Research on the health risks from exposure to environmental toxins is increasingly common. However, a cleaner home environment may be just as important as the air pollution in the community around us.

Making a Difference with Air Pollution

The harmful toxins from air pollution outside the home have alarmed some parents who are asking:

• How could one person clean up smog and pollution from a local coal-burning power plant?

• How could we fight the spraying of pesticides in nearby fields?

The solutions to these situations are, of course, not feasible quickly and by individuals. This fact is upsetting to those who understand how much these toxins can affect our children’s health…

ADHD is increasing at a rapid rate – up to 10% of children in Australia are diagnosed annually. The diagnosis itself is controversial – there are many books on the market that query whether ADHD is a “real” disease or whether there is a mismatch between our evolution and our modern lifestyle and the demands put on children.

An ADHD diagnosis is based on symptoms and behaviours: a child being impulsive, not concentrating on their schoolwork, not finishing tasks, being disruptive, restless, and easily frustrated. There is no blood test or x-ray that says “yes you have ADHD”. It is a subjective diagnosis. Both the parents and the teachers have to fill out behaviour assessment forms – because the behaviour has to be a problem in different settings, not just at school or just at home. Today I want to discuss nutritional deficiencies and environmental toxins that can cause or shall we say mimic ADHD behaviours that are treatable and can help the child…

Anxiety, hyperactivity, sleep problems – these are very common concerns parents have about their children and that affect the entire family’s wellbeing. A parent can only be as relaxed as the least unruffled child in the family.

Our society seems to be steeped in anxiety – it is the most common mental health problem around the globe (Ritchie and Roser 2018). Teenagers and young adults are facing an epidemic of anxiety: 25% of Americans 13 to 18 year olds suffer from anxiety – that is one quarter of all teenagers! In Australia two national studies showed that 15.4% of 16 to 24 years olds (ABS 2008) and 7% of 4-17 year olds (Lawrence 2015) had experienced an anxiety disorder in the previous 12 months. These numbers are staggering. The other side of “not calm” is hyperactivity: Almost one in fifteen of children are diagnosed with ADHD in Australia and New Zealand: every primary classroom has several impulsive children who struggle to concentrate and seem to be bouncing off the walls. A large percent of them are being medicated and many suffer from side effects when the medication wears off and struggle to calm down in the evening and go to sleep – presenting another challenge for the family.

Most people, when asked, admit that they are stressed in one way or another…