Kelly Preston
Each month, iParenting.com spotlights a mother who inspires and moves us, who embodies the qualities that we all admire in a person, a woman and a mother. Above all, the Mom of the Month is dedicated to her children. Rich or poor, famous or not, she shines as an example of what mothering is all about.
May's Mom of the Month is actor Kelly Preston, supportive wife to actor John Travolta and loving mother of son Jett, 10, and daughter Ella Bleu, 2. She shared her life, including her work for the Children's Health Environmental Coalition (CHEC), with iParenting Media's Editor-in-Chief, Elisa Ast All.
Kelly Preston is nothing short of inspirational. Warm, generous and funny, Preston is a mom with a heart that beats to the rhythm of the worlds children. Using her high visibility as an actor, she helps raise awareness of the potential harmful effects of chemicals we, as parents, use each and every day in our homes chemicals that could be endangering our childrens lives.
Prestons personal life has been equally exciting. Briefly married to actor Kevin Gage in the 1980s, shes had relationships with actors George Clooney and Charlie Sheen. But it was in 1991 that she wed her true love, actor John Travolta. The two had their first child, Jett Travolta, in 1992, and their second, daughter Ella Bleu Travolta, in 2000. The children changed her life personally and professionally.
Ive wanted to have babies since I was 11, Preston says. I always babysat. I was making thousands and thousands of dollars doing commercials and still babysitting for $2.50 an hour.
A Health Crisis Gives Birth to a Cause
Her love of children her own and other peoples kids shows in everything she does. But it wasnt until her own child, Jett, went through a health crisis that she put her love to work
. Jetts whole immune system shut down, and he got really sick with high fevers, 104 and 105, she says. I kept taking him into the doctor and they didnt know what was wrong with him. He developed a rash on his body, swollen lymph glands it was horrible. Preston kept taking Jett in to the doctors office every couple of days, but he was not getting better. Finally, the doctor did some research and came up with a preliminary diagnosis: Kawasakis Syndrome. According to the Miller-Keane Medical Dictionary, Kawasakis is an illness of unknown etiology affecting primarily children, and characterized by high fever, macroerythematous rash, cervical lymph node swelling, and pain.
Preston took Jett to Childrens Hospital in Los Angeles, where the diagnosis was confirmed. And lo and behold, they dont know how you acquire it, and lo and behold, there were tons of kids in the ICU with Kawasakis, Preston says. Id never even heard of it. And they give you a questionnaire with about 50 questions on it. I went and talked to everybody every single parent and everyone had cleaned their carpets in the last couple of weeks. That was one of the questions. So I dont know what the correlation is
Im just saying we need to know more.
Jetts recovery was slow, but steady. We went through a really touch-and-go period, then he ended up getting better [after a few months], she says. But he has lots of allergies, and has had an asthma attack before. Lots of sensitivities. Because of these issues, the Preston-Travolta household became a chemical-free zone. We dont have any chemicals in the house. Were 90 percent organic, though theres some canned foods, a little bit of junk food here and there.
But the cleaning products are all organic especially when cleaning carpets. Preston had just cleaned her carpets prior to Jetts illness. Im a big proponent of not chemically cleaning your carpets, she says. When Jett was little
he would drop food on the carpets, the carpets would get dirty. You need to clean the carpets like youre taught, so that its safe for your baby. They say that once the chemicals dry, that its no longer a risk and thats not true. They continue gassing off for months and months and months. And this gas, she notes, is bad for babies. Their crawl zone is within a foot from the carpet and even if theyre walking, theyre short, so theyre breathing it in. Its very dangerous for young children and the elderly, is what Ive researched and found out, and those with weakened immune systems. Any chemical cleaning.
So what are you supposed to do if you have chemicals in your carpet? You can clean your carpets, get the same people, and have them empty their tank and only use hot water, Preston says. Its brilliant. Or you can use a product called Mystical, that is also brilliant. Its a nontoxic cleanser that gets everything out. Its genius.
Click here to see the natural products Preston and Travolta use in their household.
Working on Behalf of the Children
Because of her frightening and enlightening experience with Jett, Preston became committed to informing other parents of potential health hazards in the environment, and protecting other children. Her work with the Childrens Health Environmental Coalition (CHEC), a national non-profit organization dedicated to educating parents and caregivers about environmental toxins that affect children's health, allows her to spread her message in a powerful way. For the past three and a half years, she has helped raise funds and awareness by being a board member and media representative.
This aligns with my purposes and goals for helping people, she says. The more you learn, the more you need to help. The more you find out, the more youre shocked. The funny thing is that then the tides turn, and the less youre shocked. The more youre told, youre like, I totally believe it. Im not surprised.
Parents contact the organization constantly, worrying about what they may have unknowingly exposed their children to. You cant worry about what you may have already exposed your kids to, Preston says. You have to think: Now Im armed; I have knowledge; knowledge is power; and Im going to create change. Im going to protect my kids as well as protect other kids. The goal is to inform and protect.
Preston notes that CHEC is a grassroots organization that can only survive through the help of parents. Young parents, or older parents, just anybody who cares about children. And everybody does, she says. Children are our future literally. Its such a cliché but its so true.
Click here for Preston's recommended reading.
A good starting point to learn more about the space in which your children live is CHECs HealtheHouse, an interactive resource for information on environmental health risks children face in the home. Preston also stars in a video, with fellow CHEC board member Olivia Newton-John, titled Not Under My Roof: Protecting Your Baby From Toxins at Home. In the video, Preston and Newton-John discuss what you need to know about the hidden toxins in your home. They really wanted to do it where it wasnt going to scare people, but I also wanted to make sure that people realized that this isnt something thats just a little issue, Preston says. There are really important things you need to do to safeguard your kids. There are things to do to protect your kids and their well-being so they dont get sick.
I think this was a kind of old...but some info.
also:
http://www.hollywoodinterrupted.com/archives/a_plea_from_hollywood_john_travolta_open_your_heart.phtml
Thank goodness for the DIS or I would never be in the "know" on celeb gossip!! I've learned quite a few new things today!
Wow... great reading people! Thanks for all the laughs!
