Published on June 15th, 2008
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Yesterday I received a comment on my Korean Seaweed Soup Recipe [A Milk Production Helper] where a mom was not making enough milk for her baby. Come to find out she was supplementing with formula. I don’t have enough background info to know if this was a medical decision; but in most cases; supplementing with formula is not a good way to establish your milk supply.
According to a certified Lactation Consultant, “Frequent unrestricted nursing is best in the early days. Most breastfeeding babies will need and want to nurse every 1 1/2-3 Hours or more often. If your baby is very sleepy, wake him to nurse every three hours during the day. If your baby sleeps a long stretch at night, you will need to wake him for night feedings [until your milk supply is established].” I stuck by this rule and this has helped to maintain my milk supply.
For the first six weeks of breastfeeding; do not let the baby go without feeding for more than four hours. The more the baby sucks, the more breast will start to produce milk. There’s a biology behind this; but I don’t want to go into here; trust me, just put your baby to your boobs if you want to increase your stash. “Anytime you supplement, you decrease your milk supply because your breast won’t be stimulated to make that milk that’s now being guzzled in the form of a supplement.”
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Published on June 5th, 2008
16 years ago, Gail Gibbons wrote Recycle!: A Handbook for Kids, but not much has changed since then. Recycling is still an important green practice, and this informative book printed on recycled paper gives parents, teachers, and children a straightforward explanation how recycling works and why we should do it. There is soo much information in this book, that even I learned something new when reading it the first time.
Gail Gibbons is well known for her children’s non-fiction books. From Weather Forecasting to Chicks & Chickens, the text and illustrations are loaded with detailed information. Recycle! is no exception. The book begins by talking about the problem of garbage and how to dispose of it. Recycling is presented as a solution that can “cut down the amount of trash we make.” From a simple explanation of recycling, Gail breaks down the specifics of recycling paper, glass, cans, plastic, and polystyrene. She explains how each is made, recycled, and reused.
It takes lime, soda ash, and sand, called silica, to make glass. These three elements are mixed together and heated at a very high temperature to make a glassy liquid. Measured amounts, sometimes dyed, are dropped into forming machines, where the liquid hardens to make bottles and jars. Many products come in glass bottles or jars. Sometimes, when they are through being used, they are just thrown away. It would take thousands of years for them to biodegrade at a landfill. Instead, these bottles and jars could be reused. RECYCLE!
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Published on May 27th, 2008
I’ve had my child cooking with me since she was two, and even before then she was hanging out in a backpack watching over my shoulder as I prepared meals. The Kiddo even asks to watch me cook, pushing over a dining chair to stand on herself. At the tender age of three, she even does some of the cooking. Surprisingly, there are many kitchen tasks that a child this young can help with.
If you are in need of advice on when and how to get your kid cooking, this book, Salad People and More Real Recipes, may be a perfect fit. The author has also written Moosewood Cookbook, a top vegetarian title. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on May 20th, 2008
I have learned from our readers that there are two sources for green motivation in families: the parents or the children. Eco moms and eco dads obviously pass on their green values to their children, but sometimes it is the children themselves that inspire a family to go green. I was one such child growing up that converted to vegetarianism (I did not get my family to do the same), and made my parents aware of environmental issues. My influence was not seen immediately, but I look at my dad’s avid recycling and my sister’s organic food choices and can’t help but think that my green values may have rubbed off on them. Now, there is a book to help children turn their parents green.
How to Turn Your Parents Green, by James Russell and illustrated by Oivind Hovland, is a humorous book for kids ages 8-80 (you are never too old to turn your parents green). This book helps alleviate eco-anxiety by empowering children. “The premise for the book is that grown-ups (the Groans) are responsible for causing global warming, but it’s you (the kids) who will have to deal with the consequences.” The tips in the book are what you would expect, such as eating organically, riding your bike, and turning off light bulbs; but the format is unique in suggesting how children can approach their parents. One suggestions is presenting your parents with a list of poisons in the household, such as cleaners, then giving them a month to switch to natural products. There’s even a section on how to turn your teachers green! Read the rest of this entry »
Published on May 13th, 2008
William is Going Green, written by James Martin II and James Martin III, is the story of a garbage truck that loses his job, because he is too polluting. In search of a new job, William travels from town to town until he finds a green, clean city. He is told he could be hired as a recycling truck, if only he had a hybrid engine. Unfortunately, out-of-work William does not have the money for a new, cleaner engine, until he rescues a cat from a sewer. The cat Gage belongs to a mechanic, and William is given a hybrid engine and coat of green paint in reward for the rescue. The author explains, “My son James III and I created the William the Garbage Truck & Crew series to share what we learned about global warming and the benefits of conservation.”
My son, like many boys, adores trucks. He enjoyed William is Going Green when his sister read it to her, but there is one thing about the story I find a bit awkward. I do think that city garbage trucks should have hybrid motors, but as mentioned in the book, the cost to convert a truck is expensive and not readily available. William’s reward for rescuing a cat is not the solution for most city garbage trucks, and I think it is a little misleading to children who really want to see change. Perhaps there is another way William could have gotten a new hybrid motor from recycling proceeds, donations, gas taxes, etc. Maybe I am too much of a realist, but I like my green children’s fiction to address the realities of environmental change. This part of the story didn’t bother my children at all, and they really did like it. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on April 17th, 2008
The feminist, eco-mom’s lament: What to do about princesses!
For the first two years of my daughter’s life, I shielded her from fairy tales and Disney movies about happily ever after and surrounded her with books about animals and nature. Then, she met a little girl that would become her best friend, who also introduced her to the world of Disney Princesses. I was happy my daughter had formed a strong relationship with another child, but there was no returning to our blissful, royalty-free days.
Breaking princess stereotypes
I’ve read several stories that try to break the princess stereotype, such as Cinder Edna and The Paper Bag Princess. Princess Bubble, written by Susan Johnston and Kimberly Webb, is the story of a princess who is beautiful, a graduate of Royal University, employed by Royal Heir Line, and is happy with her life. As her other princess friends begin to marry their princes, Princess Bubble is pressured by the queen to find a prince.
But, Bubble did not believe just any prince would bring her “happily ever after.” Yet the fairy tales said she must find HER prince! So she put on her thinking crown and re-read the fairy tales for clues on where to find her prince. She soon realized that unlike the other princesses, She was not trapped in a dungeon…She had no wicked stepsisters or stepmother…She did not know any dwarfs…Nor did she live under the sea. But the most confusing part was…She was already happy!
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Published on April 15th, 2008
Trout Are Made of Trees, written by April Pulley Sayre and illustrated by Kate Endle, is the story of how a river’s ecosystem works together for the benefit of the trout. From leaves falling from the trees to trout hatchlings growing up in a stream, this book emphasizes the natural cycle of a trout.
In fall, trees let go of leaves,
which swirl and twirl
and slip into streams.
They ride in a rush
above rocks
and over rapids.
They snag and settle soggily down.
Bacteria feed on the leaves.
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Published on April 2nd, 2008
When doing research for another post, I discovered David Gershon’s Journey for the Planet: A Kid’s Five Week Adventure to Create an Earth-friendly Life. I wondered what children would be encouraged to do and how this compared to other books providing “eco tips” for young people. This book is unique, as it creates a game for the children to play alone or in teams as they implement actions as part of the climate change solution.
You are about to go on an amazing journey-one that will help you and the planet. It will be fun, challenging, and exciting. Over a five week period you will learn how to take action to use our Earth’s precious and limited natural resources with greater care.
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Published on March 25th, 2008
My Bag and Me!, written by Karen Farmer and illustrated by Gary Currant, is a cute rhyming board book about the benefits of using reusable shopping bags. The little boy in the story has his own shopping bag he takes to the store. He also reminds his mother to do the same.
Then it’s off to the checkout where we’ve all been before. I hand over My Bag and say, “Paper and plastic no more!” We feel really good when our shopping is done. We’ve saved so many bags by using this one!
My Bag and Me! comes with a reusable, small shopping bag. My only criticism is that the bag is made from Tyvek, a Dupont product. Dupont doesn’t exactly have a clean environmental record, and Tyvek is not as long lasting or washable as a cloth shopping bag. Furthermore, the bag and book both claim to be 100% recyclable, although I’ve never seen Tyvek accepted at a recycling center, and neither bag nor book are made from post consumer content.
500 billion paper and plastic bags are used each year globally! These “free” bags actually cost $4 billion dollars a year, and thus consumers pay the price for them in other ways. It is also staggering to consider that it takes 1,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose, and we have all seen the litter they create. Read the rest of this entry »
Published on March 11th, 2008
After the immense enjoyment I got from Gaia Girls - Enter the Earth, I had some high expectations for the second book in the Gaia Girls series. I’m happy to say that author Lee Welles delivered yet again!
With the first tome based around the element of earth, the second tome is all about water (as the title suggests). Miho’s scientist parents were lost at sea and she now has to move to Japan to live with her uncle. Though she speaks no Japanese and has never met her uncle, she has no other choice but to move in with her only living relative.
While visiting the beach house of her grandparents (who have already passed on), Miho meets the already infamous otter, Gaia. Miho is quickly swept up in the excitement of being able to talk to all the creatures of the sea and makes friends with a large group of dolphins. Of course, her adult uncle thinks she is nuts and simply can’t follow orders when he tells her to be home at a certain time and she continues to come home dripping wet. Read the rest of this entry »
