I recently ran across an article explaining the dangers of sunscreen and the chemicals it contained, and the benefits of vitamin D (which we only get from exposure to the sun), which is blocked by sunscreen. To be honest, this is not new information for me, but it is something I have decided to give more thought to this summer. But this discussion is not about sunscreen. It's about trying to make healthful decisions for our kids in this media-frenzied world.

One resource says the chemicals in sunscreen cause more skin cancer than the sun, while the American Cancer Society says that the sun is the leading cause of skin cancer. But remember, doctors once encouraged pregnant women to smoke to calm their nerves.

One resource says eating any wheat at all is horribly bad for you, another says you need whole grains to keep yourself healthy. One resource says milk is very deadly, another says your bones will waste away without it.

Bug spray is another one of these issues. My kids are highly sensitive to the mosquitoes in our area (think quarter to half-dollar sized welts for each bite), but have you seen the poisons in bug sprays? And I am going to spray that on their skin, the body's largest organ that sucks in all sorts of chemicals?

And let's not even get started on the vaccine issue.

I am making decisions on a daily basis that affect two very precious people who are too immature to make these decisions for themselves in an informed manner. When I let them have a piece of candy, my heart feels tremendous amounts of guilt. There is dye in that candy, and high fructose corn syrup (which I am trying to weed out of our diet as much as possible). I nursed my babies exclusively till six months or longer, then once they turned one I let them have all sorts of unnatural things that I would never have let them even look at when they were infants. Yet, I do not want my daughters to be the ones in the class who have to say "no" when the teacher hands out a treat.

I believe strongly that they need to be able to live and enjoy life. I am not going to trap my kids in a bubble and never let them out so that they could be protected from all illness and injury.

Yet again, cancer is a horrible disease that scares the living daylights out of me, especially when it comes to my children. And we don't know what causes it.

So, what is a mom to do? Most try to find reliable resources to help them decide. You turn to your pediatrician, Google, friends, and you get 100 different conflicting opinions.

Parenting in the 21st century is tough, not just because there are so many dangers out there and media is so readily available, but also because we are so "well" informed that it is almost impossible to decipher what is real and what is not.

I am left in a quandary. Do I make radical changes and completely renovate our lifestyle, or do I just do things in moderation, hoping that I am making the best decision?

There are no real answers to these questions, at least not that I have found yet. I guess in the 21st century, parents are left to make the best possible decision with the information they have, and trust God to truly protect their children. That is all any loving parent can really do after all, right?

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