Overview of Children's Environmental Health

To properly grow, develop, and thrive, children need clean air to breathe; clean water to drink; safe food to eat; and healthy places to live, learn, and play. In many communities across North America, children's vulnerabilities are not fully understood, and children are exposed to environmental risks that can seriously harm their health. Most health care providers are not adequately trained to recognize environmentally-related illnesses and injuries in children.

Children are continually growing and developing until their early adult years and may be more vulnerable to environmental exposures than adults because:

• Their bodily systems are still developing
• They eat more, drink more, and breathe more air in proportion to their body size then adults
• Their bodies are less able to breakdown pollutants and excrete those
• Their behavior can expose them more to chemicals and organisms

Check the links below to read more about children's environmental health

Tips to Protect Children from Environmental Risks
General Information about Children’s Environmental Health
Information on Specific Health Exposures and Health Effects
Organizations with Interest in Children’s Environmental Health
Resources for Community Outreach and Education
Online Tutorials and Presentations
Research on Children’s Environmental Health
Other Resources

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