Turns out, this is a true story. Toxins are now appearing on your bathroom and kitchen shelves, in products with healthy, glowing names such as Herbal Essence. Some have been linked to cancer cancer-causing, others to reproductive health problems like increasing sterility and early puberty.

A few more facts about what we might be putting on, or in, our bodies:

“Germ-killing” soaps and toothpastes often contain triclosan, which can affect brain and hormonal development. Triclosan has been found in Florida’s bottle-nosed dolphins, causing huge numbers of them to die. Three-quarters of people tested in the United States have triclosan in their urine.

Some of Estee Lauder’s “fight breast cancer” products contained cancer-causing agents.

Baby shampoos should be the safest products—but some contain cancer-causing chemicals and other toxins.

Cosmetic companies have no law requiring them to list all of their ingredients. So how can we know what’s safe, and what can we do about it?

1. Check out Skin Deep. Skin Deep is a searchable database of thousands of shampoos, makeup, sunscreen and other personal products. Find out if your favorite care products are safe, and what alternatives to use if they’re not!

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

2. Join the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics! Planned Parenthood is a partner in this campaign to increase awareness and change legislation to make products safe!

http://www.safecosmetics.org/index

3. Watch the Story of Cosmetics (by the “Story of Stuff” people) and spread the video!

http://storyofstuff.org/cosmetics/

4. Take Action!

Ask your representatives to support The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010! This will give the FDA the power to regulate toxins in cosmetics. Join the Facebook pages for Safe Cosmetics…and spread the word!

Safe Cosmetics Spread the Word!

For local connections check out the local Washington Toxics Coalition – partners with Planned Parenthood on reproductive health/environmental health issues.

Free breakfast will be served at all three locations listed below from 8:30 to 9 a.m. Free lunch will be served at Roosevelt Elementary from 12 to 12:30 p.m. Times, dates and locations are as follows:

• 8:30 to 9 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays, July 6-Aug. 5 at Alderwood Elementary, 3400 Hollywood Ave.
• 8:30 to 9 a.m. and 12 to 12:30 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, June 21-Sept. 3 at
Roosevelt Elementary, 2900 Yew St.
• 8:30 to 9 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays, July 6-29 at Sunnyland Elementary, 2800 James St.

A food service and nutrition specialist plans all meals in accordance with federal and district fitness and nutrition standards. The Bellingham School District’s food services program has received four United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Regional Excellence awards for its lunch programs and the Washington Food Policy Action Center Golden Milk Carton Award for its breakfast program.

The Burlington-Edison School District is offering free meals to all children 18 years and younger this summer. The program will begin on June 21st and run through August 31st, 2010, Monday through Friday. Meals will be served at West View Elementary, 515 W Victoria Avenue, Burlington. Breakfast runs from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. and lunch from 11:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Monday through Friday. This program is NOT restricted to Burlington-Edison students only. It is for ALL children 18 years and younger.

If you start early (diapers, people) with your conversations about human sexuality, the Internet predator discussion is a snap.  Now, we’re not advocating explaining Internet porn to your infant who would use the mouse as a teething toy.  Simply start with correctly naming body parts for youngsters, followed by information about personal boundaries and private parts.  This will pave the way for later discussions about puberty, reproduction, then the range of human sexual behavior including healthy relationships, consent … and so on and so on.  This is called “age appropriate” information.  It should come in baby steps.  You will soon discover the more you talk openly with your kiddos, the easier it is to do. 

It would seem painless to avoid the subject all together and hope that your child isn’t affected.  In reality, if you don’t teach your child about sexuality they will learn it somewhere else – like the Internet – or from a parent’s worst nightmare, an on-line predator.

Should you ban computer use from your home?  Let’s not overreact – you are in the driver’s seat on this one.  As soon as your child is learning to use the web you should set up rules and expectations around its use.  Explain they are not to visit sites that contain adult, sexual content because those are for adults.  Let them know there are strangers on the Internet that can do them harm.  Explain that they are not to provide personal information about themselves online, and they are never to arrange a meeting with someone they met online – even if they’ve seen pictures of the person. 

If you think making your expectations clear is enough, it’s not.  Social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter can be Trojan horses for predators.  Everyone and their dog has one (seriously, my cousin’s dog has one), and if you have a teenager at home, chances are, he or she has one too. 

If you haven’t already done so, go online and look.  Find your teens’ site and their friends’ sites.  You might be surprised by what you find.  Now, generally, we believe in respecting the privacy of your child, but they chose to publicly post their info all are welcomed, even you mom and dad.

One way is to make sure we give all young folks accurate and honest info about their bodies, how to make responsible decisions, and how to avoid unwanted consequences.  Some think that simply engaging them in a medically accurate dialogue about sexuality will result in a teenage Caligula and that “Just Say No” is the way to go.   Not so!  On April 13, 2007 the long awaited Mathematica evaluation of abstinence only-until-marriage programs was finally published.  Its conclusion: Abstinence-only education does not work to change young people’s behavior.

This long term, scientific report, requested by Congress, should sound the death knell for these ineffective and dangerous programs.  More than ten state evaluations showed that abstinence-only programs failed to change young people’s behavior.  And the Government Accountability Office issued a report recently admonishing Health and Human Services for not better monitoring these programs for scientific accuracy.  And when the Academy of Pediatrics, the American Medical Association, and every other mainstream medical organization supports a more comprehensive approach to sex education that includes information on both abstinence and contraception, don’tcha think we should listen?

So enter Washington State’s Healthy Youth Act –  passed and signed into law by Governor Gregiore two years ago.  Simply stated, this act ensures that when teens get sex ed in public schools the information is medically accurate and includes information about both abstinence and other methods of preventing pregnancy and STDs, such as contraceptives.  The Act also ensures that sex education is age-appropriate and appropriate for students regardless of gender, race, disability status or sexual orientation.  The bill codifies that school districts and teachers remain in control of whether to teach sexual health education and what curriculum to use.  Parents may excuse their teens from receiving sexuality education.  So good going legislators and Gov.  You did the right thing. 

If anyone out there wonders if we as teachers and parents should answer the tough questions consider what young folks ask our health educators: “Can you get pregnant if you have sex standing up?  One of my friends told me you can’t.”  “If you get STIs from having sexual contact with another person, how are you supposed to have children?”

It’s clear questions like these suggest that while young people are experimenting with a variety of sexual behaviors, they lack clear understanding of the potential risks associated with them.  Effective sex. ed. encourages them to make careful decisions about sex, and provides accurate information on how to minimize risks during sexual activity now and in the future.

And when a young person asks – “How can you keep yourself safe if you don’t want to do things but somebody makes you?” – should remind us of the reality that not all sexual activity among teens is consensual.  Schools need to provide tools for resisting sexual coercion, as well as resources for getting help and taking care of themselves in abusive situations.  Make sure you check out www.teenwire.com to help answer some of these questions on your own.

And ya gotta love this one – “Did you know that the U.S. government used to spend $136 million on abstinence education when kids will still have about the same number of sexual partners and still have sex at the same age (14.9 yrs)?”  Young people pay attention to politics that affect them, and question the logic of government funding for education that’s proven ineffective.  They are smart! 

 So let’s get behind them because it’s their futures we are talking about… and they have a stake in it.

First things first – let’s make sure we’re all on the same page with the basics.  STDs are caused by bacteria, viruses or other infectious agents that are passed from one person to another during sexual contact.  These infections often do not cause any symptoms.  In the medical community an infection is referred to as a disease when it causes symptoms.  That is why STDs are also called “sexually transmitted infections” (STIs).  Don’t worry too much about deciding which term to use because STD and STI are generally understood to mean the same thing.

There are many kinds of sexually transmitted infections – both curable and incurable. Curable means that a person can use a medication to completely get rid of that STD.  Incurable STDs may cause symptoms that are treatable, but the person will likely have that STD for the rest of her/his life.  STDs are also much more common than people think – more common than the “common” cold!  Many of them can have serious effects on our health, especially if left untreated.  No matter what type of relationship we are in, we should all be aware that there is often the possibility of giving or getting an STD if we are having sexual contact with another person.

The good news is we can protect ourselves and each other from STDs! Practicing safer sex allows a person to reduce their risk of giving or getting sexually transmitted diseases.  

Some safer sex practices include abstinence, using condoms and limiting the number of sex partners a person has.  Many people think that abstinence is only for young people, but it is a practice that is used by many people at different times in their lives and for different reasons.  Abstinence can also mean that a person chooses to avoid certain sexual behaviors that are more likely to transmit STDs. 

Consider getting tested for STDs if you have had unprotected sex or if you’ve never been tested before, even if you don’t have symptoms (remember – many STIs do not cause symptoms!).  STD tests are easy to get but keep in mind that you must specifically ask to be tested.  There are different tests for different STDs, so ask your health care provider about which tests might be right for you.  Be sure to answer their questions honestly, or they won’t be able to give you accurate recommendations.   Also keep in mind that the law requires that what you tell your doctor will stay confidential.  Getting tested makes it possible to detect and treat STDs earlier, preventing more serious problems that can result from untreated STDs.  So ask about it at your next check-up or doctor’s appointment!