This past summer, my friend Amy sent me an article about toxic chemicals in car seats -- chemicals that have been linked to reproductive problems, hormone imbalances, and developmental issues in children. I quickly scanned the list of the worst offenders, and found right at the top the car seat we had purchased for our son.
As if meals, diapers, and playdates weren’t enough -- now I needed to worry that my son’s car seat might make him sick?
What was most upsetting was that I had researched various car seat models and chosen ours because of its high “safety” rating. Turns out that’s what’s safe in an accident has little to do with what’s safe for my son to breathe. I found myself wondering: Why is it that all car seats must pass crash tests to be sold, but there’s no safety threshold for toxic chemicals? How could I have done all that research and still bought a car seat that wasn’t completely “safe?”
My car seat dilemma led me to think about starting a blog. In my short time as a mother, I’ve come to realize that motherhood is all about making decisions. We mothers are constantly weighing pros and cons in hopes of making as many good decisions as possible while minimizing the impacts of the bad ones. We all want the best for our children, but in a day and age with so many choices, who really knows what the best is? There are always trade-offs, and expert advice, which is often given in isolation, can only be so helpful.
I want to help people easily find information to make better decisions in their lives, for their children, for themselves, and for their homes. I don’t want it to sound overly preachy; I want these decisions to be easy -- easy to do, easy to remember and, whenever possible, easy to afford.
At the end of the day, though, the easiest way for a mom like me to make consistently good decisions would be if all of my options were safe and healthy ones. And the only way I see this happening is if we have strong government safeguards in place to protect our children’s health and eliminate toxic chemicals from everyday products. I don’t want to have to think about toxic car seats, and I’m sure plenty of other moms feel the same way. That’s how I got to thinking about what it would take to build a community of other moms, dads, and grandparents who would join together to advocate for safety standards and common-sense government protections, and effect real and lasting change for our children and our planet.
I soon realized that I didn’t have the time or expertise to get either of these goals accomplished on my own. I turned to NRDC (which publishes OnEarth) because they have the knowledge and experience that I lacked. NRDC employs some of the top scientists in the country (and many of them are moms, too!) who focus on problems that affect our lives and our environment daily. I know the decisions that I need to make; they understand the facts and science that can inform those decisions and help all of us make better choices.
I like to think of NRDC as Mother Nature’s lawyer. They were the ones who helped establish the Clean Air and Clear Water acts that still protect us today. NRDC knows how to get things done in Washington and they are working to put legislation in place that will protect our children, ourselves, and our environment. I have full confidence that by working together we can create a safer, healthier environment. And hopefully we’ll all learn a bit and have a lot of fun along the way.
Stay tuned as I find how to detox my carseat, avoid toxic chemicals in the home, and seek answers to many other health and community issues that we all as moms must deal with each day.
