Issues > September/October 2002 (#92) > Book Review: Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World

Book Review: Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World

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 Landrigan, M.P.A. (Rodale, 2001, $12.95)

Here is an up-to-date, resource-filled guide to avoiding the toxic chemicals that surround our children, written by two pediatricians (members of The Green Guide editorial board) and a public-health educator.

Throughout the book you'll find step-by-step procedures for avoiding allergy and asthma attacks, exposure to toxins in food and household cleaners, pest/weed control and decorating products, hazards of day care (including E. coli, salmonella and rabies from classroom pets) and lead poisoning. Also covered are little-known risks, such as lead in children's art supplies and toys, toxins in certain house plants and exactly what weeds, grasses and trees most commonly produce allergens. Raising Healthy Children advises "prudent avoidance" of such things as electromagnetic fields (EMFs), which have been linked to cancer clusters but not yet proved to cause disease. Finally, the authors remind adults to look after ourselves, especially if we'd like to produce a healthy child one day, by reducing exposure to reproductive and other toxins.

All this useful information fits in a slim, portable paperback that should become every parent's well-thumbed companion. Along with that caring pediatrician who knows you wouldn't call at 3 a.m. without good reason, this book will always be there for you.

Raising Healthy Children in a Toxic World: 101 Smart Solutions for Every Family is available at Powell's Books.