Description
More than 80,000 new chemicals have been developed and released into the global environment during the last four decades. Today the World Health Organization attributes more than one-third of all childhood deaths to environmental causes, and as rates of childhood disease skyrocket -- autism, asthma, ADHD, obesity, diabetes, and even birth defects -- it raises serious, difficult questions around how the chemical environment is impacting children's health.Children and Environmental Toxins: What Everyone Needs to Know® offers an accessible guide to understanding and identifying the potential sources of harm in a child's environment. Written by experts in pediatrics and environmental health and formatted in an easy to follow question-and-answer format, it offers parents, care providers, and activists a reliable introduction to a hotly debated topic.As the burdens of environmental toxins and disease continue to defy borders, this book provides a new benchmark to understanding the potential threats in our environment and food. No parent or care provider should be without it.
Table of Contents
PrefaceIntroduction1. Changing diseases in a changing environmentPatterns of childhood disease -- then and nowEnvironmental changes2. New chemicals and new childhood chemical exposuresExplosive growth of chemicalsEarly warning signsGaps in safety and toxicity testingChildhood exposure to new chemicals3. Children's unique vulnerability to toxic chemicals in the environmentUnique windows of vulnerability exist in childrenChildren process toxic exposures more slowly than adultsChildren's higher metabolism rates make different demands on their bodies than adultsChildhood exposures can incubate for many years and may cause adult diseaseExposures are proportionately greater in children than in adultsNormal hand-to-mouth behavior increases their exposure to toxinsChildren live closer to the ground and have different exposures than adultsOther risk factors compound the problem4. The links between childhood disease and toxic chemicals in the environmentThe increase in autism, ADHD, and other problems of the developing brainThe increase in male birth defects, early puberty in girls, and testicular cancer in young memThe increased incidence of asthma and allergiesNew links between household toxins, obesity, and diabetesThe links between childhood exposures and adult diseaseThe growing problems with reproductionThe increases in childhood cancer5. A Guide for Parents: Keeping Your Child Safe from Environmental ToxinsAn environmental checklist for your homeOver 100 ways to protect your children and promote health as they growAt home10 ways to make baby's room safer8 ways to avoid asthma and allergy attacks10 practical ways to prevent lead poisoning25 ways to minimize your child's exposure to endocrine disruptors9 cautions about pesticides11 ways to reduce exposure to unsafe foods14 tips for avoiding exposure to household chemicals6 ways to grow your child into a healthy adultAt day care10 ways to make day care saferAt school10 ways to make school saferIn the neighborhood10 ways to make the neighborhood saferTips for future moms and dads10 ways to protect future children6. A Call to ActionChildren's health, toxic chemicals and youPolicy and legislation: where we stand nowEvidence-based preventionUS standards vs standards in other countriesConsequences of our current situation A call for a new public health revolutionNew ways to protect children from environmental toxinsOur call to action - community based actions, state initiatives, federal legislationCareer opportunities for the future of public health
