Eco Child’s Play

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 »

Last week, I participated in a community-based conversation about vaccinations at our local library that included two of our medical center’s nursing staff and a bunch of smart, well-researched, concerned moms. Though I’ve written two previous posts about vaccinations, I was compelled to write yet another to share the conclusion I and others came to at the end of this community discussion.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ever since the confession announcement made by SIGG that their bottles made before August 2008 contained BPA every one’s been a bit leery about green products and their believability.

SIGG was one of the first companies that all the greenies were using instead of BPA filled plastic bottles-then to find out that we’d been duped…

Anyway, if you don’t want to use SIGG products for your kids (or you) anymore, no matter what they say about their new stuff, there are alternatives.

The new Thermos Foogo line for little ones is all BPA free. Read the rest of this entry »

YummyEarth offers USDA certified organic candy: gummy bears, lollipops, and candy drops that will help make this Halloween more “kid and earth friendly”.

YummyEarth was founded by and is operated by two dads who want to share great tasting yummy treats with their children while avoiding the chemicals found in many regular candies. These candies contain no artificial ingredients, no artificial colors or dyes, and no corn syrup.

That’s right no CORN SYRUP. Read the rest of this entry »

Sigg CEO offers a free exchange program for new bottles without BPA-containing lining until October 31,2009.

I was hugely disappointed to hear last month that Sigg Water Bottles produced before August 2008 were made with a liner that includes bad, bad, bad BPA. Many people, including me, bought Sigg bottles to replace other BPA/nasty chemical leaching bottles in our possession. Read the rest of this entry »

It has been proven that at least 60% of what we put on our skin is absorbed directly into the bloodstream. That’s scary, really scary when we learn what can be lurking in beauty products-even in baby products. Nasty things like phthalates, parabens and 1,4-Dioxane which has been banned in personal care products in Canada and the European Union but is still allowed in the US in small amounts even though it has been proven that it can cause allergy, immune and neurological toxicity even carcinogenic activity.

Trillium Organics has created a couple new lines of products that come with full disclosure of all ingredients-right on the product labels. The new products are made especially for pregnant women and new babies-two times when natural is more important than ever. OGmama and OGbaby are truly 100% organic and as natural as can be. Read the rest of this entry »

When you have your first child, you don’t usually have someone always hanging out that you have to explain this natural process to. Sure, there are the gawkers at public breastfeeding. And the occasional MIL or distant relative who doesn’t think you should because they didn’t.

But by the time that second (or third or fourth) comes into the picture, you have an older sibling who just might not understand, “Why in the world is mama feeding baby under her shirt?”

If you’re not looking to pick up a breastfeeding doll, halter top and all, you’re probably looking for an engaging way to discuss breastfeeding with your tot.

That is where the book “Mommy Breastfeeds My Baby Brother” was born. Want a chance to win it? Read the rest of this entry »

Just in time for back to school Uranus Apparel has launched their line of soyshorts panties for woman which come in small enough sizes your tween or teen could wear them.

My daughter received a set and the first thing she said was, “Wow, these are soft.” Read the rest of this entry »

Can’t get that baby to sleep through the night?

Want those full 9 hours of sleep you remember?

Pump your baby full of Enfamil’s “Restfull” formula! It’s,

Specially designed to help babies feel full longer and sleep better…[It] thickens gently in baby’s tummy and digests slowly.

Because didn’t you hear? Formula-feeding is apparently,

A natural way to help keep your baby feeling satisfied.

Ri-ight. Because as a natural parent, when you’re not forcing your baby to sleep through the cry-it-out method, certainly you’re hoping to find something that will stick in their bellies. Or even better, something that will magically “thicken” in their bellies. Read the rest of this entry »

For a while, I didn’t read a lot of fairy tales to my small girls. I avoid presenting them with content that represents violence, and there’s not much more violent than the Brothers Grimm–remember how the stepsisters REALLY try to trick the prince when he comes searching for Cinderella? Shudder.

We’ve been implementing some elements of the Waldorf style of schooling into our home, however, and one thing that’s emphasized in Waldorf study is the experience of myths, legends, and fairy tales–they speak to us as a people, tell who we are as a culture, and are especially relevant to the emotional language of children, both light and dark. They’re also, like the Earth is Our Mother series of books, seen as connective, showing children their place in their community as a whole. And it’s true that my girls love hearing these cross-cultural fairy tales. Read the rest of this entry »