasn't the only one asking this question. Here is a post I just received from Momrising. Please read it and had your voice to end the so called "mommy wars" and let's talk about how we can make America better for all families.)

Yes, I am “mom enough;” thank you very much.

Last week, millions of mothers were outraged and insulted when TIME Magazine ran the headline, “Are you mom enough?” along with a picture of a mother who is choosing to breastfeed her preschool-age child. The substance of the article itself was little more than a straight-forward profile of Dr. William Sears, the pediatrician who propagated the philosophy of attachment parenting, and has little to do with the titillating cover. The disconnect and the cover image make the magazine’s intentions clear: TIME bet that trying to fan the flames of a false “mommy war” would sell magazines.

Sorry TIME, we’re not falling for this trap. The mommy wars are the media’s creation, not ours.

Together, let’s send TIME Magazine a strong message: “Enough with false, outdated mommy wars. It’s time to cover the real issues that concern mothers.”

When you click the above link to sign the letter, you'll be joining moms across the country in calling for the media to stop fanning the flames of a non-existent "mommy war," and to start focusing on real issues. We'll deliver the letter to TIME Magazine ASAP after the signatures are collected.

Why are we doing this? By mobilizing our collective outrage and exposing TIME’s egregious exploitation of mothers, we’ll also put other media outlets on notice that they won’t get away with trying to fan the flames of an out-dated, irrelevant “mommy war” any more.

What makes TIME’s decision to focus on fanning the flames of the fictional “mommy wars” so utterly shameful is the fact that there are so many real and pressing issues facing America’s mothers right now that aren't being covered. Issues like the fact that childcare costs more than college in many states, that 80% of low wage workers don't have a single earned sick day, that women (particularly moms) face rampant pay discrimination, and that over 176 countries have some form of paid family leave, but the U.S. doesn't. [1, 2, 3, 4]

The question isn’t whether we’re “mom enough,” but whether our culture is prepared to value mothers and families beyond just Mother’s Day. TIME, and other media outlets' compulsion to frame parents’ collective stress in personal terms, not only misses the reality, but also throws us all off track in working toward common-sense, real, and permanent changes for all American families.

The reality is this: No matter what parenting choices we make individually, we all share common concerns such as whether or not our family will have access to affordable health coverage, rising child care costs, and making sure our children have access to healthy food and air.

Frankly, we're sick of the media trying to sell magazines by covering the so-called "mommy wars" while completely ignoring the real issues that moms are dealing with like the high price of childcare and the lack of paid family leave.

Tell TIME to get real and start covering the real issues facing American moms.

Unfortunately, TIME isn’t alone with its exploitative, deceptive coverage. Just a few weeks ago, the New York Times dedicated precious space in its “Room for Debate” section to six blogs debating whether attachment parenting was driving American mothers to the brink. [5]

Are you kidding me? You want to know what’s driving us to the brink – 40% of us who work in the private sector, and 80% of use who are low wage workers, not having a single paid sick day; only 11% of us have access to paid family leave through our employers after the birth of a child; and nearly 20% of us with young children struggle with providing enough food each day. [6, 7, 8]

Of course, newspapers and magazines are free to publish whatever they want. And we, their consumers, are free to tell them when their coverage outrages us and degrades an important public discussion about what mothers and families need to thrive in 2012.

The “mommy wars” are an exploitative, harmful distraction. We have real challenges to face, and we must face them together.

Please take a moment to sign our letter to TIME Magazine by clicking here now. It will just take a second and when your signature is combined with moms' signatures from across the nation it will have a big impact. http://action.momsrising.org/go/1834?akid=3286.198352.O1cJMF&t=11

**Please also forward this email to friends and family--and post the action link on Facebook. The more of us who come together, the sooner we'll get coverage on the real issues that impact all of us.

Together, we're a powerful force for women and families!

-- Ashley, Anita, Elisa, Gloria, Nanette, Claire, Ruth, Kristin, Monifa and the whole MomsRising.org team

P.S. Did you notice that we didn't include an image of the TIME cover in our alert? We decided collectively that the image had received enough attention and that it was time for the bigger issues and trends it raised to get attention now instead.

P.P.S. If you are interested in reading more about the TIME cover and the issues it uncovers, check out Genevieve Colvin's fantastic post on our blog! http://action.momsrising.org/go/1829?akid=3286.198352.O1cJMF&t=13 Big thanks to Genevieve and her colleagues at the Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater LA!

Fed Up with Lunch: How One Anonymous Teacher Revealed the Truth About School Lunches

2012-05-14T06:00:00.000-07:00

Sarah Wu went rogue in her school, eating school lunch every day, photographing it, and blogging about it at night, uncovering the ghastly daily diet of many of our nation's school children.

A modern day Nancy Drew. A girl with a smart phone changing the world.

Sarah W started the Fed Up with Lunch blog after eating school lunch one day at her school. She was struggling to get her non compliant toddler son (who hasn't been there) ready for daycare, and she ran out of time to make her own lunch.

Thank goodness she did! That fateful lunch was a bagel dog, a Jell-O cup, six tater tots, and chocolate milk. According to Wu:

"The bagel dog (a hot dog encased in soggy dough) came in a plastic package. Tough on the outside and mushy on the inside, it was like no bagel I had ever tasted. The hot dog was bland, not juicy. The tater tots (which counted as that day's federally mandated vegetable) were pale and wilted in my mouth. Instead of a piece of fresh fruit, like a crunchy apple I would have packed if I had time that day, I was given a few cubes of pear, suspended in bright red Jell-O."

When she realized this was the food that was being fed to her students, primarily kids living in poverty, and kids with special needs such as autism, she got mad. She knew that eating right is critical for learning, development, and overall wellness. So she decided to eat school lunch every day for a year and blog about it. What resulted is shocking photos of what most kids are eating in today's large, urban school systems-- and meaningful suggestions for parents, teachers, teens and health advocates to change it.

In her new book, Fed Up with Lunch: How One Anonymous Teacher Revealed the Truth about School Lunches-- And How We Can Change Them, she chronicles the challenges facing students in her school district-- second language learners, parents working several jobs, and how crucial food is to their education and growing bodies.

She showcases the filth they eat on a daily basis, such as chicken nuggets made of what she calls "chicken foam" which contains less than 50 percent chicken. And that more than 90 percent of food brought into cafeterias is frozen.

Sarah comments on the colossal packaging waste this kind of eating creates. Endless miles of plastic packaging, mountains of plastic utensils, piles of waxed cardboard, all destined for landfills-- it is a disgrace, without even considering the terrible health and educational effects of eating this kind of diet.

One of Sarah's most compelling points is that countries with far fewer resources are able to feed their kids whole foods cooked in school. She's had guest bloggers from Japan, who feed their school children whitefish, sushi and rice dumplings; Koreans who make seaweed and tofu soup; and Croatians serving barley soup and bacon pate. These menus show the cultural preferences of a region. If they can do it, so can we.

One issue I've written about frequently here and in my book, Why Great Teachers Quit, is the loss of recess time for children. Many schools have eliminated or lessened recess time for students, even while all the research shows that recess benefits kids emotionally, academically, and physically by leaps and bounds.

The most important part of this book, I think, is "Mrs. Q's Guide to Quiet Revolution: An Action and Resource Guide." This handy section is written specifically for parents, teachers, kids, teens, chefs and nutritionists, with clear action steps for how to get involved and work to improve school lunches nationwide. This is a complex problem, as this book (and others) have described. It will take all of us working together, locally and nationally, to change the pattern of injustice to our children with what our schools are feeding them.

Thanks to Sarah Wu for shining a light on this critical problem, and empowering people to take action to make school lunches healthy, benefiting our kids and communities for years to come.

So, I want to know what is happening at your child's school. What are the school lunches like? Have they made any recent improvements? I'd love to hear about your experience, any successes or challenges, or ideas for reform.

Mamas: Go on Strike! (Happy Mother's Day)

2012-05-12T12:40:00.001-07:00

I loved Quiet Riot (did I actually just write that?) back in the day, and jumped around the house fantasizing I was dressed like the lovely mamas in this video. My perm would have been perfect!

Oh, how I would have loved to be part of making this. I laughed aloud at the lyrics and the video scenes-- especially loving the Lycra suits, big hair, and rockin' bravado. My hat is off to the creator of Motherhood: The Musical, Sue Fabisch. She has channelled maternal frustration into wicked funny, creative awesomeness.

So go on strike, mamas! Sunday is your day. To quote Sue, "Ask not what your mommy can do for you, but what you can do for your mommy!" I wish you a day full of spoiling-- no cooking, cleaning, laundry, none of it. Do something just for you.

Thanks for sharing this entertaining video, Sue, and to all the mamas out there, I honor you.

Every Mother Counts: No Mothers Day Campaign

2012-05-08T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here are some important facts about maternal health around the world.

Approximately 358,000 women die each year due to complications in pregnancy and childbirth. That's one woman every 90 seconds.

For every woman who dies each year in childbirth, 20-30 more suffer from lifelong debilitating disabilities.

Pregnancy is the number one cause of death in women, ages 15-19, in the developing world. Nearly 70,000 young women die every year because their bodies are not ready for parenthood.

Over 200 million women who would like to choose when they get pregnant don’t have access to family planning.

The United States ranks 50th globally in maternal mortality, even though it spends more on health care per capita than any other nation in the world. African American women are four times more likely to die in childbirth than Caucasian women.

Almost all of these deaths are preventable.

Please support the work of Every Mother Counts by asking your family to forgo gifts and make a donation to Every Mother Counts instead. You can also buy a t-shirt from Every Mother Counts and a portion of your purchase will go improve maternal and infant care worldwide.

I'm not going to take a vow of silence that day-- but will support the cause by donating to Every Mother Counts. This Mothers Day, we can honor mothers worldwide by improving access to maternal and infant health care!

Blueair Air Purifiers (clean your indoor air!)

2012-05-07T06:00:00.000-07:00

We work so hard to make our homes safe and comfortable, but that is far from the truth in terms of air quality. According to American Lung Association, indoor air pollution is typically 2 to 5 times higher than air outdoors-- and in some cases, it can be 100 times worse.

Indoor pollutants include dust mites, pollen, mold, radon, carbon monoxide, flame retardant chemicals (like Deca), VOCs (volatile organic compounds, found in paints and finishes) lead dust, asbestos, and PFOAs (found in carpets, stain guard chemicals, and furniture).

Poor air quality can lead to asthma, headaches, dry eyes, nasal congestion, nausea and fatigue. Exposure to Deca, VOCs, and PFOAs are increasingly being linked to cancers and reproductive disorders. Exposure to lead even at very low doses is harmful to a child's learning and intelligence potential.

I've know this for years. We have lots of hand me down furniture, and two newer pieces purchased before Vermont outlawed the use of Deca, a flame retardant chemical shown to have negative health consequences such as “reproductive disorders, cancer, liver damage, impaired learning, and thyroid dysfunction.” . This chemical lives in dust, from old electronics, furniture, and mattresses.

I know that my level of Deca is very high, compared to my fellow Vermonters tested for a host of chemicals as part of a body burden study. It is important to me to lessen these exposures. That's why I bought a Hepa vacuum (and try to use it regularly!). In addition, I jumped at the chance to review this Blue Air 203 air filter. From what I know about indoor air quality, VOCs, and chemicals in everyday products, it makes good sense to me to use an air purifier with a strong filter.

I received a Blueair model 203 air purifier to review. I emailed the person from the company who contacted me to explain that I do not do paid posts-- I review independently and honestly from my experience.

The model I received was designed for use in small rooms-- about 175ft. I used in in our small living room, although the downstairs area is very open. Our home is small, and I have to other filters (which I will be posting reviews for soon) in my daughters' bedrooms.

I chose to have the particle filter, which is the ideal choice for allergy sufferers and other health-conscious folks that are looking for high-efficiency particle removal. According to the Blueair website, the unit contains one polypropylene 3-stage progressive filter that contains millions of ultra-thin fibers with each state trapping progressively smaller harmful particles as they pass through the pleats. The filter effectively removes every type of particulate air pollutants, including allergens, pollen, mold spores, dust, pet dander, bacteria, and viruses.

And boy do we expose our kids to a lot of viruses, between my students, and my daughter's classes! I also worry about the woodsmoke (and particles) because we heat our home primarily with a wood stove.

The filter fits nicely behind a chair in our living room. It is barely noticeable, even though it is a dense and somewhat thick piece of equipment. What is truly lovely about their air purifier is that it is almost silent. I was happy it was in the living room, because that is where I don't want additional noise. In the bedrooms I want white noise to mute household sounds for my daughters at night. But not this filter-- you would almost think it is not working because it is so very quiet. I actually had to check a few times, because it was so quiet I thought it wasn't working.

I haven't cleaned mine yet, but the air purifier housing looks easy to clean, and won't pick up grime and oily stains the way plastic may. I like the fact that it is not made of plastic (too much plastic everywhere!), but instead of galvanized steel.

You also won't run up your energy bills (or waste precious energy resources) with this machine. It is Energy Star rated for efficiency.

I ran this purifier for most of the winter, when here in Vermont, we are inside way too much, and are often exposed to many viruses and indoor chemicals from our household items.

If you are looking for a super quiet, very efficient, and trustworthy purifier for your baby or child's room, this is a great choice. If someone is your family suffers from allergies or asthma, this purifier may ease their suffering and improve air quality for your whole family.

There are other models for larger spaces and filters to choose from at Blueair. Want to learn more about indoor air quality? Check out this guide from the EPA. Care for your Air: A Guide to Indoor Air Quality.

Do you use an air filter, or want to? Let me know in the comments.

Toxic Chemicals in Gardening Gear (And How to Limit Your Family's Exposure)

2012-05-04T18:08:00.002-07:00

(Healthy Stuff and The Ecology Center reports high levels of lead, cadmium, BPA, PVC, and phthalates are found in hoses, gardening gloves, and other gear. Gardeners take note-- there are many unsafe products containing harmful chemicals for your garden and family on the market, as this study shows. Please follow the recommendations below to limit your exposure. Thanks to The Ecology Center for this important report!)

High amounts of lead, phthalates and the toxic chemical BPA were all found in the water of a new hose after sitting outside in the sun for just a few days, according to researchers at the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center, who just completed a large study of toxic chemicals in gardening products.

Nearly 200 hoses, gloves, kneeling pads and tools were tested for lead, cadmium, bromine (associated with brominated flame retardants); chlorine (indicating the presence of polyvinyl chloride, or PVC); phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA). Such chemicals have been linked to birth defects, impaired learning, liver toxicity, premature births and early puberty in laboratory animals, among other serious health problems. Results were released today at www.HealthyStuff.org.

"Even if you are an organic gardener, doing everything you can to avoid pesticides and fertilizers, you still may be introducing hazardous substances into your soil by using these products," said Jeff Gearhart, Research Director at the Ecology Center. "The good news is that healthier choices are out there. Polyurethane or natural rubber water hoses, and non-PVC tools and work gloves, are all better choices."

Highlights of Findings

· HealthyStuff.org screened 179 common garden products, including garden hoses (90); garden gloves (53); kneeling pads (13) and garden tools (23). Two-thirds (70.4%) of these products had chemical levels of "high concern."

· 30% of all products contained over 100 ppm lead in one or more component. 100 ppm is the Consumer Product Safety Commission Standard (CPSC) for lead in children's products.

· 100% of the garden hoses sampled for phthalates contained four phthalate plasticizers which are currently banned in children's products.

· Two water hoses contained the hazardous flame retardant 2,3,4,5-tetrabromo-bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (TBPH).

What Was Found in the Water
· Water sampled from one hose contained 0.280 mg/l (ppm) lead. This is 18-times higher than the federal drinking water standard of 0.015 mg/l.

· BPA levels of 2.3 ppm was found in the hose water. This level is 20-times higher than the 0.100 ppm safe drinking water level used by NSF to verify that consumers are not being exposed to levels of a chemical that exceed regulated levels.

· The phthalate DEHP was found at 0.025 ppm in the hose water. This level is 4-times higher than federal drinking water standards. EPA and FDA regulate DEHP in water at 0.006 mg/l (ppm).

What You Can Do

· Read the labels: Avoid hoses with a California Prop 65 warning that says "this product contains a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects and other reproductive harm." Buy hoses that are "drinking water safe" and "lead-free".

· Let it run: Always let your hose run for a few seconds before using, since the water that’s been sitting in the hose will have the highest levels of chemicals.

· Avoid the sun: Store your hose in the shade. The heat from the sun can increase the leaching of chemicals from the PVC into the water.

· Don't drink water from a hose: Unless you know for sure that your hose is drinking water safe, don’t drink from it. Even low levels of lead may cause health problems.

· Buy a PVC-free hose: Polyurethane or natural rubber hoses are better choices. Visit www.HealthyStuff.org for sample products.

"Gardening products, including water hoses, are completely unregulated and often fail to meet drinking water standards that apply to other products, yet again demonstrating the complete failure of our federal chemicals regulatory system," said Gearhart. "Our children will never be safe until we reform our laws to ensure products are safe before they arrive on store shelves."

For more details on what the Ecology Center researchers found, and what you can do to avoid toxic chemicals this gardening season, visit www.HealthyStuff.org.

Mother's Day Gifts with Meaning (Rescue Gifts that make a Difference)

2012-05-03T20:23:00.000-07:00

This Mother’s Day, you can delight the moms in your life with a gift that gets to the heart of motherhood – a Rescue Gift.

Rescue Gifts like a Safe Delivery for Mother and Baby ($24), a Year of School ($52), and Warm Blankets ($84) are symbolic gifts that represent – and support - the very real work of the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The IRC protects and empowers mothers and their families whose lives have been disrupted and uprooted by conflict or natural disaster around the world. Gift-givers can choose the Rescue Gift with the most meaning for their mother and dedicate it in her honor. They send gift recipients a beautiful personalized print or digital card to let them know how their Rescue Gift contributes to vital supplies and services for vulnerable people struggling to endure.

Plus, shoppers who spend $75 or more will receive a stylish “Rescue” T-shirt designed and donated by Threads 4 Thought, or they can opt to have it sent as a gift.

“The Walking Dead” star, IRC Voice and proud mom Sarah Wayne Callies is endorsing Rescue Gifts and giving Maternal Health Care ($52) this Mother’s Day. Following a recent trip to see the IRC at work in Ban Mai Nai Soi, a refugee camp along the Thai/Myanmar border, she said:

“I had my child with a midwife and I could not see any difference in the quality and the thoroughness of the care the women were getting at Ban Mai Nai Soi and the quality and thoroughness of the care I received … Even the little scale they were using to weigh the babies was exactly the same scale my midwife brought to my house, stuck my kid in, and hung up. It was amazing to see."

While flowers wilt and chocolates melt, “Rescue Gifts” have a lasting impact and are perfect for:

the socially conscious giver or receiver: Rescue Gifts make a real difference for people in need.
the eco-conscious giver or receiver: Rescue Gifts have a minimal carbon footprint and there’s no need to worry about wrapping paper.
the financially prudent shopper: Rescue Gifts offer real value at every price point, from Mosquito Nets ($18) to Community Health Worker Training ($335
the last-minute shopper: E-Cards for Rescue Gifts bought on Mother’s Day can be delivered

right away (that would be me).

And you can feel good about giving a gift that truly makes a difference in the lives of others, especially mothers and babies.

USA Today Investigation Finds Hazardous Lead Levels in Neighborhoods Across the Country

2012-05-02T19:25:00.002-07:00

Check out this important series and videos that came out last month from USA Today. Lead pollution from old factories continue to impact people, especially children, today. Find out if you live near one of these sites, if your neighborhood has been impacted, and what you can do about it at the link below. I commend USA for this in-depth report and urge the EPA and the public to take action to clean up these sites to eliminate lead pollution in residential and school sites.

In the middle of the video, they discuss how behind the science many physicians are about lead. They will only tell you the number for your child's lead level if it is over 10 deciliters per unit blood-- when we know that negative impacts begin at 5. When my daughter was tested they said it was at "safe" levels and wouldn't tell me the exact number. Don't I have a right to know? After hearing testimony from Dr. Bruce Lamphear myself, when I was testifying at the Vermont State House about lead in children's products, I learned about all the current research that says even low levels exposures of lead can have devastating, long term negative health effects for children.)

A USA TODAY investigation has revealed that in hundreds of neighborhoods across the United States, children are living and playing near sites where factories once spewed lead and other toxic metal particles into the air. The factories, which melted lead in a process called smelting, closed long ago but poisonous lead particles can still be found in the soil nearby.

Ghost Factories: Poison in the Ground is a result of a 14-month USA TODAY investigation that set out to answer the question: Did the government heed a warning in a scientific journal – published more than 10 years ago – that people living near 400 forgotten factories could be in danger? The investigation ultimately found evidence of smelting, foundry work, metal melting or lead manufacturing activity at more than 230 sites. USA TODAY tested soil in 21 smelter neighborhoods in 13 states, a mix of locations that varied from the urban cores of big cities to a small Midwestern town. Federal and state officials did little to find many of the factory sites, alert residents or test the soil nearby.

Results varied from house to house but the majority of the yards tested in several neighborhoods had high lead levels – in some cases, five to 10 times higher than what the Environmental Protection Agency considers hazardous to kids. Children who play regularly in lead-contaminated soil, just by putting dust-covered hands and toys in their mouths, are being exposed to a poison studies show lowers intelligence and reduces academic achievement, delays puberty and causes other health problems.

The series can be found at ghostfactories.usatoday.com. Online, users can explore more than 160 historical maps showing the factory sites at the time they were in operation. The site provides access to more than 15,000 pages of records about the various sites, empowering users to learn more about the sites in their neighborhoods. Through an interactive map, users can see where USA TODAY’s soil tests found hazardous lead levels and view 14 videos that tell the stories of the people who live in those neighborhoods.

Thanks to USA Today for this piece of investigative journalism and for providing a way citizens can find out where the dangerous lead levels are located and take action. These sites should have been cleaned up years ago, and the people living there should have been informed of this danger.

What do you think? Do you live near one of these sites, and are you concerned?

image: USA Today

4 Tips for Asthma Sufferers (and their parents)

2012-05-01T17:47:00.001-07:00

(Here is a post and infomation from the EPA about World Asthma Day. I like the tips for daily living and think the facts below show us how widespread and important this issue is for our nation's families.)

Did you know?

*One out of every 10 school-aged children has asthma.

*Almost 13 million people reported having an asthma attack in the past year.

*Over the past 10 years, asthma has continued to grow with more than four million new cases reported in adults and nearly one million new cases reported in children.

*Asthma affects people of all ages and races, but asthma disproportionately affects minorities, and children and families with lower incomes.

*Approximately three million Hispanics in the U.S. have asthma and Puerto Ricans are disproportionately impacted.

*The annual economic cost of asthma, including direct medical costs from hospital stays and indirect costs such as lost school and work days, amounts to more than $56 billion annually.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is encouraging Americans to take action against asthma by learning more about the disease and how it affects their families and communities. Nearly 26 million Americans, including more than 7 million children, are affected by this chronic respiratory disease, including low income and minority populations at the highest rates.

"Asthma is a disease that touches the lives of American families every day. EPA is working hard to clean the air we breathe and reduce the environmental causes of asthma and other respiratory illnesses,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “As we mark Asthma Awareness Month, it’s important for parents and children to learn more about the disease and its triggers, so we can prevent asthma attacks and better protect our health and our children's health."

The annual economic cost of asthma, including direct medical costs from hospital stays and indirect costs such as lost school and work days, amount to approximately $56 billion. Through the Clean Air Act, EPA has helped prevent millions of asthma attacks across the country and continues to work alongside federal, state and local partners to address this nationwide problem. In 2010 alone, pollution prevention standards under the Clean Air Act lead to reductions in fine particle matter and ozone pollution that prevented more than 1.7 million incidences of asthma attacks. Recent standards, such as the 2011 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, will further reduce air pollution and help prevent asthma attacks.

Americans who suffer from asthma can learn to control their symptoms and still maintain active lifestyles.

Here are some simple steps:

Know your Asthma Triggers and Avoid Them: Air pollution, dust mites, mold, secondhand smoke and even cockroaches can trigger asthma attacks. Learn your triggers and avoid them in your home and neighborhood.

Create an Asthma Action Plan: You can help avoid the emergency room by managing your asthma daily. With a doctor's help, you can create an asthma action plan to help you effectively manage your asthma and reduce exposure to triggers.

Get Active: Even if you have asthma, by taking the appropriate medications and avoiding your triggers, you can still participate in sports and activities.

Be 'Air Aware': Check local air quality conditions at airnow.gov and make informed decisions about participating in outdoor activities. To help, an Air Quality Index mobile app is available for smart phones.

More on the Air Quality Index Mobile App: http://m.epa.gov/apps/airnow.html

Picks of the Week (Abe's Natural Market and Mom Agenda)

2012-04-29T20:06:00.003-07:00

1. Abe's Natural Market: $20 for $40 dollars of all natural home supplies, baby products and more. This online grocery retailer has a nice collection of organic, natural and healthy foods. This is quite a save, especially for those hard to find specialty foods or organic, non-toxic baby body care products. This one is good until May 12th.

2. Mom Agenda School Years Books: Love these! I ordered one for each daughter last year and have started actually organizing all their important papers in the handy envelopes (can you believe it?).

These portfolios were obviously designed by a mother and are perfect for perserving school photos, report cards, special school work, and important information about each year of your child's school experience.

This is truly a special keepsake. I bought them as a birthday present to myself! They are up to 35% off momAgenda School Years books + FREE SHIPPING on orders $50+ at momAgenda.com.

Enjoy!

*Buying through these links helps to support the writing here at Non-Toxic Kids because I am an affiliate of these retailers--but I only share with you what I think is helpful and would use myself!

Wet Wool Felting Fun with Kids (eco-friendly craft activity)

2012-04-25T14:04:00.000-07:00

Are you ready to try something different with your kids? This craft involves lots of hands on work with materials, creating designs, thinking about sequencing and steps, and I think, a little bit of magic.

Wet felting with kids is fun and creates lovely, unique pieces. It feels a bit ominous at first, but once you do it one time, you get the hang of it, and it is actually quite enjoyable.

You'll need:

Pieces of wool (called roving), in various colors.
Squares of natural felt (you can get these at most craft stores) for the base
Some sort of netting material
A bar of natural soap
bubble wrap
Needle and foam to needle felt design first if desired.

There are many great tutorials on how to wet felt. I watched (and read) several and then got the general gist of it. Here two of my favorites:

Snow Queen's picture tutorial
Rosie Pink ( I love the designs featured here! You can learn how to make a whole piece without purchasing a backround piece of felt, like I did, and is pictured above. I even bought the ebook so I can do more "adult" wet felting at some imaginative later time in another universe..)

Essentially, I followed these steps:

1. Have your child lay out his or her design on pre-bought square of felt.

2. If you child is old enough (and you are comfortable with this!), you can have her needle felt a design loosely in place. Needle felting is basically poking the roving into the wool with a long needle, and into a foam backing. These are relatively inexpensive and needle felting all by itself is very addicting.

3. If you do this, closely supervise because those needles are sharp!

4. This is not necessary if you are creating more paint-like designs that don't need to be exact. We were making squares to hang up as decorations, but these could easily be made into purses, pencil holders, coasters, or add ons to other fabrics.

5. Lay the felted design on a towel and some bubble wrap.

6. Take some warm water mixed with a little liquid soap, and drizzle over your hand, all over the felt. You want it wet, not soaking. Pour on too much? Sop it up with a sponge, no problem.

7. Once it is good and wet, lay the netting down on top of it. Take a balled up piece of bubble wrap and have your child rub it evenly all over the piece. Do this for several minutes.

8. Rub on some bar soap (this acts as felt glue) evenly over the surface.

9. Be sure all the felt (even the edges) has had pressure and a little bar soap.

10. Then, put another piece of bubble wrap on top, and roll it up. You can secure this with rubber bands. If you have a sushi mat, use this to wrap over the bubble wrap felt sandwich to make it more firm. I didn't have this, and had to adjust my roll frequently.

11. Have your child roll the bubble wrap wand 100 times! Good counting practice.

12. Unroll it, and roll the fabric up in the other direction and repeat (I bet you will be doing it now!) by rolling another 100 times.

13. Check to see if the felt is connecting and shrinking into one piece. If not, keep rolling, or unroll and rub it again with the bubble wrap ball. You can use soap if any place is not sticking, then roll again.

14. After you are happy with it, rinse it off in the sink until the soap is out (move over the dirty dishes first!).

15. Set out on a towel to dry.

16. You can then hang it from a twig with ribbon, or use it to make something else. I sewed some embellishments on mine before hanging it. Here it is hanging on my daughter's wall.

What do you think? Have you felted or have a favorite craft you do with the kids?

Happy Earth Day! 5 Ways Moms Can Help the Earth (today and everyday)

2012-04-22T11:56:00.002-07:00

Happy Earth Day! You know it is coming because every marketer tries to take advantage of this theme to get us to buy more stuff. Any green angle is pursued. We are forced to consider buying a plastic toy because it is encased in somewhat eco-friendly packaging.

At these times, it’s easy to fall into greenwashing…believing in false (or deliberately unclear) claims about a products’ greenness. Here are my recent picks for the worst in greenwashing this year.

What can moms do to help the earth? There are plenty of small and meaningful actions moms can take to lessen their impacts on the Earth. Together, these acts will conserve and preserve our precious resources such as protecting our air, water and land. Moms can show companies that they can be (and we expect them to be) better stewards of the earth.

Read the rest of this post at Moms Clean Air Force and let me know what you think!

Photo via Sacramento Scoop

Why Getting Dirty is Good for Kids (and Outdoor Activity Ideas)

2012-04-18T06:00:00.000-07:00

( I love this new report from the National Wildlife Federation! It encourages we parents to lighten up, and let our kids get dirty outside more often... it is actually good for them in many ways. Read on for ideas about how to get your child exploring the outside world today.)

Dirt is a four-letter word to many parents, but letting kids get dirty is actually good for them according to a new report from the National Wildlife Federation, “The Dirt on Dirt: How Getting Dirty Outdoors Benefits Kids.”

Fears about dangers lurking in the muck – microbes, parasites and amoebas, oh my! – keep some parents from letting kids do what comes naturally, which is to go outside and get messy.But here’s a dirty little secret: children who spend the better part of their free time in the company of their sterile hi-tech gadgets rather than playing outside, are more vulnerable to obesity, ADHD, vitamin D deficiency and depression.

There’s a growing body of research that suggests overprotecting kids from dirt and germs may actually inhibit their physical health and resilience. Activities kids love, such as making mud pies, splashing in puddles and rolling down hillsides are actually a grubby prescription for health and happiness.

The Hygiene Hypothesis developed in the 1980s says that when kids are too clean and their exposure to parasites, bacteria, and viruses is limited early in life, children face a greater chance of having allergies, asthma and other autoimmune diseases.
Children’s stress levels fall within minutes of seeing green spaces, according to a 2004 study in the American Journal of Public Health.
When children are exposed to germs and pathogens during infancy, their risk of cardiovascular inflammation in adulthood is reduced, according to a 2010 Northwestern University study.
A friendly bacteria found in soil helps produce serotonin, which enhances feelings of well-being, much the same way that antidepressant drugs and exercise do, according to a 2007 Bristol University study.

While common sense sanitation practices like washing hands and using hand sanitizer when soap and water aren’t available shouldn’t stop, parents will be doing their children a favor by encouraging them to go outside and get dirty. Dr Mary Ruebush, immunologist and author of Why Dirt is Good: 5 Ways to Make Germs Your Friends, says “Let your child be a child. Dirt is good. If your child isn’t coming in dirty every day, they’re not doing their job. They’re not building their immunological army.”

Here are some fun – and messy – ideas from the National Wildlife Federation that will let your kids have some good, clean, dirty fun outdoors:

1. Be an Artist

Give your child a stick and a muddy surface to draw on. Mistakes are no problem. Just smooth them over and start again.
Mud balls can become out-of-season snowmen or abstract sculptures. If your child’s creation isn’t sticking together, just add more water.

2. Be a Builder

Children can make buildings of all shapes and sizes if they use sticks to create a frame and pack mud on to it. Houses or forts perhaps, a castle with a moat, or a stable to put toy horses in.
If they also like the idea of large-scale public works, have them make a river by digging a trench in the mud or dirt. Then, add water as needed and a dam.

3. Be a Biologist

When it rains, take a walk through your neighborhood to see which animals go under over and which come out in wet weather. Kids may also see birds swooping down to take a bath in nearby puddles.
This is also a fine time to study worms that surface to breathe when their burrows fill with water. Then, enlist the kids in a Worm Rescue Squad and move any worms they find on the sidewalk back to the dirt so they don’t dry out.

4. Be a Chef

If you’re going to play in the mud, why not make some mud pies? If you have some old cake or pie tins, great. Otherwise, shallow plastic containers work just fine. Once the pies are “baked,” it’s time to make them beautiful. Encourage your children to scour the yard for pebbles, petals, and leaves that will make perfect decorations on top.
Collect dirt, grass, leaves, twigs and acorns in a large container for a bountiful nature salad. Add some water, and it’s mud stew.

With the benefits to immune systems, hearts and skin, as well as kids’ emotional wellbeing and learning skills, doctors may well soon prescribe “Make two mud pies and you won’t need to call me in the morning.”

To check out the DIRT report and for more outdoor fun ideas from National Wildlife Federation’s Be Out There movement, visit www.beoutthere.org. Parents can submit stories and photos of their own dirty kids and win some fun prizes.

Earth Day Poetry Contest by Kumon (and giveaway for a Barnes and Noble Gift Card!)

2012-04-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

New England Spring
by Katy Farber

Finally spring blows in
warm, welcoming air
big water flowing
life cycles anew

the trees, ready, gathering
to burst into a flame of life
rich, plentiful
ferns reaching, uncurling

to gather power from the sun
the scene changing drastically
movement, movement, birds, bugs, leaves
churning, awakening after many moons

brown, dried, flat changes
to new, bright, poking up
the new takes shelter, nourishment from the past
we should learn from this

we are the new life
springing forward, taking
shelter and nourishment
from our memories

Poetry! Now this is a way to celebrate the Earth. A great way to encourage your children to respect, engage with, and love the earth is to write about what they see, feel, notice about nature.

And, to motivate and inspire us, Kumon is hosting a Poetry Challenge on Facebook.

To enter the challenge, students may write a poem — in 200 words or fewer —that celebrates Earth Day. Poems must be submitted through the Kumon Facebook page in one of four forms: haiku, limerick, acrostic or free-form.

To get your brainstorming started, here are some related questions that may help you with your poem:

What do you do (or should you do) to protect the environment?
How do you imagine the Earth will look in 20 years?
What makes the environment beautiful or valuable in your eyes?
What does nature mean to you?

The submission period is from April 17 – May 4, and the voting period starts May 8. Winning entries will be announced May 21. The six best entries will each win $500. The winners, and up to two parents or guardians, will also win an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City with a visit to Kumon North America.

This contest is for students ages 18 and under, but parents and guardians play a key role. Poems can only be submitted through a parent’s or guardian’s Facebook account. Students may talk to their instructors about alternative methods of entry. Only one entry per child.

Encourage your child to get his or her creative juices flowing, and he or she could win.

Please comment on this post for a chance to win a 25$ gift certificate to Barnes and Noble. You can freshen up books for yourself or for your child. One winner will be selected a random. You can get extra entries for liking us on Facebook, following on twitter, and spreading the word. Just let me know in the comments. Thanks and good luck!

Next stop for the Kumon Earth Day Poetry Blog Hop is The Smart Mama-- head over there to hear more and nab another chance to win a Barnes and Noble gift card.

Image: from Flickr under CC From Dancing Tuna

2012 Earth Day Greenwashing Hall of Shame

2012-04-15T17:50:00.003-07:00

Everyone wants to ride the green wave all the way to the bank. In the last 5 years, going green has been marketed, twisted, and gone corporate as folks consider just what it actually means.

Many companies have used their "natural" and "green" claims to confuse consumers and fool them into thinking they are making healthy and green choices. According to Greenwashing Index, here is what greenwashing is:

"It’s greenwashing when a company or organization spends more time and money claiming to be “green” through advertising and marketing than actually implementing business practices that minimize environmental impact. It’s whitewashing, but with a green brush."

This site is a fantastic resource about greenwashing and who does it. A project by EnviroMedia Social Marketing in partnership with the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication, the website rates ads in a range from being authentic to bogus, based on specific criteria. Check out some of the recently submitted ads and you can rate them for greenwashing.

Here are a few examples of how greenwashing, especially around the upcoming Earth Day marketing push. Please add to this list!

1. A number one greenwashing perpetrator is bottled water companies. Pictures of flowing waterfalls, inspirational quotes about purity and nature, and blooming flowers decorate plastic bottles that hold bottled water. Bottled water, no matter how packaged, is not remotely green or eco-friendly. The water is not regulated, and many of the bottles end up in the trash, and ultimately in our oceans, roadsides, and habitats.

Here is an example of a recent exhibit from Fiji bottled water that screams greenwashing. Instead of buying bottled water, grab some stainless steel reusable water bottles and fill them with tap water!

2. Check out the outrageous Earth Day sponsor greenwashing video above from our friends at the Rainforest Action Network. So funny, and so ridiculous it is hard to believe you aren't watching the Daily Show!

3. Not So Earth Day Toys, made in China, and packaged in plastic:

Oh, yes. Here you can find a Hot Wheels Earth Day car! Packaged in plastic and slapped with an Earth Day label, there is nothing eco-friendly about this car.

At Oriental Trading, there are lots of wasteful Earth themed party favors, made from plastic, destined for the trash, and created from unsafe and unsustainable materials. Don't be fooled!

Here are some actual green toys made from recycled, non-toxic materials instead. Ugh. What's next, The Lorax pushing SUVs?

4. Celebrate Earth Day, eat cereal with loads of sugar and artificial food colorings!

While I encourage Kellog's to improve their sustainability practices, and the healthfulness of their products, I can't see how exactly they are doing this at their Earth Day website. I do see a large advertisement for their cereals, which contain an offensive amount of sugar and behavior altering artificial food colorings-- all contributing to obesity and learning problems in children---but, you can get a free reusable bag!

What have you seen in this pre-Earth Day 2012 season that smacks of greenwashing?? Please post a comment and we can look for real and meaningful actions to help the earth.

FDA Gives "Guidance" to Factory Farms and Drug Companies about Antibiotics

2012-04-11T19:40:00.001-07:00

Today, the FDA announced it will ask livestock producers, drug companies, and veterinarians to limit their use of antibiotics to promote growth in food producing animals, according to the LA Times and other news sources.

Why? As I have written about here before, as part of the group Moms for Antibiotic Awareness, more antibiotics are being used on livestock than in treating humans-- and this use is creating dangerous superbugs resistant to antibiotics. These endanger the public health, especially our children. Our families will likely face longer illnesses, more side effects, and lives lost because of the unnecessary overuse of antibiotics to crowd livestock animals in filthy conditions so they can grow as quickly as possible.

According to the LA Times:

"The FDA’s recommendations included guidelines to help the industry phase out the antibiotics for “production use” and transfer oversight of the drugs for therapeutic work to veterinarians (that is, require a prescription). The FDA also offered draft guidance to drug companies for labeling their products to require a prescription and draft regulations to allow veterinarians to authorize the use of “certain drugs” in feed."

That is all well and good, but notice the words guidelines and guidance. We all know what happens most of the time when we let massive business interests regulate themselves. We get chemicals added to products before they have been proved safe. We get "acceptable" levels of lead in toys. We get a decade of inaction on BPA, with contined legal use of this hormone disrupting chemical in the marketplace. We get artificial food colorings that cause behavioral and attention problems in kids, in most food products marketed directly to children and families.

Guidance, guidelines and recommendations simply don't work to protect public health. In today's news, the FDA doesn't actually require the livestock industry to do anything to stop endangering human health.

Most of the time, action is what solves problems. How dramatic would the lowering of lead levels been in gas and paint if it was a recommendation instead of legislation?

According to the NRDC:

"FDA’s guidance will not help solve the problem because the guidance has no binding force: it is still entirely up to the livestock industry to decide whether to follow the recommendations or ignore them. And even if we hear encouraging promises from industry, there is no assurance that improvements will actually follow. In fact, based on what we have seen so far we fully expect that non-binding guidance will do nothing to change the overuse of antibiotics in healthy livestock. Why is that? We have essentially been using a system of voluntary action since public health risks were revealed over three decades ago. Also, the guidance has existed in draft form since 2010. There is no reason to expect different results from more of the same."

So, it hasn't been working... so let's try it again?

What happened to the FDA's mission to protect the public health, and not factory farms, the fast food industry, and food packaging manufacturers?

Again, I am sorely disappointed in the FDA's inaction to protect the health of our citizens. Please, prove me wrong. Show me all the major meat producers that are not using antibiotics 6 months from now and I will happily retract this post.

In the meantime, tired parents, try to buy meat from only local, organic farms. And eat more vegetarian meals.

What's your take? I'd love to hear from you.

image: http://www.animalwelfareapproved.org/2010/09/27/dairy-cattle-antibiotic-residue-review/

Protect 7 Million Kids from Asthma

2012-04-10T10:25:00.002-07:00

(Here is a guest post from Gloria at Momsrising. I applaud new carbon pollution limits for power plants and hope you will join me-- so our kids can breathe easier, and we as moms can sleep more soundly.)

From ages one to seven, my daughter Cole had severe asthma. There were long periods when she and I would be out of commission one week out of four, she too sick to go to daycare and I at home to take care of her. At the time, we lived in Tokyo, Japan, and I have vivid memories of hunkering down in our shoebox apartment for days on end, struggling to keep a resistant toddler attached to the nebulizer, desperate for her to get better quickly and wondering how patient my employer really was with my frequent absences from work. I remember spending long, lonely nights keeping vigil next to Cole’s bed, watching her small rattling body fight for every breath and terrified it would lose.

When Cole was a year and a half old, a particularly nasty asthma attack turned into pneumonia and she had to be hospitalized. In Japan, it was standard procedure to attach IVs to very young patients to remove the worry of keeping them hydrated. My husband had to hold Cole tightly on his lap to keep her still, doing his best to twist his ear as far away as possible from her piercing screams as the nurse inserted a long IV needle into the back of her right hand. That pudgy starfish hand was then wrapped with so many layers of bandages and hospital tape that it became nothing more than a stump. Over the next ten days, Cole looked like a small amputee wandering the hospital halls with the aluminum pole of the IV drip trailing after her. I remember being kicked out of the hospital after visiting hours were over, worried to the point of tears that Cole would be so scared of being alone in her hospital crib that she would spend the night crying through the metal bars for her mommy and daddy, but we would not be there for her.

Cole is now 18 and looking forward to college.

Thankfully, she grew out of her asthma, but there are millions of other families every day who are going through the same experiences I went through. In the United States alone, about 7 million children have asthma,[1] with more than 200,000 a year needing hospitalization. This is a huge burden on American families, on our health care system and, with the millions of days of productivity lost to asthma care, on our economy. It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that in order to reduce the suffering and terrible costs from our asthma epidemic, we need fewer irritants (like air pollution) in our environment.

At the very least, our kids should have clean air, right?

If you agree with me, please sign on to our petition that reads:

"I support clean air for kids and carbon pollution limits for new and modified power plants."

http://action.momsrising.org/go/1710?akid=3222.198352.z_bLb3&t=5

It's up to us to raise this issue--and to raise the alarm about clean air and our kids. We really can’t afford to take clean air for granted, not when lawmakers like Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama assert that air pollution victims are “unidentified and imaginary,”[2] even when the asthma rate among high school students in his state is a staggering 25%! [3]

A couple of weeks ago, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed new rules to curb power plants’ emissions of carbon pollution, which traps the heat that cooks air pollution into asthma-provoking smog.[4] On April 13, the comment period on that rule will open to the public, and we need to collect as many supporting comments as possible RIGHT NOW to make sure the voices of moms and families are loud and clear from the get go. Together we can drown out the efforts of corporate polluters aggressively fighting clean air regulations with attack ads, lawsuits, and lobbyists.

Help the Environmental Protection Agency to stand firm against corporate polluters by showing that families across this country want clean air for kids! Sign on to our petition that reads:

"I support clean air for kids and carbon pollution limits for new and modified power plants."

http://action.momsrising.org/go/1710?akid=3222.198352.z_bLb3&t=7

The nation’s foremost doctors and health experts--including the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Heart Association, the American Lung Association, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, and Physicians for Social Responsibility--all call for “the strongest possible standards to reduce mercury and air toxics from coal- and oil-fired power plants.” 37 million children live in areas where the air is unhealthy [5], and kids who breathe polluted air can lose up to 15% in lung function compared to children who grow up where the air is less polluted.[6]

Give the EPA and the White House the encouragement they need to stand up to the pro-polluters waiting to take down this great new rule.

http://action.momsrising.org/go/1710?akid=3222.198352.z_bLb3&t=9

*Please share this link by forwarding this email or posting it on Facebook. We can all help keep the polluting corporate lobbyists away from the impending greenhouse gas rule and protect families across this country.

Please join your voice to mine so Cole and all our kids can have clean air to breathe and thrive.

-- Gloria

image: The Daily Green

[1] American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, "Asthma Statistics."

[2]The Racial Politics of Asthma,” by Dominique Browning, Time Ideas, March 29, 2012.

[3] Key Health Data about Alabama, Trust for America's Health.

[3] American Lung Association, "Protect Our Kids’ Health: Don’t Weaken the Clean Air Act." (PDF)

[4] American Lung Association, "State of the Air 2011."

[5] South Coast Air Quality Management District, "Children and Smog."

Organic Hooded Towel from Baby U R Precious

2012-04-09T18:14:00.000-07:00

Wait until you feel the velvety softness of this towel. Just try to pry your toddler or preschooler out of it!

Baby U R Precious makes the softest, snuggliest organic hooded towels for toddlers. These organic towels are made with natural bamboo velour fabrics for the softest feel you can find.

I can vouch for this, the towel is buttery soft-- why don't they make these in adult sizes?

These organic hooded towels are:

3x more absorbent than organic cotton
antibacterial
designed with a strap for mom to wear during bath time
ideal for sensitive skin

The double layer bamboo velour makes this toddler bath towel extra cozy and super absorbent. It is great for ages 1yr to 5 yr and works fabulous at the pool, beach and bath tub.

My 6 year old is enjoying the towel in this picture-- and it covers her just fine. She loves the hood. It keeps her wet head warm during our cold Vermont winters.

Baby U R Precious is a friend and sponsor of Non-Toxic Kids. We love the many sweet eco-friendly bamboo products found at their site-- for baby, toddlers, and preschoolers. You'll find amazingly soft pillow cases, baby rattles and hats, burp clothes, bibs, baby blankets, and new baby gift baskets.

Non-Toxic Kids Picks of the Week

2012-04-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

1. My Very Own Fairy Tale

My daughters have loved their I See Me books. They each got one from their grandmother, and there is something so simple and lovely about seeing their own names in print. I See Me books are personalized, beautiful books that feature your child's name in a board or hardcover book.

Each one of my daughters learned to read and spell their own names early, and these books certainly helped. The alphabet books help children with letter and sound recognition as well. The art is original, colorful, and beautiful, as you can see in the cover pictured above.

I noticed that I See Me is having a sale on their new fairytale book, which looks gorgeous. I know my girls would love this book, too (hint: mim, are you reading this?).

You can take 15% off My Very Own Fairy Tale! Personalized Book at ISeeMe.com with coupon code "fairy" at checkout. Expires 4/30/2012

This would make a sweet birthday gift for any child interested in fairies and magic.

2. Lunchskins 25% Off at Reuseit

Packing an eco-friendly lunch for your yourself or your kids? Lunchskins make sweet reusable sandwich and snack bags and they are on sale this week at Reuseit. You can replenish your stash of green lunch gear or stock up early for next year. You really can't have too many of these-- we always have our reusable lunch gear in constant rotation.

They are 20% off until April 15th.

**FCC guidelines: Buying through these links helps support Non-Toxic Kids as I am an affiliate of these folks. I only share picks that help families live safer, greener, smarter and healthier!

The Breast Cancer Fund Responds to the FDA Decision on BPA

2012-04-03T17:49:00.001-07:00

(Here is a guest post from Jeanne Rizzo, Breast Cancer Fund President & CEO, about the FDA's decision not to ban BPA from food packaging. I completely agree with her perspective and am glad to share her words here at Non-Toxic Kids. What do you think?)

Late Friday afternoon, on the eve of its legal deadline and at probably the best possible time to avoid media scrutiny, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced it has rejected the 2008 Natural Resources Defense Council petition requesting that the toxic chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, be declared unsafe and banned from food packaging.

The FDA said it "has determined, as a matter of science and regulatory policy, that the best course of action at this time is to continue our review and study of emerging data on BPA," and that "this announcement is not a final safety determination and the FDA continues to support research examining the safety of BPA."

This weak response is deeply disappointing and calls into question the FDA's ability to take decisive action to protect public health.

The body of evidence against BPA has been mounting over the years we've been calling on the FDA to make a definitive determination on BPA's safety. Most of us are exposed to BPA every day. In fact, the CDC found BPA in 93 percent of all Americans tested, and the National Institutes of Health point to food packaging, including food cans, which are lined with BPA, as a major route of exposure. BPA has been found in blood and urine of pregnant women, in the umbilical cord blood of newborns and in breast milk soon after women gave birth. Nearly 200 lab studies show that exposures to even low doses of BPA, particularly during pregnancy and early infancy, are associated with a wide range of adverse health effects later in life, including breast cancer. Studies show that BPA exposure can make non-cancerous breast cells grow and survive like cancer cells, and can actually make the cells less responsive to the cancer-inhibiting effects of tamoxifen, a drug used in the treatment of breast cancer.

Yet the FDA is saying it wants even more evidence of harm before acting. If BPA were a potential pharmaceutical drug, it is highly doubtful that, given the adverse effects already seen in animal models, it would ever be allowed into clinical trials in humans. Indeed, we are all currently part of an uncontrolled human BPA experiment.

The rejection of the NRDC petition is far from the last decision the FDA will have to make on BPA, and far from the last word from the public and policy makers. Two weeks ago, Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., formally petitioned the FDA to ban the use of BPA in food packaging. Markey has also introduced legislation, the Ban Poisonous Additives Act, that would instruct the FDA to ban BPA from all food packaging. Even the American Chemistry Council, which represents companies that manufacture BPA and has spent millions lobbying aggressively on behalf of BPA, submitted a petition to the FDA in December requesting that the agency ban the hormonally active chemical from baby bottles.

The FDA's inaction is in stark contrast to consumer, business and legislative action. Last month, the Breast Cancer Fund's Cans Not Cancer campaign publicized the fact that Campbell Soup Company will phase out the use of BPA in its can linings. Baby bottle and sports water bottle manufacturers abandoned BPA over the last few years. At the public policy level, 11 states have banned BPA from baby bottles and sippy cups, and three of those states have also banned it from infant formula and baby food.

Scientists, consumers, retailers, manufacturers and the states are sending clear signals that BPA doesn't belong in our food packaging and that investment in safe alternatives is an investment in the health of the American public. Now the FDA needs to catch up. Inaction is not acceptable. The FDA needs to take decisive, urgent action to ensure that all of us - regardless of where we live or where we shop - are protected from this toxic chemical.