*[Enwl-eng] Parenting in the Plasticine

[enwl]

Can we ever protect our kids from plastic?





                                News of the world environment


                                 NEWSLETTER | JUNE 21, 2024

























                                Parenting in the Plasticine


                                A FEW MONTHS AGO, I got a midday text from 
my son’s daycare. He had fallen off a rocking horse and bitten his tongue. 
It was a pretty run-of-the-mill injury for an 18-month-old, but they wanted 
to give me a heads-up ahead of pick-up that day; apparently there had been a 
fair amount of blood. When I went to gather him after work, he greeted me 
with a big grin, and a slightly bloody teether in his mouth. I was a little 
alarmed that his tongue was still bleeding. But I was more concerned about 
the teether. His teachers had lovingly given it to him to soothe his wound. 
But it was plastic, and the moment I saw it, I wanted to pluck it out of his 
mouth.


                                In many ways, this is a silly story. My son 
comes into contact with plastics every day of his life, in daycare as well 
as in our home. A few extra minutes with a teether really wasn’t a big deal. 
But the moment encapsulates the kind of anxiety I often face as a mom. I 
worry about the chemicals in my kids’ shampoo, the contaminants in the water 
they drink, the exhaust fumes from cars and the particulate pollution from 
wildfires that their tiny lungs inhale. But it’s plastic that bothers me 
more than anything else. I constantly worry about all the plastic my two 
children come in contact with — from the Legos they dump across our floors, 
to the stuffed animals they cuddle, to the packaging on the foods they eat — 
and how I might reduce it.


                                Of course, anxiety is a normal part of 
parenting. We worry endlessly over the costs of childcare, the nutritional 
benefits of foods, the best sleep habits, and of course choking hazards, 
tripping hazards — and tongue-biting hazards.


                                To me, though, the threat plastic poses is 
different. The level to which plastic now infiltrates our lives and 
environments is unprecedented. And the health threats associated with 
plastic are, too.


                                Journal Managing Editor Zoe Loftus-Farren 
navigates plastic exposure and eco-anxiety as a parent in this feature from 
our summer print issue.



                                READ MORE

                                Illustration by Lisa Vanin






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                        From: Editors, Earth Island Journal
                        Sent: Saturday, June 22, 2024 3:45 AM
                        Subject: Parenting in the Plasticine





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