Modus Operandi for Millennial Parents: Avoid Unnecessary Exposures

Late last week Senator Schumer (D-NY) introduced a federal bill to ban BPA, a hormone-disrupting chemical used in 95% of baby bottles, from all products for infants and young children. Just weeks ago, The National Institute of Health issued a report questioning the safety of BPA -- though they claim more research is still needed. Meanwhile, the American Chemistry Council, a plastics industry lobbying group, maintains that the chemical is totally safe at the levels to which we are exposed.

As a parent, my head is spinning with all the conflicting information and reports. Parents shouldn't have to worry about plastics, especially those in our children's baby bottles, teethers, and toys. I know we'd much rather be spending quality time with my children than poring over articles on dangerous chemicals that cause cancer, obesity and attention disorders in animals.

To cope with the uncertainty, I've adopted a modus operandi for my millennial family: avoid unnecessary exposures.

It's a natural feature of human behavior to act with caution. We do it everyday without even thinking about it. We wear seat belts, we lock doors, we take vitamins, we buy insurance. The list goes on and on. It's wired into our evolutionary adaptation for survival.

So why take the risk with BPA?

We should also support legislation aimed at protecting all our kids from BPA. While many of us are more used to navigating the sibling politics of who gets to play with the new Bob the Builder Deluxe Talking Tool Belt first, the big picture is just as if not more important. With this new federal legislation on the table, we must contact our local representatives (http://www.ncsl.org/public/leglinks.cfm) and tell them we support the ban. Once we ban BPA, we won't have to spend that precious hour after work and before kid bedtime in the grocery store scouring the shelves for safe plastics -- and can actually spend it with our kids.

But until the ban passes, buy baby bottles using the precautionary principle. BPA is most dangerous to infants because they develop at such a fast pace. We all know this. We put them to bed at night and by the time they wake us up in the morning, and they seem to have grown. The effect of a hormone-disrupting chemical like BPA on their little ever-changing bodies is much greater than it is on the rest of us. So seek out the BPA-free products and baby bottles, like Born Free. To find vetted companies making the safer solutions, go to HealthyChild.org, a non-profit clarifying the issues and choices in the marketplace.

I know I would rather read Goodnight Gorilla than the latest NIH report, wouldn't you?

Christopher Gavigan is author of Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home and CEO of the non-profit organization of the same name. Pick up the book or visit www.HealthyChild.org to learn more about avoiding unnecessary exposures, and buying with the health of your family and the earth in mind.

Comments

[Konnie]

oh goodie........something else to add to the list............
better living thru chemistry - i think not!
we are growing altered humans........
if you think this is just hype - check with a pediatrician.
they are seeing some strange things come thru the office with puzzled
parents attached. My 11 year old grandson has started exhibiting
the unmistakable signs of puberty and my 8 year old granddaughter
has underarm hair....... its hard enough explaining to a 13 year old what
is happening to their body............how is an 8 year old going to process
this information..............

[Lesscancer]

Many share your observation; seemingly epidemiology is still a low priority for medical schools. Relative to the fact we are still strongly a treatment/cure based culture.

And while the cure is not to be underestimated, especially when it comes to cancer, health care must expand it view to include prevention.

While the trend is changing, despite a growing awareness at the grass roots level, still too many pediatricians do not have the scope of knowledge to improve the health of children through the application of principles that work to reduce the unnecessary and preventable exposures that are both known and or suspected of harming human health.

Bill Couzens, Founder Lesscancer.org

[Lesscancer]

Healthy Child -Healthy World does great-great work. This post is especially helpful.

And yes I think there are many parents that would far prefer doing almost anything else, other than untwisting the names on labels.

But truth be told- in the work to prevent cancer causing exposures we do so because cancer has reached unprecedented numbers. Never before has there been so much cancer.

When it comes to children, for me "suspected" harm is good enough when making choices for my own family. Especially when it comes to the unnecessary exposures such as lawn and garden pesticides, a choice of toys and or some types of foods that are known and or suspected of posing a risk to human health.

If there is an opportunity to reduce the unnecessary and preventable environmental exposures that may be suspected of doing harm to human health, as parents we should take precautionary steps if we can and especially when it comes to children.

Children are likely to be exposed to substances in their environment at higher levels than are adults.

Bill Couzens, Founder Lesscancer.org