March 2008
Fridge Door
Shamrock Lunches for Kids
Childhaven is holding its annual Shamrock Box Lunch Event March 17. Proceeds from the $15 box lunches, catered by Gretchen’s Shoebox Express, benefit Childhaven’s services to abused, neglected and at-risk children ages 1 month through 5 years. You get your choice of corned beef sandwich, turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich, Margherita baguette or farmers market salad, all with potato chips, apple, water and shamrock cookie.
Seattle-area companies are asked to place their orders for six lunches or more by 5 p.m. March 13. The lunches will be delivered March 17 between 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. To order or download a sign-up sheet and order form, call 206-624-6477 or visit www.childhaven.org.
GET to It
March is the month to enroll children in GET (Guaranteed Education Tuition), Washington’s 529 prepaid college tuition plan, at the current unit price. Although GET advertisements encourage enrolling your child when she is a baby, you can sign up anytime, up until your child is two years away from beginning college. The unit price is $74. (For people who are already enrolled in GET, that unit price is good until April 30, 2008). Unit prices may rise in May and again in September.
You can buy as many GET units as you desire, up to 500 units. The State of Washington guarantees that if you buy one year of college tuition today (100 units), you’ll have one year of college tuition when your child is ready for college. The value of the units rises to keep pace with the inflation in tuition costs at Seattle’s most expensive public university, either the University of Washington or Washington State University. You can use your account at nearly any public or private college or community college in the country, for tuition, books, room and board and other educational expenses.
For more information, call 1-800-955-2318 or visit www.get.wa.gov
Pick Up SUMMERTIME
SUMMERTIME, Seattle’s Child’s free annual guide to summer camps, enrichment activities and summer fun is now available wherever you pick up Seattle’s Child. You’ll find listings for more than 800 places, from overnight and day camps for all types of interests to dance, sports, science and computer classes and tips for having fun on your own.
Can’t find a copy? Call 206-441-0191 and we’ll send you one.
Pennies for Penguins
The Woodland Park Zoo would like you to turn your spare change into cash to help pay for a new Humboldt penguin exhibit with cliffs, crashing waves, rocky tide pools, nesting burrows and “nose to beak” viewing for visitors. The Pennies for Penguins drive runs through April 30. Donate the contents of your coin jars at more than 300 Puget Sound area Coinstar Centers®. The Centers provide tax receipts on the spot (see www.coinstar.com for locations).
The Pennies for Penguins School Coin Drive Contest runs through March 14, and schools and classrooms raising the most funds will receive zoo-themed prices. This month is the “March of the Penguins” as the zoo’s penguins leave the old concrete exhibit for other zoos. Construction on the new exhibit begins this June with a planned opening in June, 2009.
For more information, call 206-548-2500 or visit www.zoo.org/penguins.
Up for a Challenge?
On March 20, the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports is issuing the first ever National President's Challenge – a six-week fitness challenge encouraging Americans to be active 30 minutes a day, five days a week. While the President's Challenge has been around for more than 50 years as a national youth fitness test (remember those sit ups, push ups and chin ups you did in gym class?), it now goes beyond the school gym and into everyday life.
The Challenge is great for busy moms trying to fit more activity into a hectic schedule or for families who are looking for fun activities to do together.
Registration begins March 1 and goes through April 3. For more information and suggestions on being active, call 1-800-258-8146 or visit www.presidentschallenge.org.
Safe Start for Kids
Building on the overwhelming response to the online guide to toxic chemicals in toys (www.HealthyToys.org), the Washington Toxics Coalition has launched Safe Start for Kids (www.SafeStartForKids.org), a guide to choosing children’s products free of harmful chemicals.
Going beyond toys, Safe Start for Kids provides easy-to-use tips on choosing everyday products for children and gives parents quick answers on questions such as which baby bottle to choose and how to find a safe mattress. Other products include bibs, lunch boxes, art supplies, personal care items like lotions, shampoos, and sunscreen, and more. The guide also contains tips to help parents create a healthy nursery and to know what to look for when choosing day care facilities.
Fear Pesticides? Switch to Organic Produce
Mercer Island children eating conventional fruits, vegetables and juices had detectable levels of organophosphates (pesticides such as malathion and chlorpyrifos) in their urine and saliva, according to a year-long study conducted by scientists from the University of Washington, Emory University and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Within eight to 36 hours of the children switching to organic foods, the pesticide levels were no longer detected, according to the study’s lead author, Chensheng Lu. The levels went up immediately when the children went back to the conventional diets.
The study was funded by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and tested 21 children, ages 3 to 11, from two elementary schools and one Montessori school on Mercer Island.
While high levels of the pesticides cause serious health problems or death, scientists have not reached a consensus on the possible neurological impairments caused by low level exposure over a long period of time. The EPA maintains that eating food crops treated with the pesticides is safe for adults, infants and children.
Lu reiterates the importance of eating fruits and vegetables. If parents can’t afford to switch to all organic foods, it may be best to prioritize the ones with the highest levels of pesticides, including peaches, apples, sweet bell peppers, nectarines, strawberries and cherries. Much lower levels are found in onions, avocados, pineapples, mangoes, asparagus and kiwi.
To read more about the study, go to http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/349263_pesticide30.html.
Concerned about Phthalates? Go Easy on Baby Lotion
Phthalates – man-made chemicals used in personal care and other products – are found in the urine of babies who recently used lotions, powders and shampoos, according to a recent study led by Sheela Sathyanarayana, M.D., M.P.H, a Seattle pediatrician. She advises parents to use the products sparingly.
The study was published in the February issue of Pediatrics, and included 163 infants. Those treated with powder or lotion had twice the levels of three different phthalates compared to those who had not used them. The levels were five times higher for babies younger than 8 months.
What is not known is the degree of harm caused by phthalates. Studies in animals indicate that the products can disrupt the endocrine system in animals, including humans, by interfering with hormones, particularly mail sex hormones. Exposure would have the biggest effects on babies who are undergoing critical changes directed by the hormones. The Environmental Protection Agency does not regulate the chemicals, although a bill under consideration in the Washington State Legislature (HB 2647, SB 6540) would ban phthalates in children’s products, including lotions and powders.
To read the contents of the study, go to http://pediatrics.aappublications.org,
and click on “Past Issues – February, 2008 – Articles.”
To read more about the The Children’s Safe Products Act of 2008
before the Washington State Legislature, go to www.leg.wa.gov
(click on “Bill Search,” and type in “2647) or visit
the Washington Toxics Coalition Web site at www.watoxics.org.
- Wenda Reed
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