E-cigaret Danger to Teens

E-cigarets have surged in popularity over recent years.  Largely because people assume them to be a safe alternative to cigarets. Yet a recent study from the New England Journal of Medicine casts serious doubts on the claim: it found that e-cigaret vapor often contains formaldehyde levels that are up to 15 times greater than that found in traditional cigarets.

"It has the potential to distribute deeply into the lungs and collect there," say lead researcher David Peyton, nor are e-cigs likely to help you stop smoking.  Since they deliver such high concentrations of nicotine, it's very easy for people to become addicted.

This may help explain the sky-rocking use of e-cigarets among young people, many of whom try "vaping" at a party or from a friend who smokes.  E-cigs have an added technological lure to them, making them seem interesting, and potentially driving many more kids to experiment.

According to a new report from the CDC, the percentage of teens using these cigarets tripled between 2014 and 2014.  Overall, the study found that 13.4% of high school students used e-cigarets in 2014, up from 4.5% in 2013 and just 1.5% in 2011.  Use by middle-schoolers increased from 1.1% in 2013 to 3.9% in 2014.  Since 90% of addicted smokers first started in adolescence, have a frank talk with you child about smoking -- no matter what form it takes.

Learn more about teen life issues.

Missing Kids Found Chilling Out in Front of a TV

In Johnston, Iowa, the frantic search for two young boys that were reported missing on Tuesday ended when the youngsters were found . . . watching TV by themselves in a neighbor's house.  The kids admitted they had let themselves in through an unlocked back door.  If only all missing child stories could end like this -- with parents being the ones wanting to strangle the child.

For tips on child abduction prevention visit www.keepyourchildsafe.org

Carbon Monoxide Kills Family

A lack of power may have led to the deaths of seven children from carbon monoxide poisoning.  Police discovered the bodies of Eric Todd, 36, along with his seven children on April 6, 2015, all dead of apparent Carbon Monoxide poisoning.  Police found a gas generator in the kitchen that had run out of fuel.  The two boys and five girls ranged in ages from 6 to 13, and appeared to have died in their sleep.

Let this be a reminder to everyone else: make sure your home has carbon monoxide detectors, since this orderless invisible gas kills between 400 and 500 people each year.  You can find additional tips on protecting your family from this threat in our section on carbon monoxide poisoning in our online child safety book.

Police Stalk Free Range Kids

Danielle & Sasha Meitiv, a free range parent who had previously made headlines when the came under CPS scrutiny for letting their two kids, ages 6 and 10, walk through the park alone are back in the news again.  Several weeks ago the state had ruled them responsible  for "unsubstaniated child neglect" in the original incident.  On Sunday afternoon Montongomery County Police found the kids at the park again and turned them over to CPS.  Apparently, when the police aren't busy engaging in target practice with unarmed black men, they have nothing better to do than stalk children in the park to make sure that free range parents aren't letting their youngsters have any fun independent of adult supervision.  After being held prisoner for 1/2 a day, the children were released to their parents at 10:30 pm that night.

We'll say it once again: by harassing and traumatizing children for doing what we all did just a couple of decades ago, the Montgomery County Human Services Department has shown themselves to be a group of sociopath child molesters who care nothing about the actual welfare of children. (Read our previous article on free range parenting, which discusses this case, and read our previous blog post in January.)

Tainted Breast Milk

A study by Sara Keim published in the April 6th issues of Pediatrics found that 10 out of 102 breast milk samples that were purchased online contained 10% or more cow's milk, potentially putting lactose intolerant infants at risk.  The samples analyzed came from several sites, including the Breast, Eats on Feets, and Human Milk 4 Human Babies.  In a previous study using the same samples (all purchased in 2012), Sara and her teem at Nationwide Children's Hospital Medical Center in Columbus found 75% of samples were contaminated with virus or bacteria. (This isn't necessarily as alarming as it sounds; people in general harbor bacteria and viruses so any time you have a human fluid packaged and shipped by humans, it's bound to contain bacteria from time to time.)

The researchers used a molecular test to determine the amount of cow's milk, which suggested a notable number of the sellers intentionally added cows milk or infant formula to the breast milk. An online donor is a complete unknown, and it is hard to determine if the sellers would be entirely honest about their product. This illustrates the need for parents to be cautious about their supplier, especially if your baby has cow milk allergy.