Updates: Mixed Bag

Bibs have lead, there’s a new book out about play, and cold medicines are still bad for tots – updates this week related to prior posts of mine.

More toxic toys from China is the “lead” story this week. Now it’s baby bibs and millions more toys being recalled. I wrote recently about this and the difficulties of a zero tolerance policy. No lead is good lead.

Howard Chudacoff’s new book, “Children at Play: An American History,” was featured in the NY Times this week. The book is a welcome addition to a growing number of sources that discuss the importance of free play for children, a subject I’ve covered several times.

Finally, the FDA is considering restrictions on the use of OTC cold medicines for children under the age of 2. This idea builds on the CDC warnings this winter on the same topic. Things sure move slowly in the US government… anyway – my post in January was mostly about evening the playing field when we think about safety and efficacy for natural health products and conventional pharmaceuticals. Maybe this is a step in the right direction.