Not too long ago, a friend of mine mentioned that her two-year old grandson had been extremely sick over the past few months.
The poor little guy had been in and out of our local Children’s Hospital, subjected to one test after another.
But there was still no clear diagnosis.
Eventually, his doctors began to suspect that the real culprit was the new carpet recently installed in the family’s home.
As shocking as this might seem, the truth is things like this happen all the time.
Here’s something else that might surprise you:
Asthma in children is on the rise, resulting in a lot of missed school days. (According to the latest statistics, more than 25 million people are affected!)
The culprit?
Once again, these statistics can be traced directly to toxins in the environment, in this case a group of chemicals commonly referred to as VOC’s.
That stands for Volatile Organic Compounds – even the word volatile sounds scary, doesn’t it?
You know how, when food has gone bad, it typically has a rather awful smell?
Well, think of VOC’s as being the household equivalent to rotten food.
Just as you wouldn’t eat food that has obviously seen better days – you really don’t want to surround yourself with toxins that poison the air you breathe, do you?
(According to recent studies, indoor air pollution can actually be 50% worse than outdoor air).
That’s why paying attention to your child’s sleep environment is such a great place to start!