Love Your Kids? Go Green

2/19/2008

My patients and their parents are often surprised to hear me say that the #1 threat to children’s health today is not any one disease (although obesity comes close), but our children’s increasing exposure to a wide range of environmental threats. No matter what your politics, I don’t think you can deny that we are performing a massive experiment on the long-term effects of various toxins and carcinogens with our children as the guinea pigs. Untested chemicals and poisonous heavy metals are in the air they breathe, the dirt they play on, and the water and food they drink.

Every parent should be an environmentalist. Why?

• Because children are developing organisms, and exposure to the wrong substances at the wrong time can have lifelong impact.
• Because children have a greater exposure than adults due to their lower body weight, their closeness to the ground, and their habit of putting everything in their mouths.
• Because tens of thousands of chemicals now in use have never been tested on children. And safety thresholds have not been set for the chemicals that have been investigated because we know very little about how much exposure is safe in children.
• Because particulates in the air increase the risk for asthma, and the kind of mercury found in our air, soil, and water has been linked to the rise in autism.
• Because chemicals known as environmental estrogens or hormonally active agents found in pesticides and dioxins can affect the developing reproductive system.
• Because exposure to lead can lower intelligence, cause hyperactivity and lead to aggression and other behavioral disorders.

I know this is a huge problem, and no one or two of us will make much impact on it. But as parents, there are things we can all do:

• Educate yourself. We dedicated a chapter to this issue in Healthy Child, Whole Child, but you’ll find even more information in Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World, by Herbert Needleman M.D. and Philip Landrigan M.D.
• Clean up your home. Get rid of toxic household, garden, and lawn-care products. Discover the joy of using chemical-free cleaners like vinegar and water. Test your drinking water and install the appropriate filter if needed. Use test swipes on house dust, windowsills, toys, and yard soil to check for lead. Never smoke or allow others to smoke around your children.
• Be careful with plastics. Don’t microwave in plastic wrap or plastic containers. Look for baby bottles and chew toys labeled phthalate- and BPA-free. Buy the kids reusable metal water bottles.
• Use your power as a consumer. Don’t knowingly buy products that contain toxins. Avoid fish likely to contain mercury or other contaminants, look for alternatives to toxic household products, opt for organic food if you can afford it.
• Use your senses. If you notice a chemical taste or smell while eating or drinking, it’s likely chemicals have also been released into the food or beverage. Look for safer alternatives.
• Use your power as a voter to advocate for your children and grandchildren. Elect officials who share your concerns about environmental impacts on your family’s health and are willing to do something about it.

I think making the air, water, and earth safe for our kids should be our highest priority. Watch for more information here on green parenting in the weeks and months to come.