Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World: 101 Smart Solutions for Every Family by Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., Herbert L. Needleman, M.D., and Mary M. Landrigan, M.P.A.

June 2004 - Review by Mary Guthrie, Generation Green

Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World is a primer that should be on families’ bookshelves across the country. Written by a couple of doctors and a nurse, who are also parents, the book presents a clear portrayal of the possibility of the toxic hazards we can encounter in the world today, but shows both easy and difficult steps we can take to lessen the danger. Among them: hazardous household chemicals, lead, pesticides, allergens, EFMs (electromagnetic fields), unsafe foods, and hazards found at schools, daycares and in neighborhoods.

The book has a very positive premise. Its organizing sensibility comes from solutions, and we find notations at the heading of each chapter to let us know just how important this solution is and how hard it will be to accomplish. For instance, in the section addressing the needs of those with allergies, the authors suggest the family may need to find a new home for the family pet. This step is seen as important but difficult. This awareness of the warp and woof of family life is refreshing.

They start by helping us look at what we’re closest to – our homes. How old is your house, is the paint chipping, how old is the plumbing? The writers will have you looking in your medicine cabinet and poking in the cleaning supplies closet. Allergies are an enormous problem for today’s children, as is asthma. The more we can do at home to prevent triggering these conditions, the more we can help our kids to be healthy and productive.

The authors point out some little-known hazards, such as lead in imported candle wicks and crayons. They describe a non-toxic treatment for lice using olive oil, which sounds so much more sensible than using a harsh pesticide shampoo on a little one’s hair.

Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World should retain its usefulness for years to come. Couples struggling with infertility can find some advice, and those with questions about how to refurbish the nursery, or how to check out hazards in the high school science lab will too. “Make peace with your lawn,” the authors advise, urging natural grass care. In the next breath, they are asking us to find a way to talk to those neighbors who use all the chemicals to achieve that emerald green lawn patch.

That’s what’s nice about the author’s approach. They acknowledge the innate toxicity of the world we live in, but they help us to realize how much we really do hold in our hands. Our children’s health is something we can hold, treat with love, and do so much to protect. Written with clarity and humor, Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World is a valuable guide for concerned parents everywhere.

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Amazon.com Review

What do salt, peaches, and carpet have in common? Two things: chances are you have them in your house, and they all have the potential for serious toxicity. Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World is full of scary eye-openers, but it also includes plenty of ways to improve the well-being and safety of your family at home, work, daycare, or the local park.

The 101 suggestions in the book range far and wide in the search for common sources of toxicity and are further subdivided into areas of special interest. Each chapter has a short list of questions to help you identify which topics to focus on, such as "How old is your house?" and "Does your school have science labs?". Depending on the answer, a list of topic numbers will be of special interest in your hunt for solutions. Chapter topics include food safety (stop using antibiotic washes), household chemicals (don't use mildew-resistant paints), and reproductive risks, so it's also possible to simply flip to the area of greatest concern.

Because of arrangement by topic rather than toxin, easy solutions like giving away poisonous philodendrons and poinsettias are featured right next to suggestions on ripping out carpets and putting down wood floors; chemicals that are known to be instantly deadly are listed right next to potential sources of long-range impact. While the overall range is excellent, the book may be overwhelming to novices in the world of chemicals.

Review By Jill Lightner

About the book's primary authors: Philip J. Landrigan, M.D., is professor of pediatrics, Chair of Community and Preventive Medicine, and director of the Center for Children's Health and the Environment at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He directed a major study at the National Academy of Sciences on pesticides and children's diets. Herbert L. Needleman, M.D., is a professor of child psychiatry and pediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He is an internationally recognized expert on childhood lead exposure.

To view a more complete list of Generation Green's recommended adult reading, click here.