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We’re all so busy. We have so many things to focus on and attend to. We have to work. We have to maintain our homes and our health. We need some leisure or “down-time,” as well as time for individual creative exploration.
There is only so much time in the day, so we need inventions for the sake of convenience: Disposable diapers, formula and loads of electronic devices for entertainment, with television being at the helm.
With these items we gain time. But at what cost?
Diapers
Over 92% of all single-use diapers end up in a landfill. Millions of dollars are spent to discard disposable diapers, whereas cotton diapers are reused 50 to 200 times before being turned into rags. It is estimated to take about anywhere from 200-500 years before diapers decompose. Disposables also often contain several toxic chemicals–not so good for our childrens’ health.
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The news may be filled with stories of crises and collapse, but through every downfall we are seeing greatness as mothers heed the call for change. As Amie Nelson says in “How Mothers Can Change the World,”
“The positive light among us is the growing swell of activism from women formerly in the shadows. From heads of state to soccer moms, mothers around the world are doing incredible work to inspire, educate and engage their communities.
Mothers are a force to be reckoned with, by their sheer numbers alone…The promising reality is that mothers are emerging as social advocates and political leaders. All over the world, female politicians are proud to emphasize their role as mothers–and even campaign as mothers.
Mothers are a universal symbol of the unique power women have to get things done, to survive insurmountable odds, and to help others in need.”
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Twenty –five years ago, more than 2,000 people were poisoned by Aldicarb, a highly toxic pesticide used on cotton and several food crops. It was the biggest case of pesticide poisoning in US history. Local officials recommended a ban, to no avail, and Aldicarb has merely been under “special review” with the EPA for more than 25 years. But, finally, action is being taken.
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As my wife and I were already consciously evolving our efforts to reduce our carbon footprint, it is only natural that such efforts would be carried over to raising our daughter, Anjali. Taking steps to change our habits and routines was, and is, never easy. Changing such things always involves contemplation, research, motivation and implementation. For us, the contemplation and motivation is generally there already. Implementation is usually easy once the research is done. The research, however, can be time consuming.
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Our daughter, Anjali, at 4 months on the potty
Editor’s Note: We are pleased to add Jeremy Dyen to the fathers that contribute to Eco Child’s Play. Jeremy blogs at Stay at Home Papa: ”A musician-papa shares his fatherhood, work and family experience. Here you can get attachment parenting ideas, listen to new music and more..”
Prior to our daughter Anjali’s birth, some close friends (who also had a baby on the way) asked us, “So are you using disposable diapers, cloth diapers or going diaper-free?”
We had already made plans to cloth diaper. But what of this diaper-free? Well, who knew how quickly and determinately we could learn and incorporate Elimination Communication (EC), a more appropriate name than diaper-free. Now I cannot imagine taking a different path with our daughter.
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