1. Babies and Small Children – Consumer Issues Dr. Pearson, 2016-17
Consumer Health
Babies and Small Children – Consumer Issues
Dr. Pearson,

2. Who are the consumers? moms dads babies small children
and of course, grandmas and grandpas, aunts & uncles, etc

3. What does “informed” mean, for this life stage?
We need to know, right?

4. More & more, it seems being informed means . . . .
being an “engaged” part of a market
which, if your bottom line is profit, is GREAT! but if your bottom line is population health, it may be questionable – check out the link about how to “inform” moms… and the text copied below it.

5. What’s the consumer’s responsibility?
use available resources
well-baby checkups, pediatric visits
dietary guidelines
try to choose products and services “wisely”
be aware of the school environment for children

6. What’s society’s responsibility?
Again, whether it’s LOTS, NOTHING, or somewhere in between, we do need to know how we’re all thinking when it comes to what we need to do to ensure child health and wellbeing.

7. What are the risks? Who’s most at risk?
poor nutrition
unsafe toys, equipment -
early childhood services, environment
brand loyalty
daycare issues
ads in schools
educational quality/equity & policies
low SES families
rural vs. urban vs. suburban?

8. Feeding kids
WIC rules – Wa state no longer approves organic milk but does allow some organic products, particularly fresh fruits & vegetables, Safeway “O” brand wheat bread, brown rice, bulgur, oatmeal, legumes, soy beverages, and tofu.

9. Keeping kids safe Precautionary principle BPA in baby bottles
fat-soluble chemical, estrogen-like, can bioaccumulate
Wa is 2nd state to ban BPA for young children’s dishware, several other states working on bans
If you listen to the spokesperson in this video (link below), what do you start to think? And what do you think your friendly neighborhood public health professor thinks?

10. Keeping kids safe No more lead in toys, right?
Consumer Product Safety Act of 1971 – put in place the Consumer Product Safety Commission
1977 regulation banning high levels of lead in paint on items used a lot by children (limit of 600 parts per million)
Lots of toy recalls last few years, most from China*
As of 2009, limit is 300 ppm
Now, 100 ppm – some exceptions. What can you learn at the link below, about the efforts to make products safe? Browse around! See how you feel as a consumer.
*China’s law was stronger, 90 ppm, but not enforced.

11. Again with Wa’s situation . . . .
But Wa state has an even stronger law*, as of 2008 – Children's Safe Products Act – that adds limits on cadmium (carcinogen and acts on brain development, like lead) and phthalates (endocrine disrupters) for toys
*although the updates to the US CPSIA in 2011 have strengthened federal regulations in a similar vein;
see Laws--Standards/Statutes/The-Consumer-Product- Safety-Improvement-Act/

12. Feeding older kids Only 18 states have similar laws, Wa’s is strong
School food – Laws passed in 2002 & 2008 encourage use of local foods, work with farmers, authorize school gardens and farms to produce fruit and vegetables for “agricultural purposes,” give districts freedom to “maximize” use of Wa grown food, and fund poorer elementary schools to provide healthy, locally grown fruit and vegetable snacks.
Only 18 states have similar laws, Wa’s is strong

13. Keeping older kids safe
Pesticides at school
Washington state law does not address prohibited pesticides or “restricted spray zones” around schools; it does require parents to be notified 48 hours in advance and for posting in sprayed areas to happen immediately, remain in place for 24 hours. No provisions in the law deal with encouraging integrated pest management (IPM) practices, practices known to eliminate unnecessary use of pesticides.

14. What else do consumers need to know?
How much SHOULD we care about industry influence? The “bag education” issue:
bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/08/23/BA991KR14G.DTL
the above link is in your readings & resources page, too, so you may have already looked at it
What changes in state & federal law do you think should happen to help babies and small children be healthier?
What can happen WITHOUT changing laws?

15. Who/what are credible sources on this topic?
CPSC -
Children’s Alliance,
Prevention Institute,