How Much Poison is Too Much for My Baby?That is the question I would ask if I were a mother of an infant in a world filled with poisons. How much poison would I allow my child to consume? The answer to that question is easy…none. However, in a world filled with poisons in our food and our environment (and now in our baby formulas – good grief!) it is not easy to avoid them. It takes time and commitment.
I was blessed with a chemically sensitive child who today is 26 years old. Raising the safety threshold for melamine in infant formulas is reminiscent of the time Joshua was in second grade. It was September and each day he came home from school with fierce and explosive behaviors. His uncontrollable rages often ended with spending yet another afternoon alone in his room. Hours later, his behavior subsided and he was able to rejoin our family without incidence.Recognizing that he was free of this behavior on weekends and mornings, I came to the realization that something in school was aggravating his symptoms. Were they painting? New rugs? Did the classrooms have an odor? Could he smell anything? Josh’s responses were always the same, “No, mom. I don’t know where it’s coming from.”
Into the second week of his abusive behaviors, a single statement solved his problem. “Mom, the water at school tastes funny.” My response was clear, “Stop drinking the water!”The following day he arrived at school armed with a bottle of spring water (which was not socially accepted at that time) and a note for his teacher. When I approached her the following week to explain my behavior, she confirmed my suspicions, “No need to explain,” she said. “Since you took Josh off the water, not only has his behavior improved, but his grades have gone up.”
The interesting part of this story is that in December of that same year, the water company notified its customers that there had been a chemical spill in one of their wells. No need to worry, however, the problem was solved. They raised the allowable levels of that particular chemical in our water supply.Maybe all children were not affected by that water; but Joshua was not like all children. Chemicals affected him greatly. Luckily Josh had an acute sense of taste and smell, which became his greatest allies.
And maybe not all children will be affected by melamine poisoning. However, if your child is like Joshua, will you be conscious enough to recognize it? And then, what will you do about it?
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