Children
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We have all been spending more time at home lately due to COVID-19. Most schools are still utilizing virtual learning at home in some way or another as part of their safety protocol to limit the spread of the virus. These virtual learning days may minimize exposure for the children to the coronavirus, but could…
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Lead can be found in many places in and around your home.If you live in a home built before 1978, there may be lead in the paint. Over time it can chip or peel off contaminating the soil around your home. If you are concerned about lead in the soil around your home, you can…
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Each day millions of children spend a good part of the day away from home in a child care facility. It’s important to keep them healthy and safe both at home and while they are away from home. One of best things you can do is to learn more about the connection between health and the indoor…
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It’s the last long weekend of summer. Take time off from your daily labors. Here are five things you can do to celebrate the long weekend. 1. Learn what Labor Day is all about? Do you know anything about Labor Day, other than the fact that you get Monday off? Take time to learn more…
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In 2013 there were 16,655 reports of children under 6 exposed to poisons that are easily found in our homes. In most homes you can find batteries, laundry detergent, medications, household cleaners, pesticides, gasoline, and paint, along with other household products. Many of these products, especially those that look like candy, can poison children. In…
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You could be adding to the pollutants in your home with the cleaning products you use. Studies conducted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency show levels of several common organic pollutants are two to five times higher inside homes than outside. These indoor pollutants come from volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from a variety of…
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Lead is a highly poisonous metal that can have serious health effects, especially for children under the age of 6. It only takes a small amount of lead to severely affect their mental and physical development. Lead-based paint and lead contaminated soil are the most common sources of exposure. House paint in the U.S. no…
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Mold is all around us. It grows on any organic substance, as long as there is moisture and oxygen. You can’t eliminate all of the mold and mold spores in your home, but you can reduce mold by controlling moisture. Mold can trigger allergies or asthma attacks in children and adults, so it is important…
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We spend close to 90% of our time indoors, much of which is spent in our homes where we are exposed to a variety of contaminants and allergens that can trigger asthma attacks. In the U.S. almost 25 million people are affected by asthma. This includes about 7 million children. The asthma triggers in your…
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Where did you walk today? Think about all the places your feet have been in the last 24 hours and then imagine the contaminants found in those places. Every time you walk into your home with your shoes on you are tracking in the contaminants you encountered throughout the day. About 30 to 40 percent…
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Compared to adults, babies and children have a higher breathing rate and less developed lungs. This means babies and children can be more susceptible to environmental damage to the lungs than adults, like in the case of radon. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. It’s a naturally occurring, radioactive gas that…
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Injuries in the home are the number one killer of children in the U.S. Most of these home injuries could have been prevented. An example is single-use laundry detergent, also known as Laundry pods. They are convenient to use, but can be very dangerous to children. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFbPnYXeBGk What can you do to make your home…
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Children are more likely than adults to fall victim to hazards in your home. Relative to their body size, children breathe in more air and consume more food than adults. They also spend more time close to the ground where contaminants lurk and there are lots of things to chew on. This means they are…
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It is always important to provide opportunities for children to spend unstructured time with nature. Here is a book I suggest for parents, grandparents and those who are concerned about our children Richard Louv’s book Last Child in the Woods. The book looks at the concept of nature deficit disorder. The theory is that our…
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This past week was Lead Poisoning Prevention Week. It was good to have a week focused on lead poisoning, but we really need to pay attention to the dangers of lead year around. Lead poisoning is often preventable. The most common sources of lead poisoning are lead paint chips and dust. In 1978 lead was…
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Some fun Halloween facts. In 2012 there were 41 million potential trick-or-treaters across the U.S. In 2012 47,800 acres of pumpkins were harvested The top 6 pumpkin-producing states are Illinois, California, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York and Michigan. The self-proclaimed “Halloween Capital of the World” is Anoka, Minnesota. It was one of the first cities in…
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Your children are at a greater risk of exposure to environmental hazards than you. These hazards exist where they live, learn and play. Children engage in “riskier behaviors” than most adults. Two big “environmental risky behaviors” children engage in are: Crawling across floors that can have a number of different contaminants on them Putting toys…
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Get ready to feel really good about young people. This video is a snapshot of Teens As Planners (TAP) a service-learning and dropout prevention programing developed and implemented by UGA College of Family and Consumer Sciences. Through TAP youth have the opportunity to grow and become caring contributing members of society. The teens in this…
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Here comes company… It is a given fact that every one of us has visitors in our home throughout the year. Sure, some of us entertain more than others, but whether we like it or not we all have the occasional house guest. If it’s not family visiting during the holidays, then it’s the delivery…
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I just finished watching Bill Moyers’s interview of Biologist, mother and activist Sandra Steingraber. This made me stop and think about how I approach my life as an activist, my life as an educator, my life as a Change Agent. in the video Ms. Steingraber discussed how we all have a different set of skills…
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Mother’s Day is just around the corner. What plans have you made? How about going GREEN this Mother’s Day. Here are a few of my favorite ideas. Spring is here and all thoughts go to gardening, how about making a special garden just for mom. Here are some suggestions: Butterfly and Hummingbird Garden, Cutting…
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Recently I was teaching an online class about keeping your home healthy and reducing the asthma triggers in your home. I talked about some of the main asthma triggers in your home – dust mites, pet dander, secondhand smoke, mold, cockroaches, and mice. The training included action steps to take to reduce or eliminate these…
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How many of you remember getting “BIG MONEY” during the holidays from a favorite aunt or uncle or maybe your Godparent. I remember one particular Christmas, I had been sick with a very sore throat. My uncle was visiting and the family was sitting in the kitchen. I walked into the kitchen all wrapped up…