What Is Our Tipping Point?

What does it take to make us believe? This is a question I ponder on many levels, in many areas of my life. What makes us believe something we read or see or hear? Why are we skeptical of one statement and not another? Is it a gut thing? Or a heart thing? I think maybe it’s a trust thing.

I need to trust the source from which the information comes. I don’t trust Fox News, pretty much any politician, the check-out clerk at Wal-Mart, or the passionate volunteer on the phone. I don’t trust the crazy right-wing driven blogs or the looney-tunes left-wing e-newsletter. In fact, most times I don’t trust information I’m given until I’ve poked and prodded and tested it myself.

We have an electric fence in our horse pasture. I tell all the kids who visit that it will shock them, but there are always those who must find out first hand.I remember touching fences myself when I was a child. I’d lay a long piece of grass to the wire and listen close. I’d hear that little zzzzpt and know that, yup, it’s hot.

Eight years ago, when my youngest child developed an autoimmune disorder seemingly out of the blue, my world shifted. My heart cracked wide open and my beliefs about what was safe and good and healthy all became suspect. Life seemed more fragile. Almost overnight I saw the world and our food supply in a completely new way. I didn’t trust anything that came in a package or out a drive-thru window. My motivation grew out of a desperation and pain that was all new to me. I would do anything to heal my child. I entertained all manner of wacko experts and obscure studies and stifled my skeptical soul. But sometimes the information I gathered made sense.

PARENT BEWARE: Your dry cleaning, toys, pretty lawn, and even your tap water may be poisoning your child's mind

Are toys, dry cleaning, and pretty lawns dangerous to your kids? Maybe, maybe not, but the evidence is certainly mounting.

According to a recent Harvard study, common chemicals in your house can wreak havoc on your child’s brain development. These toxic chemicals may be responsible for neurodevelopmental problems such as autism, ADHD, and dyslexia, but they may also be the culprit behind harder to pin down problems like slower development, lower math scores, hyperactivity, poor motor skills, aggressive behaviors, or just simply brains that never realize their potential.

The study is not conclusive, but there is plenty of evidence connecting neurodevelopmental issues and toxic chemicals found in dry cleaning, flame retardants (used on furniture, toys, and clothing), pesticides commonly sprayed on lawns, and even tap water.