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High Expectations for President-elect Obama to Address Chemical Exposure

Friday, November 21, 2008
Posted by Christopher Gavigan
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Physicians, scientists, health advocates, and parents (myself included) hold great optimism and high expectations for the Obama administration in addressing toxics issues, and its ability to choose administrative staff who will prioritize public health, worker safety and a clean environment. Today, we submitted our pleas for a halt to the urgent chemical exposure crisis in the U.S. and the world, and have proposed ideas on what to do about it to President-elect Obama's Change.gov website.

Thursday, November 20, 2008
Posted by Janelle Sorensen
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In August we celebrated as the President signed a law banning lead and several phthalates from toys and baby products. However, the law doesn’t go into effect until February 10th, 2009, giving toy makers and stores months to sell the soon-to-be-illegal products. The unintended consequence of this important ban? Retailers are flooding the market with the toxic toys, priced to sell, just in time for the swarms of Holiday shoppers.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Posted by Healthy Child
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Many companies encourage their employees to make charitable contributions by matching their philanthropic support - some even match at an increased rate of $5 for each $1 given. The impact of corporate matching support can be enormous.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Posted by Janelle Sorensen
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When I was pregnant with my first child, I went in for a regular prenatal check up and found out that my unborn baby had an irregular heartbeat. I was told to go straight to the hospital, get hooked up to a fetal heart monitor, and have an ultrasound to see if her heart was developing properly. When we arrived, we were immediately hooked up to the heart monitor, but there wasn’t a doctor available to do the ultrasound.

My husband and I sat for three hours listening to the monitor, to our baby’s erratic heartbeat. Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump, pause. Thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump, thump-thump, pause. Those pauses were deafening.

Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Posted by Christopher Gavigan
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Its a remarkably satisfying feeling to see a friend formally acknowledged for their tireless work and impressive achievements – especially when their achievements include pioneering a new way of thinking that will “create a better and brighter world for all”.

We’d like to send our many congratulations to Seventh Generation’s CEO, Jeffrey Hollender, who has sat on the Healthy Child Board of Advisors since 2006. Jeffrey was just recently named the 2008 Social Entrepreneur CEO of the Year by Corporate Responsibility Officer (CRO) Magazine. This award recognizes corporate leaders whose “outstanding organizational leadership in the areas of corporate responsibility; governance, risk and compliance; sustainability; and philanthropy has led to significant company growth."

Monday, November 17, 2008
Posted by Janelle Sorensen
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An amazing thing happened this weekend. On Saturday afternoon I checked my Twitter account and saw that a handful of moms were complaining about a new ad launched by Motrin that morning. They were saying that the ad attacked baby-wearing. Being a fan of the practice, I had to check out what Motrin was saying.

Just like these other moms, I was immediately miffed. The ad was demeaning and simply in poor taste (especially given the fact that they launched it during International Babywearing Week). Among other things, it implied that moms wear babies as a fashion accessory to make us look “official.” I’m not usually this easy to offend, but I was compelled to add my voice to the Twitter complaints and even emailed the company.

Saturday, November 15, 2008
Posted by Jennifer Taggart
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Your baby is fussing as you are waiting in line, and you have no toys to soothe him. No pacifier. No bottle. So what does almost every parent do? Jingle that ring of keys at the baby, and then let him play with them.

Keys may be a little gross – they certainly aren’t that clean. But have you ever thought about what most household keys are made out of? Most household keys are brass – and contain lead. Inevitably your baby will want to put those noisy keys in his mouth. So, as your baby sucks on those keys, he can be exposed to lead.

Is there enough lead present to cause a problem? Probably.

Friday, November 14, 2008
Posted by Janelle Sorensen
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• Pesticides are more dangerous than we thought. U.S. scientists studying 10 of the world's most popular, approved pesticides say, when combined, the chemicals caused 99 percent mortality in tadpoles. Such "cocktails of contaminants" are frequently detected in nature, the scientists said, noting their findings offer the first illustration of how a large mixture of pesticides can adversely impact the environment (which ultimately impacts our health).

Friday, November 14, 2008
Posted by Healthy Child
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In Greek mythology, Pandora was created as a punishment for mankind and her box containing a variety of evils was supposed to remain closed tight. But, Pandora was endowed with curiosity and she ended up opening it. According to Wikipedia:

“When she opened it, all of the evils, ills, diseases, and burdensome labor that mankind had not known previously, escaped from the jar, although Pandora was quick enough to close it again and keep one value inside: hope. We are not told why hope alone remained in the jar.”

Thursday, November 13, 2008
Posted by Christopher Gavigan
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At a recent speaking engagement, a mother ran up to me. Excited and nearly tackling me, she announced, “I just have to tell you, I read Healthy Child’s new book, and honestly, your advice helped me save my son’s life!” Her son, only 18-months-old, had constantly battled asthma. Simple tips from Healthy Child Healthy World had eased his breathing and her worries. As her beautiful toddler sheepishly smiled at me from her arms, his grateful mother asked:

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

The answer is yes. And right now, I am asking you for the most basic kind of help: your financial contribution.