Help Hooked on Phonics Teach those in Need to Read

Hooked on Phonics is asking all parents and childcare providers to add one more New Year's resolution to their list: Helping a child to read!

If you pledge to teach/help a child read in 2009, Hooked on Phonics will donate a Learn to Read kit to FirstBook.org this Holiday season. FirstBook.org is a nonprofit organization that provides new books to children from low-income families who are participating in community-based mentoring, tutoring and literacy programs.

The best part of this resolution is it is FREE!!! It doesn't cost anything, just follow this link to the pledge page and help provide a child in the need find success in reading. What a great way to give back in 2009!

Thanks Hooked on Phonics for all you do to promote reading and learning to our children!

BPA Update - The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

By now, we've all heard about the potential dangers that exist from plastics containing BPA. This is an issue that I follow pretty closely and have gone to various different lengths in my home to eliminate it, especially in products for my children. Some new information has been released on this topic, and I found it very interesting and thought our Chester County Moms readers may too.

This information comes from the Healthy Child, Healthy World Blog.

Bisphenol-A has had its fair share of media coverage this year and things are definitely not quieting down. Just this week a scientific panel released a report charging that the FDA ignored valuable studies when it concluded last summer that BPA is a safe chemical. Many retailers and manufacturers have responded over the past year by voluntarily phasing out the suspect plastic. Despite these clear market signals, the manufacturers of BPA aren’t giving up without a fight. Here is the latest in this on-going chemical saga:

The Good
• Kudos to Canada for officially declaring BPA a toxic agent and banning the sale, import, and advertising of baby bottles containing BPA.
• Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, along with the Attorneys General from New Jersey and Delaware, sent a letter to 11 baby bottle and formula container manufacturers asking them to voluntarily stop using BPA in their products.
• San Francisco Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier wants stores in the city that sell baby bottles made with BPA to pull them from the shelves -- and Safeway already has agreed to do so across its grocery stores nationally. She will also be asking hospitals to discontinue their use of these products.
• The National Institutes of Health’s National Toxicology Program released a report on October 23rd reaffirming their 2007 findings that BPA does indeed pose a health concern. Now if they could only convince their FDA peers…

The Bad
In addition to the piles of studies that have already raised red flags, new research continues to demonstrate BPA’s potential ill effects.• The first study on humans showed a link between BPA and heart disease and diabetes.
• In tests on breast cancer cells, researchers from the University of Cincinnati found that BPA may protect cancer cells from dying off when they are exposed to anti-cancer drugs, reducing the effectiveness of chemotherapy.
• Based on a review of 261 scientific publications, the National Toxicology Program found that BPA may alter brain development and behavior, and increase the risk of prostate cancer in children, infants and fetuses.

The Ugly
The government agency that has the authority to protect us from this chemical, the US FDA, has declared BPA safe. Since they made this declaration, many have been asking why. Investigative reporters from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel uncovered a dirty, little secret: the FDA report claiming that BPA is safe was written largely by the plastics industry and others with a financial stake in the controversial chemical.

The American Chemistry Council, the trade group representing chemical manufacturers, submitted their own (biased) review of BPA studies that the FDA used as the foundation for their evaluation. In addition, it recently came to light that the chair of the FDA subcommittee failed to disclose receiving a $5 million “gift” from a major BPA user. Science for sale, anyone? "This latest revelation makes clear that no matter who is in the White House come January, he has to rebuild the FDA," said Environmental Working Group (EWG) President Ken Cook. "An agency that once epitomized independent, impartial expertise in the service of public health has degenerated to a disgraced stenographer for the chemical and plastics industry."

Sign the petition supporting legislation (S. 2928, HR 6228) introduced this summer that bans BPA from all food and beverage products. The Consumer's Union has already gathered almost 18,000 signatures! Add yours now.

Halloween Candy Recalled!

There is a warning put out by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.... Sherwood brand "Pirate's Gold Milk Chocolate Coins" are being recalled due to the fact that they contain Melamine, the chemical that has caused several infant deaths in China, and sickened thousands more. These candies are sold at Costco, as well as many bulk and dollar stores! PLEASE make sure to check your childrens' Halloween candy and DO NOT LET THEM EAT THE PIRATE COINS (the ones wrapped in the shiny gold/silver foil) and please let other parents know about this!

You can verify the validity of this information at Snopes.com.

NBC 10 All That & More

The Chester County Moms blog was featured on NBC 10's All That & More Blog.
Click here to read the post

In The News

Chester County Moms.com was featured in the Daily Local News

By JESSICA RUPELL, Staff Writer
08/05/2008
Beyond the magazine articles, books filled with advice and Dr. Phil episodes featuring ways to create a better family environment, new moms of Chester County will now have another resource. ChesterCountyMoms.com is a new blog site, featuring a Chester County community calendar, coupons and deals, events, nutrition, heath and safety tips, places to visit and reviews. The Web site aims to be a "one-stop mommy resource," said Sarah Freymoyer of East Caln, the principal writer for the new regional blog.After looking at different calendars from several playgroups and then looking at Chester County calendars as well, Freymoyer said she decided to make things easier for local moms by putting everything together on one Web site."Five minutes of looking at our site will get you more information than if you spent five hours surfing the Web on your own," Freymoyer said. "Plus, a lot of moms don't have time to look through a lot of kid-related publications, but with our blog it takes just a few minutes to see what's going on in Chester County."A stay-at-home mother of two, Freymoyer explained that she began blogging last August after her now-11-month-old son, Jude, was born."I wanted to let my family and friends know what was going on and show them pictures and a blog was much easier than sending e-mails with attachments," Freymoyer said. Since then, Freymoyer began to blog more frequently, finding the blogging to be a form of "cheap therapeutic therapy."So when she saw the curiosity of mothers in the Chester County Playgroup in learning to blog, Freymoyer decided to start holding small classes to teach these women the basics of blogging."They read my blog, which at first was just me venting, remembering who I was and why I liked myself, and they were like, 'Wow, I wanna do this'" Freymoyer said. Soon after, Freymoyer's small classes took off as she taught users how to get started, what and what not to talk about, and tips and tricks to make the blogging experience better.Jenn Hornickle of West Goshen, a blogger for Chester County Moms and a stay-at-home mother of two, said taking Freymoyer's classes has showed her how blogging can be a stress reliever."It's not just talking pre-school language but bringing the mommy aspect to life," Hornickle said. Hornickle, who has only been blogging since mid-June, has since become very enthusiastic about keeping up with her personal blog and contributing to the Chester County Moms blog, saying she sometimes "blogs five times a day" and is becoming HTML proficient. Margie Gunn of West Whiteland, the third blogger for Chester County Moms and a stay-at-home mother of two, is also an avid blogger in addition to being the manager of the Chester County Moxie Moms and owning a small, "home-based craft company" called Chesapeake Ribbons that offers hair accessories and belts."I had a friend tell me one time that she read my blog when she was feeling down and then read another blog until she felt better," Gunn said. "For all moms it's nice to know that you're not the only one having problems or frustrations."With all three mothers knowing each other and having a good knowledge of what Chester County has to offer, the site is a combination of information on many topics, including reviews of products and places.Hornickle said blogging is even changing the world of advertising, with bloggers reviewing products and either helping to sell or deterring buyers from purchasing specific products."I don't trust the big companies anymore," Hornickle said. "But I can trust real moms who are saying these things (about products). It's a local voice and even if you don't know them, you start to see them as a person."Though still very new to the Web world, the Chester County Moms blog has already gained the support of many local mothers and families, as well as national sponsors ClassyMommy.com, started by Freymoyer's friend Colleen Padilla, and Cookie Magazine, of which Freymoyer will be soon be a contributor. Freymoyer said these sponsors, as well as the word of mouth, have helped them to publicize the site even before its official launch. The blog site, hosted by Blogger, a blogging system run through Google, has received more than 1,000 unique hits since its unofficial launch.Freymoyer believes Chester County Moms is different than other sites out there because it not only brings everything together on one site, but it stays local."We want to stay regional because it's where we are," Freymoyer said. "We all have small kids and we know Chester County."The site, which will celebrate its official launch at a party on Aug. 7 at Plain Jane Boutique in West Chester during the Swingin' Thursday community night, is hoping to get even more publicity simply by "word of mom." The launch will feature giveaways, swag bags filled with goodies donated by local businesses, a visit by Fox 29's Jennaphr Frederick and information about the site being given out. "I am incredibly passionate about the site," Freymoyer said. "We just want it to be user friendly and community friendly."More information is available at chestercountymoms.com.