Sesame Street Lead Away!

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"Lead is yucky! So stay away from dust and peeling paint, and wash your hands before you eat, and get your blood tested by your doctor," stresses Sesame Street Muppet Rosita.  Lead poisoning is a serious health problem, but it can be prevented. This video, featuring the beloved characters of Sesame Street, presents a complicated subject in ways that can easily be understood by children and their families. Since April 1996, Elmo and his Muppet friends have been reminding kids across the nation that staying away from dust and peeling paint and washing their hands before meals are two of the easiest steps they can take to be safe from the dangers of lead poisoning.

Lead poisoning is the number one environmental health problem of children under the age of six, and virtually all children are at risk of exposure at home, school or at play.  Even low levels of lead poisoning, which usually has no visible symptoms, can cause hearing loss, anemia and impaired physical and mental development.  Once damage has occurred, it is believed to be irreversible.

Now these video and print materials are available to be used in a workshop for families as well as child care programs, health care programs, clinics, libraries and anyone else who cares about keeping children safe from lead poisoning.

This hands-on, interactive workshop provides parent safety tips on creating a lead free home environment such as:

• Wash kids' hands frequently and keep their toys clean.
• Keep children away from lead outside the house.
• Cover up soil in play areas near the house, where lead dust or chips from exterior paint may have settled.  
• Run cold water from the faucet for a few moments before filling a bottle or cup.
• Avoid serving children meals on ceramic dishes that were made by hand. (The paints and glazes sometimes contain lead.)
• Replace non-glossy imported mini-blinds

Training materials include:

• A lively and entertaining Sesame Street video story with Muppets, songs and humor (15-minutes}

An informative comic -why it is important to learn about lead poisoning.  (One side is English and the other Spanish)

For more information:

NC Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program
Contact your local health department or Neasha Bryant (919) 715-0581

NC Childhood Poisoning Prevention Hispanic Outreach Task Force
1-888-774-0071