The trials and tribulations of parenting.. across the world

Being a parent means you have to keep your guard up.. know what the kids’ lingo of the hour is, know what their every movement is even when they don’t know.. be aware of the total situation of their lives but at the same time let them live it and permit them to think they have freedom to do what they want, even though you know the perfect moment to reign them in.  To borrow a theme from our latest headlines, basically, a parent is the NSA, constantly spying on its citizens..

And now it’s time, for me and my wife, to learn more about asthma. After a medical appointment yesterday, little Ayden was diagnosed with it officially. We somewhat knew it would going to occur sooner or later.. we were warned by pediatricians for a year. But it’s it’s more real to hear the real diagnosis made.

Millions of kids are diagnosed with something every day.. asthma, while awful in its own right, isn’t nearly as severe a condition as what some other children are living through right now. It is hell on earth for so many as I type and as you read this.. 

This did,  however, bring up in my mind an important question for our time. We know autism is skyrocketing.. and allergies.. and asthma.. and other conditions affecting the behavior and health  of children. While all of these specific conditions are completely separete, is there a common lining that ties them together? One that trained researchers have yet to see?

A SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN article from 2011 details the surging asthma rates among kids.. (They have continued surging since 2011 and are doing so to this day) .. And the basic premise of the theory presented in this article: We live in a world too clean and therefore better sanitary conditions deprive the immune system of ‘training’ needed to keep the body healthy. So ragweed, dust, and everything else become bigger threats. 

Ok. I get that. We are pretty clean. Well, most of us. With the exception of some names floating through my head that I’d never publish online.. 

But let’s think outside the box for a moment. This may require a nicely fitted tin foil hat.

Here’s a link that shows asthma rates across the world in 2004:

World Prevalence Map

Here is a map that shows autism rates across the world:

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And finally.. here is a map that shows the countries across the world who use genetically modified food and where GMO use is widespread in the food supply.

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A few maps and a few links don’t solve mysteries or answer questions. But you see a theme here? You see the same countries shaded darker? Oh sure, maybe some just have ‘more people’ and therefore rates are higher.. and maybe there’s other environmental factors.. and maybe ‘better observations’ and diagnosis.. and maybe ‘better medicine’ that spots these things in our children.. and the beat goes on. There could be a number of things that have nothing in common leading to the maps to look almost roughly exact..





But for as for me? Maybe my tin foil hate is too tight.. but I have no questions. Do you?