Child Health and Safety Issues

Child health or safety issues face us every day. Every generation is smarter, bolder, and more curious than the preceding generation. That is why it is imperative that we address safety issues and keep a keener eye on our children.

Lately, summertime is a time for concern as the number of children drowning has reached nauseating heights. Even one child dying by accidental drowning is too much and something that no parent or guardian can ever fully forgive themselves for. Fences and locking gates around pools have just been implemented in the public conscious because of such tragedies that have occurred over the past several years.

Other child health or safety issues revolve around lead in toys that are imported from overseas. Although lead has been banned from paint on toys in the United States since the late seventies, other countries still have no restrictions and perhaps use it for its economic values or a lack of education as to the danger of it. America has a responsibility to educate and perhaps help fund those countries and companies to make the transition to non lead paint.

Plastic can also contain lead and has yet been banned from plastics on children's toys. Lead actually makes plastic more flexible and more durable in heat. But a health issue is that when plastic is exposed to some detergents the chemical bond between lead and plastic breaks down and forms a dust that can be ingested through inhalation and lead to respiratory infections and other incubating afflictions.

Children's health or safety issues should be at the forefront of the country's concerns as we are now more knowledgeable about chemical interactions and residues exposed under certain circumstances like washings. For a prosperous country the health and safety of its citizens is a major concern and subject to intense alterations of manufacturing.

Do-it-yourself kits have been put on the market to test for lead. However, they fail to indicate the levels of the element and as of yet there hasn't been any determination as to how reliable those kits are in detecting low levels of lead. Only a laboratory test could accurately determine the true level of lead in paint or plastic. Laws are being implemented to restrict the use of lead in paints and plastics.

School playgrounds have been replacing the concrete and blacktop surfaces are being replaced by mulch, wood chips, and sand to cushion children's falls and jumps off swings. The most effective safety feature is adult supervision and the education of kids to not jump off swings or from the top rungs of jungle gyms to prevent broken legs and twisted ankles.

For all the advancements in technology, it is important that the safety and health of our children forge ahead and evolve with the knowledge that's discovered with leading tests and statistical data.

By Gary Pearson

Gary Pearson is an accomplished niche website developer and author.