Comments on: Wake Up! For your child’s sake

By: eB

eB — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 19:44:43 +0000

It felt like fearmongering to me, too, even though I agree with the basic message. I am really surprised to see myself coming down on that side of things, but there you go.

By: Weekend Links: Three-day weekend edition – Parenting from Scratch

Weekend Links: Three-day weekend edition – Parenting from Scratch — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 12:49:10 +0000

[...] This video gave me the heebey-jeebies. But, like PhD in Parenting, I’m also not a fan of how they presented the “toxins in [...]

By: Upstatemomof3

Upstatemomof3 — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 02:26:23 +0000

I totally get what you are saying and unfortunately people will take it to mean that breastmilk is tainted. BUT I think the point was that EVEN breastmilk has toxins in it. My feeling was that it was obvious that formula had toxins and no one knew about breastmilk. But, yeah they needed to make it more clear. People only need a slight push to not breastfeed.

By: Lizette

Lizette — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:41:15 +0000

I found the same thing drove me nuts with the Story of Stuff….what really kills me here is the mention of toxins in breastmilk and the inclusion of a baby bottle feeding once the happy music comes on.

By: lovepeaceohana

lovepeaceohana — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:23:50 +0000

@Janelle – Thank you – that means a lot to folks like me. I can and will absolutely get behind legislation that makes it harder, if not impossible, to contaminate our goods with unnecessary and even harmful chemical substitutes for real vitamins, minerals, and materials. Not that everything synthetic is automatically evil, but everything has a price beyond the sticker on the shelf – I just wish more companies would pay heed to the human cost of their enterprises (hah, I’ll add my wishful thinking to yours) and actively produce goods that are ethical in source, manufacture, and distribution.

By: Janelle Sorensen

Janelle Sorensen — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:15:10 +0000

lovepeaceohana – I’m right there with you on the product placement. We tend to highlight products most people can’t afford and I’m always trying to insert cheap or free tips for people. I’d love to buy all my groceries at whole foods – or, better yet – my local co-op, but no can do.

Before I worked for Healthy Child, I worked on the exact same issues, but with immigrant communities, inner city families, and Native Americans. I understand the injustice of a culture where only the wealthy can afford safer products. It’s shameful.

That’s why we also work on passing protective policies – so, hopefully someday we can go shopping and not have to worry about any products we buy (I know – wishful thinking maybe, but things could be a helluva lot better). I firmly believe we can do better as a society. We can have a free market and choice, and we can do it without making products that risk our children’s health and development.

By: lovepeaceohana

lovepeaceohana — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:03:30 +0000

I have mixed reactions to this video.

On the one hand, I want to be flippant and sarcastic and go, “No shit, you mean I shouldn’t have let my toddler eat half a Twinkie last night?” But I recognize that is a largely reactionary, defensive response and isn’t going to be helpful to – well, anyone, except possibly Janelle since she may want a recollection of every reaction to this video for future use.

But a larger part of my reaction is – well, apathy. Part of that is probably rooted in the kind of class privilege that allows me to assume that most people already know that we as a society are inundated with way too many chemicals and additives etc. and that these are having a negative affect on our health. The other part of it is rooted in the lack of privilege that looks at the segment about advocating for safer products and sees brand names like Whole Foods, and thinks that there is no damn way I can afford to shop there, and sort of resents being told (again and again) that it’s up to me to protect my family’s health (if not the Fate of Our World) by being a better consumer when I can’t afford to be the kind of consumer that videos like these seem to want me to be – hell, the kind of consumer that I’d like to be. (You think I don’t want to shop at Whole Foods? I love it there!)

Are there things that I can do to help reduce my carbon footprint? To make healthier eating choices for myself and my family? Yes – and I do them, when the opportunity arises. I just think that having a more class-conscious approach to movements like these would do all of them, and all of us, a world of good.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 21:30:37 +0000

I’m another one not terribly impressed by the video, probably because I know that stuff pretty well already. Pretty hard to balance fear mongering with the call to action, I suppose, and getting a strong response is best if you want the video to go viral.

By: Ann Douglas

Ann Douglas — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:08:26 +0000

I wasn’t very impressed with this particular video (although I support what the organization is trying to do). I felt like the video was about to sell me something. I was waiting to be sold green cleaning products, in fact. As @coffeewithjulie noted, there was a lot of fear-mongering; and the video talked down to parents. That’s a non-starter for me.

By: phdinparenting

phdinparenting — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:43:32 +0000

I also try to avoid all of those things already, but I still saw myself as part of the target audience. Maybe not for the start of the video because I didn’t need to be woken up, I am already awake. But for the more important part – the part about asking a friend and telling a friend. Instead of feeling helpless, we can all help each other by sharing what we know and what we’ve learned about avoiding these types of toxins and finding alternative products for our homes.