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You are here: Home » Natural Health » When a Bumbo Takes Precedence: Rethinking Childhood Hazards

When a Bumbo Takes Precedence: Rethinking Childhood Hazards

August 20, 2012 by HealthfulMama 7 Comments

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:

Bumbos: recalled after 2 dz skull fractures. #Vaccines: still on the market; still contain aluminum #priorities ow.ly/cZBye

— Gretchen (@HealthfulMama) August 15, 2012

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.
HealthfulMama bumborecall safety
hoboton
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 potential 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!

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Filed Under: Natural Health, Natural Parenting, Thoughts to Action

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sarah says

    August 20, 2012 at 9:45 PM

    I agree with your argument in spirit. 🙂 I disagree, though, that dropside cribs weren’t dangerous. But I don’t think that was your point.

    Reply
    • HealthfulMama says

      August 21, 2012 at 8:58 AM

      But was *every* drop-side crib dangerous? Probably not. Only the shoddily-constructed ones. But, correct, my point is that product recalls generally affect such a small percentage of children yet garner significant attention and fear for some reason.

    • Sarah says

      August 28, 2012 at 3:07 PM

      I feel ya. It’s hard not to get swept up into the culture of fear and questioning our ideas as parents (vs. what coorporations tell us).

  2. Victoria says

    August 28, 2012 at 4:43 PM

    I agree… We DO have a powerful voice… as bloggers, moms, dads and the power of social media… I also wish we would learn to use it more wisely with other issues that are equally if not more important.

    Reply
  3. Amanda says

    August 28, 2012 at 5:16 PM

    Very well said! Unfortunately fear works or immediate fear (as in the crib, Bumbo chair, etc.) with everything else you mentioned it is harder to see the cause and effect (sometimes it takes decades) and that is why it is important that WE do share reliable information so more and more will take the time to research and make more informed choices for the sake of their and their children’s health.

    Reply
  4. Sarah says

    August 28, 2012 at 9:58 PM

    I agree that the fear and hype are misplaced. I think we need to rely more on common sense and our intuition as parents and less on popular media.

    Reply
  5. Lisa Ladrido says

    August 29, 2012 at 10:09 AM

    So true, our children are constantly exposed to so many dangers on a daily basis. From the food we eat to the toothpaste we use. It is sad that we are not protected from these toxic agents that they sell us on a daily basis. We must stand up to it by not purchasing these products. Great post ! Visiting from Blogger Friends Support on FB!

    Reply

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