When a Bumbo Takes Precedence: Rethinking Childhood Hazards

Last week, my Facebook and Twitter feeds were full of admonishments about the Bumbo chair and its vicious, evil, and life-threatening properties. ?Bumbos were recalled!? I was not the only parent/blogger who thought this reaction was a completely ridiculous worry, and I tweeted this in reply to the hub-bub:

Which brings me to the heart of the matter: why THE HELL does a plastic chair (or, in previous years, drop-side cribs, among other innocuous items) warrant the type of attention that has parents leaping to warn each other of this potential ****DANGER DANGER DANGER**** while, every second of every day, children are subjected to the mess that is that has become the American way of life: processed foods, genetically-modified and pesticide-laden produce, vaccines full of aluminum, toxins in every product, chemical-leaching plastics, environmental hazards, and healthcare ruled by prescription drugs meant to ?fix? the body?s reactions to these invaders.

Okay, clearly I?m generalizing. But the fact that parents focused on ?alternative? health, green living, clean eating, natural birth, environmentalism and the mind-body-spirit connection remains a small portion of society points to the fact that, somewhere along the line, we (the collective ?we?) lost touch. We allowed those with financial and political power to make decisions for us. We allowed corporations to control our food, to dictate our health, to decide who controls a woman?s uterus. We allowed ourselves to be convinced that we?re dirty, pestilent individuals that need constant chemical cleansing. We said, ?Okay!? to vaccines that have undergone limited research and contain questionable ingredients. We didn?t put up a fight when factories polluted our air, our water, our lungs?

THIS MUST END NOW.

Parents, please, for the love of Whichever Thing You Consider Holy, RE-FOCUS. Each one of the issues I mentioned above contributes to our overall health and psyche. Was the Bumbo chair recall important for parents to see? Sure. But, I say, if you feel compelled to share a caveat via Facebook, make it one that counts. At the end of the day the Bumbo recall was posted, I?m sure there weren?t many internet-savvy moms who hadn?t heard about it. Imagine if the same amount of people had shared info about the dangers of vaccines, or environmental toxins, or pesticides in food. There is so much power in social media and WE, the collective WE, can influence so many, so quickly, on a daily basis. Of course, bigger issues require more reflection, and sometimes more acceptance that THERE IS A PROBLEM than a simple share of a product recall. But it is important that we keep these issues at the forefront. Here are a just a few places breaking down some of the major hazards to our children and making the issue accessible for all (I did not include the many, many incredible personal blogs out there!):

ENVIRONMENT
Moms Clean Air Force
My Plastic Free Life

GMO?S/LABELING
Just Label It

LEAD POISONING
Lead Safe America

TOXINS
Toxic Baby
UnAcceptable Levels

VACCINES
VacTruth.com
Vax Truth

Are there other organizations/projects/sites fighting the good fight that you feel are worthy of a shout-out? Share in the comments!

Related posts:

1. #Autism Rates Have Risen Again: My Gut Reaction
2. Vax Debate Revisited
3. The Vax Debate: Neither Side is Right

Tagged: environment, green, natural health, neurotoxins, vaccines

Source: http://healthfulmama.com/2012/08/when-a-bumbo-takes-precedence/

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