Parents need to be wary of Lego blocks
Child safety experts have urged parents to be wary of small toy pieces such as Lego blocks and magnetic construction parts, saying kids older than three still face choking and infection risks.
The warning comes as a five-year-old boy remains in a critical but stable condition in hospital after inhaling a Lego piece on the Gold Coast last night.
It also follows a study that found 105 children had presented at Queensland emergency departments with injuries from magnets between 1999 and 2009 – most of whom were more than three years old.
KidSafe Queensland executive officer Susan Teerds said parents of young children should continually reinforce the risk of swallowing small objects in the same way they would if the child had allergies or required gluten-free food.
Ms Teerds said children under three should not have access to objects that would fit through the inside of a toilet roll, such as Lego.
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PISS off Latham
”PISS off, Latham,” cried an old Digger. ”This is about veterans, not you.”
Mark Latham has a famed ability to poison any well into which he splashes, as his old Labor colleagues – none of them friends with him any more – can attest.
Yesterday, his chosen spot for wallowing in his own magnificence was the Penrith RSL Club, where Opposition Leader Tony Abbott had come to launch his veterans’ affairs policy. Hardly had Abbott finished announcing that a Coalition government would index veterans’ pensions and supply free pharmaceuticals to the most disabled than Latham, in his acquired guise of 60 Minutes reporter, strode in.
Read more…Latham dodges Digger daggers but Abbott cannot dodge him
Categories: News Tags: Mark Latham, RSL, tony abbott
Parents lose custody of children with Nazi Inspired names.
A New Jersey couple who gave their children Nazi-inspired names should not regain custody of them, a US state appeals court has found.
Heath and Deborah Campbell’s three small children were removed from their home by the state in January 2009.
The family drew attention after a supermarket refused to decorate a birthday cake for their son, Adolf Hitler Campbell. He and siblings JoyceLynn Aryan Nation Campbell and Honszlynn Hinler Jeannie Campbell have been in foster care.
The appeals court ruled on Thursday that sufficient evidence of abuse or neglect existed because of domestic violence in the home. The court sent the case back to family court for further reconsideration.
A gag order remains in place and the parties refused to discuss the decision.
Categories: News Tags: adolf hitler campbell, deborah campell, heath campbell
Australia ranked in childhood diabetes top 10
Two children in Australia are diagnosed with type 1 diabetes each day, according to a new report.
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare study found that diabetes rates increased significantly between 2000 and 2004, but stabilised until 2008.
The Institute’s Anna-Marie Waters says the incidence of type 1 diabetes remains high in Australia compared with other countries.
“Australia has a very high rate of type 1 diabetes in children compared to many other countries,” she said.
“In in fact it’s one of the 10 OECD [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development] countries with the highest rate of diabetes in children, so it still is a concern.”
Ms Waters says diabetes in children is creating a significant burden on families.
“It definitely creates a burden on the healthcare system, it also creates a burden for the children and their families because of the treatment they need to have, it’s a life-long condition so they need to have it for the rest of their lives,” she said.
Read more…Australia ranked in childhood diabetes top 10 – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Mt Isa lead poisoning risk
A new study has suggested one child develops lead poisoning every nine days in the north-west Queensland mining city of Mount Isa.
Mining giant Xstrata is involved in legal action over high levels of lead in the blood of children in the city.
Dr Mark Taylor from Macquarie University co-authored the report, published today in the Medical Journal of Australia.
He says existing data confirms there is a risk to children’s health in Mount Isa and not enough is being done to address the issue.
“There are about 400 children born every year in Mount Isa … and about every nine days a child will be unnecessarily exposed to lead – a situation that could be prevented,” he said.
Dr Taylor says not enough is being done to inform the community about the situation or clean up the problem.
“It’s preventable – I think I would ask anybody – is it acceptable that parents don’t have informed consent about the problem, that it is not natural and that there is a significant risk to the child’s health?” he said.
“Is it acceptable that in effect there has been no real remediation of the problem since it came to light again in 2006?”
Dr Taylor says in the past he has received payments from the legal firm Slater and Gordon, who are representing families suing Xstrata over the alleged lead poising of their children.
A spokesman for Xstrata says since acquiring Mount Isa mines in 2003, the company has never exceeded the regulatory limit for respirable lead in any air monitoring in the community.
“We have invested in excess of $2.7 million removing historical mine sediment from the Leichhardt River due to historical mining practices,” he said.
The spokesman said the company’s Lead Pathways study in late 2007 found that the historical mine sediment was of low impact to human health.
Xstrata says the Lead Pathways study is ongoing.
Read more…Study confirms Mt Isa lead poisoning risk – ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Categories: News Tags: Lead Poisoning, Mt Isa
