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Families just got a boost in their efforts to keep toxins away from their families, group says
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Parents concerned about what's in the products they buy for their families and the effects they might have just got a boost from a major retailer. - photo by Lois M Collins
Retail giant Wal-Mart has just revealed a list of eight "high-priority" chemicals it has asked suppliers to remove from products in the next three years. Removal of the potential toxins could help parents keep their families safe from accidental exposure.

According to a news release from the Mind the Store Campaign, created by Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, the use of the chemicals has been reduced by 95 percent already because of the effort Wal-Mart started in 2013. The chemicals include "certain phthalates, formaldehyde and triclosan."

The campaign's director, Mike Schade, called it "an important milestone," but also encouraged the retailer to expand its list of high-priority chemicals targeted for removal from the products it sells.

Bloomberg reported that Wal-Mart's efforts to have the chemicals removed affect 90,000 products made by 70 companies.

Although the effort has been ongoing, this is the first time Wal-Mart has specified which chemicals it has targeted. On that list, according to Bloomberg:

  • Toluene, a clear liquid in some paint thinners, nail polish and fragrances
  • Diethyl phthalate, most often found in plastics, cosmetics, aspirin and insecticides
  • Nonylphenol exthoxylates, found in laundry detergent and other household products
  • The preservatives Butylparaben and Propylparaben
  • Dibutyl Phthalate, a solvent
"More than ever, people want to know more about the food and other products they buy. Not only do they expect them to be safe, but also they want to know how they were made, and with what ingredients and materials. Yet the flood of information readily available from experts and peers, through the media or at the stroke of a keypad, can often confuse or concern as much as inform," Wal-Mart said in a statement on its corporate website.

The chemicals it selected for removal have certain properties that can affect human health or the environment, the company said, noting that the Environmental Defense Fund helped craft the list.

Bloomberg said Wal-Mart's not the only big retailer tackling the issue of the chemicals families may not know are in the products they use. "Target Corp. has also expanded its chemicals program, albeit with a different approach: The retailer last year quietly posted a list of hundreds of substances, including coal tars and bisphenol A, that its encouraging vendors to remove, offering incentives for them to do so. Target awards points to products for cleaning, beauty, baby-care and personal-care products that list ingredients and avoid suspect substances in a bow to customer preferences, the company has said."

The Mind the Store campaign also recently called on Kroger and Albertsons to remove BPA from its food packaging. "A recent report, Buyer Beware, found toxic BPA in 67 percent of food cans tested nationwide," the group said, including in "private-label canned goods tested at the two biggest dedicated grocery retailers in the United States: Kroger and Albertsons."

As the National Institutes of Health explains, "Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical produced in large quantities for use primarily in the production of polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins." It's also found in a large portion of cans in which food products are packaged.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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