Eco Child’s Play

Here’s a fun book you may enjoy. It could inspire you with new ways to teach your child about living green. Or it may make a great gift for another parent that you know who could use some help in the eco-department.

Grow Your Own Tree Hugger: 101 activities to teach your child how to live green by Wendy Rosenoff is full of activities, crafts and recipes that can easily teach children about the environment and about being green without being preachy.

Some of the activities sound like so much fun your kids won’t even know they’re learning. Read the rest of this entry »

Last week, while volunteering at my daughter’s classroom Halloween party, I flinched a little as I saw one of the other parents dutifully strolling around dispensing the requisite waterless, chem-filled hand sanitizers. Aside from my skepticism that anti-bacterial soaps will actually do much to kill a virus, I also suspected the ingredients in the sanitizer weren’t much better than the germs they were designed to kill. So when the teacher instructed two of my daughter’s peers that they were supposed to wash their hands with soap and warm water instead (apparently per parental instruction), I quickly chimed in that I wanted Eliana to do the same. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what other chemicals were being sprayed around the room when the cleaning staff arrived. Read the rest of this entry »

Halloween, like many other holidays, is a love-hate day for me. I love the tradition, the fun of dressing up as someone or something completely different from myself, the excitement of walking the streets in the dark, leaves blowing, trying to figure out who is hiding under each costume, and, of course, gorging on piles of candy just before bedtime (of course I only did that as a kid). As I’ve become a concerned “greenie” mother, however, I am growing to hate holidays that fuel the consumption of toxic materials and goodies that ain’t so good for the planet or our bodies.

That said, I am the mother of a 15 month old girl and, in an effort to not be a complete curmudgeon, I thought I would do some research to find eco-acceptable costumes and planet- and body-better goodies. Here are a few good finds:

Read the rest of this entry »

A friend has a daughter with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Vijay and her husband are so honest and open about their challenges with their younger daughter, and their intelligent perspectives have helped me understand a bit more about these families. She recently posted a note about acceptance and autism, and I thought it was important to share with you.

Vijay: I was asked by a friend,

Are you telling me that you would NOT be interested in a cure for autism?

And here is my answer:

Certainly dealing with Violet has been harder than dealing with a “regular” kid, but sometimes challenges are good for people to kind of push us to open our minds. It’s humbling to be faced with someone who is difficult to figure out. But that there is a lot to be learned from the experience. There’s no way to find out if Violet understands that she’s different, or if she would change that if she could. Yet.

These kids are different. So what should change? The kids? Or society? Read the rest of this entry »

A teen in Florida may be deported if she refuses to get the Gardasil vaccine.

Seventeen-year-old Simone Davis has been applying for citizenship for almost 10 years. When she was 3, she was abandoned and then adopted by her paternal grandmother, who married an American. The family moved to Port St. Joe, Fla.

Now, because she refuses to get the HPV vaccine, she may be sent back to England. That’s because Gardasil is among the required vaccines for citizenship. This vaccine is not mandated for American girls, though different localities have their own laws.

Read the rest of this entry »

Recently, Gardasil researcher Dr. Diane Harper spoke out against the vaccine, warning parents to decide whether the risks are worth it. For many families, the adverse effects of this shot have changed their lives.

This is the start of a series sharing the stories of these brave families.

Here is the story of Brittney Fiste, as told by her mother Roxie.

“Everyone deserves to know the whole truth before blindly rushing out to take an unproven vaccine.”

Read the rest of this entry »

In 2005, helpful big sister Brittney Maxson tried to enter an A&F dressing room at the Mall of America to assist her younger sibling, 14-year-old Molly, who is autistic.

She was confronted by store staff, who said that Abercrombie policy didn’t allow more than one person in a dressing room at a time in an attempt combat shoplifting. The girls had encountered the same policy at another store, but they allowed the sisters in the dressing room at that store after they understood the situation.

At Abercrombie & Fitch, Brittney explained her sister’s special needs, but was still refused. Their mom, Beth, tried to talk to management and the girls were still refused. Beth even called a customer service hotline while at the store and the request was still ignored.

Four years later, the clothing store has been ordered to pay $115,264 for discriminating against a disabled person.

Read the rest of this entry »

The FDA is recommending Gardasil for boys, saying in a memo that it seems to be safe and effective in preventing genital warts in young men and boys. And guess what! None of the boys tested got cervical cancer! Kidding.

The vaccine’s maker, Merck, has been pushing for males to be offered the shot too, and gave the FDA evidence that, according to CBS,

Three studies of over 5,000 boys and men, Gardasil was 89% effective in preventing genital warts.

Check out the entire news story:

Read the rest of this entry »

Breakfast time is usually a big deal at our house. I try to make sure the little guy gets a healthy nutritious meal to start the day.  I also try to stay away from cereals due to their high sugar content but occassionally a bowl of cereal makes it’s way onto the table.

Since having a child I’ve made breakfast important. I mostly make meals from scratch and make the best attempt to stay away from anything packaged. The chickens have been such a blessing. We’re able to cook eggs most days any which way you can think of and have them for breakfast or “breakie” (what we call it here).

Pancakes are the biggest hit for breakie…just ask my son, he’ll tell you he wants *pancakes*! Before I knew about this recipe I’m going to share; I’d always thought I was making pancakes from scratch.

Read the rest of this entry »

Mattel. The name is no longer only synonymous with Barbie, Hot Wheels, and Polly Pocket. Now when you hear “Mattel”, it’s flashback time: to lead-laden, choketastic toys.

When the Consumer Products Safety Commission was charged with implementing the new CPSIA, designed to make toys safer, fans of handcrafted goods worried: would we still be able to get our beloved natural toys? After all, toy testing for lead and phthalates has a price tag attached that is harder on the small business owner than it is on corporate giants like Mattel.

Turns out, it’s especially easy for Mattel, as the toy manufacturer gets to use “independent” in-house testing instead of submitting its toys to third-party testing like everyone else, as the AP reports,

The Consumer Product Safety Commission recently, and quietly, granted Mattel’s request to use its own labs for testing.

Although I’d love to not be too cynical on this, guess what? Coincidentally, Mattel spent $1 million last year in lobbying costs.

Read the rest of this entry »