Since the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) was passed in 1976, tens of thousands of new chemicals have been developed for widespread use with little oversight or testing and the law itself has never been really updated, the pediatricians claim in a new position paper for the AAP.

“It is widely recognized to have been ineffective in protecting children, pregnant women, and the general population from hazardous chemicals in the marketplace. It does not take into account the special vulnerabilities of children in attempting to protect the population from chemical hazards,” write the authors.

It is because of the inadequacies of the TSCA that parents and pediatricians have been subjected to multiple high-profile media blitzes about specific chemicals, such as phthalates in toys and bisphenol A in infant bottles, that create anxiety without solving the problems of risky chemical exposures

Under the TSCA, companies must disclose any known hazards of chemicals used to make consumer products, but unlike drug companies, they are not required to perform pre-market testing, or even post-market followup. Pediatricians say the system works as a disincentive for companies to learn more about the chemicals because any problems found would need to be remedied at a company’s expense.

Among the changes called for by the AAP:

• Manufacturers should be responsible for developing information about chemicals before marketing.
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) should have the authority to demand additional safety data about a chemical and to limit or stop its marketing when a high degree of suspicion about safety exists.
• The federal government should provide funding to evaluate the effects of chemicals on children’s health. Research should include effects on reproduction and development.

The EPA has implemented several voluntary programs in attempts to compensate for inadequacies of the TSCA. These programs include the Endocrine Disruptor Screening Program, the Voluntary Children’s Chemical Evaluation Program, and the Chemical Assessment and Management Program.

Because these programs are voluntary, the EPA cannot require companies to produce information about the health and safety risks of these chemicals. Each of these programs has produced few data over long periods of time, and none has led to any significant regulatory changes.

Under the EPA Inventory Update Reporting program, the chemical-manufacturing industry estimated that approximately 27 trillion pounds of chemicals were produced in or imported into the United States per year in the early part of this decade, which is the equivalent of approximately 74 billion pounds a day (nearly 250 pounds per person) and does not include fuels, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, or food products. Yet, in the past 35 years, the TSCA has been used to regulate only five chemicals.

“The current policy really is virtually useless,” said Dr. Jerome Paulson, the paper’s author and medical director of the Child Health Advocacy Institute at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., in a press release. “In the last couple of years we’ve had a ‘toxicant of the month’ situation. Why aren’t these chemicals tested before they’re in the market so we . . . can know if they’re unlikely to do harm to the environment or to human beings?”

For more on medical safety issues, see the library of articles by Daytona Beach medical malpractice attorney.

If you have already enrolled a child in daycare, you have at least some experience to go by. If your friends or acquaintances have their kids in daycare, you can ask them. If you don’t have any of those resources to draw upon, then you’ll need to research daycare facilities on your own. Internet chatgroups and websites can be helpful, but the first place to start is with the government agency that regulates childcare.

Chatgroups and other internet information can be biased and inaccurate. A bad review can be caused by a trivial misunderstanding between daycare operator and parent. Perhaps a parent was having a bad day and then became offended because
the parent mistook the tone of a daycare employee. Then the parent posts something negative online. Those are unreliable reports and should be double checked.

The best place to get reliable information about the quality of daycare facilities is the Florida Department of Children and Families.  From its homepage, click on “programs” and then “childcare.” At that page, you can search all the childcare providers in your zip code by clicking on “provider search.” All you have to do is select which county you’re in, input your zip code and select which provider type you’re looking for.

Once the list of daycare providers appears, you can view their inspection records to see if they regularly live up to the quality standards required by Florida law. If a provider has been “reinspected,” it is because it has not meet the inspection requirements and were given a second chance to correct the issues.

Some facilities I investigated had violations ranging from improper record keeping to failing to have a staff person properly trained in first aid and CPR to not having the required protective mats under their swingset. If these violations are corrected, no further action is taken. However, repeat offenders are subject to administrative action. Information about providers that have been subject to administrative action is coming soon.

At the same screen where you click on “Provider Search,” you can click on “Administrative Actions, Publications, Reports” along the left hand column. Once the government starts posting information there, you’ll be able to discover the worst daycare facilities in Florida.

A great tool to utilize when you’re doing a provider search is the checkbox for “Gold Seal Accredited” childcare providers. By checking that box, the search return will only display the very best of daycare facilities in your zip code. Gold Seal Accredited programs provide a level of care that exceeds the minimum child care licensing standards established by Florida law by meeting the higher standards of the approved accrediting agencies.

Children of that age are more susceptible to poisoning and often do not understand the dangers such substances present. Otherwise harmless substances found in the home can cause young children serious injury.

Medications were found to be the most common cause of accidental child poisoning. Almost half of all child injuries from poisoning involved either prescription or non-prescription medication. Those types of childhood poisoning occurred mostly in two situations: those involving parents administering an incorrect dosage and those involving unsupervised children ingesting incorrect medication or too much medication.

Household cleaning products and pesticides were the second leading cause of childhood poisoning injuries. They accounted for 21 percent of all child poisoning injuries. Other child poisoning causes include cosmetics, vitamins, and dietary supplements.

In this country, 71,000 children are injured each year from medication related poisonings alone. That included prescription and over-the-counter drugs. The total number of annual child poisonings is around 140,000.

This is a staggering number when you consider how simple it is to prevent accidental child poisoning. Simply store your medications and household chemicals out of your children’s reach. Take the short amount of time necessary to read and understand medication directions.

Never store your medicine in purses, bags, drawers, on counter-tops or other places kids can get to them. If you can’t store your household chemicals high enough to be out of the reach of children, use child locks on those cabinets.

Keep household chemicals in their original containers, and never near food so they are not confused with food. Also never refer to medications as “candy” to your children or say they taste like candy. This will only encourage them to overdose if they gain unsupervised access to them.

Since then, the blogosphere has erupted in debate about whether drinking while breastfeeding is harmful or whether the police were right. Only one thing is clear – that there are no clear answers. In fact, we can’t really be sure the woman was drunk at the time. While she pleaded guilty to child neglect, police did not administer a blood-alcohol test because they aren’t necessary for child neglect charges. Police said they knew she was drunk from the way she was behaving, but reports say no more than that.

Some bloggers think the police abused their authority even if Anvarinia had been drunk. “Since when is breast-feeding while drunk a crime?” said Dr. Amy Tuteur, a retired obstetrician and gynecologist who writes the Skeptical OB. If Anvarinia had been feeding her baby formula, “no one would have bothered to check what was in the bottle,” Tuteur opined. “You can do a lot more damage by mixing formula wrong.”

The thing is that no one can know what effect drunken breast feeding has on babies. No one has ever studied it directly because of the eithical implications of conducting studies whereby researchers induce intoxication in breast feeding mothers. The only evidence we have on the subject is anecdotal, which does not allow conclusions to be drawn one way or the other.

Most interest groups advise against drinking and breastfeeding but others see no harm in limited alcohol consumption among breast feeding mothers. It has also been said that alcohol assists a woman with making milk. Doctors report that alcohol remains in the body for two to three hours after consumption. Other interesting posts can be found at http://ecochildsplay.com

Commentators who feel the police came down too hard on the mother argue that the child’s best interests were harmed when its mother was put in jail for 5 years. They argue that drunken breast feeding is the lesser of the two evils. Police, however, argue that Anvarinia was arrested for more than just drunken breast feeding. Police say nothing more than that it was the totality of the circumstances and that they would have arrested the woman on child neglect charges even if she had not been nursing her infant drunk.

Each community recognizes Child Abuse Prevention Month a little differently, but it’s easy to find ways to join and show your support. Different ways to participate in Child Abuse Prevention month include participating in fundraisers to support prevention activities and treatment facilities for victims, and candlelight vigils held as a remembrance. Many child abuse prevention resources exist. Here is a listing of organizations for you to contact to get involved:

Childhelp

Childhelp provides assistance to victims of child abuse and neglect. The organization focuses its efforts on prevention, intervention and treatment of child abuse. The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, 1-800-4-A-CHILD is a 24-hour hotline free to callers across the country. Childhelp’s also provides residential treatment services,  advocacy,  foster care,  group homes, and child abuse education and training.

Circle of Parents

Circle of Parents works to prevent child abuse and neglect and to strengthen families through mutual self-help parent support groups and children’s programs. This national network spans 26 statewide organizations including Florida.

National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome

Learn about shaken baby syndrome, shaken baby syndrome prevention programs, and training for professionals and parents nationwide.

National Exchange Club Child Abuse Prevention Services

Boasts a national network of child abuse prevention centers that helps at-risk parents replace patterns of abusive behavior with effective skills for nonviolent parenting.

Zero to Three

Promotes the healthy infant and toddler development by supporting and strengthening families, communities, and those who support them.