by Healthy Child Healthy World on May 19, 2010 · 3 comments
I thought I’d seen it all when I was cruising the yogurt section of my supermarket and spotted blue, cotton-candy flavored yogurt for kids. Manufacturers are all too aware that children are compulsively drawn to Technicolor food and those that are sweet or salty. Since getting kids to eat well is an exercise in triage as you figure the pros and cons of cost, time, and availability you might be tempted to take the path of least resistance: chicken nuggets, flame colored mac ‘n’ cheese, blue yogurt. That’s fine sometimes. But the chemical additives—preservatives, flavors, and colors—found in these types of food have a disproportionately greater health impact on children than on adults.
[read the full article...]
by Derek Markham on September 9, 2009 · 2 comments
Once school starts, sports and band practice begins, and vacations are over, it seems there is never enough time in the day to just get outside with our kids.
I’m a firm believer in getting lots of nature time – anything, as long as it includes plenty of fresh air, surrounded by trees and plants and dirt. The National Wildlife Federation’s campaign, “Be Out There” has a list of 10 ways to get outside, even after school starts. [read the full article...]
by Jennifer Lance on June 9, 2009 · 1 comment
It is with pleasure that I write this review of special children’s book written by our Green Options colleague and Eco Child’s Play contributing writer Joe Mohr, aka Mean Joe Green! Not only is Joe a great political cartoonist, he’s a children’s author too. His new book Go Out! Go Out! is unique not only because it comes from Joe, but it is also a short book (14 “pages”) designed for your iPhone using istorytime.
From kite-flying to corndog buying, Go Out! Go Out! is a rhyming story that shares a small sample of the wonderful experiences that are waiting for us just outside our own front door.
Joe believes it is important kids get outside, no matter where they live! I couldn’t agree more, and my family spends most of their days in the great outdoors. [read the full article...]
Editor’s note: The following post was originally published on Green and Clean Mom. “Green & Clean Mom can inspire you to try a little harder, be a catalyst for change and to offer you some new tips and news on how to be the green, sexy and sassy mom…I know you are!”
The New York Times recently reported that a study was just published in the Journal of Pediatrics showing the children who took a bath in a half a cup of bleach per full standard tub were relieved of their eczema related itching. The bleach apparently had very little odor and the children were relieved of the itching. One article totes the solution of using bleach in the bath with children as “safe, simple and inexpensive…” and I’m trying to figure out how the hell this is safe. Something is seriously messed up about this and I’m feeling very sick over the idea of a child breathing the toxic fumes, having their body exposed to the toxic substance when bath time should be a safe place to play. Do the children drink the water? How does it not get in their eyes? How is this legal and okay? Time Magazine explains that using the bleach bath might sound harsh but it’s safer than exposing children to the antibiotics…
“The bottom line is that the more antibiotics we use, the higher the risk for something becoming resistant to them,” says Dr. Amy Paller, a study author, specialist in pediatric dermatology and chair of the dermatology department at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. “The beauty of something like dilute bleach is that one doesn’t get resistance to it.”
[read the full article...]
Sometimes people email me asking how they can teach their children to relax in nature when they don’t really get it themselves. I want you all to check out this book because it is the perfect example and explains it in such an amazing way.
Gus is a Tree by Claire Babin; illustrated by Olivier Tallec
Gus is a Tree is about a boy who, while playing with other children, falls asleep beneath a tree and then dreams of experiencing life as a tree. Gus shares the forest with other trees including birches, oak and beeches. He sees an autumn sunset and a wild boar family search for food. Night falls and he senses other creatures–owls, bats, even a dormouse that lives in a knot in another tree. He experiences a refreshing fall of rain and feels squirrels scamper up and down his bark. Then he is awakened by his friends who tell him it is time to go inside from the rain.
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[read the full article...]
Editor’s note: The following post was originally published on Green and Clean Mom. “Green & Clean Mom can inspire you to try a little harder, be a catalyst for change and to offer you some new tips and news on how to be the green, sexy and sassy mom…I know you are!”
In my local community something is happening that makes me want to jump up, clap for joy and say, “thank goodness”! Children are being encouraged to get outside. Turn off the television and discover green grass, bugs, bond with the trees, smell the fresh air, run and get dirty. It’s an initiative that really shouldn’t have to take place but with television, computers, working parents and technology more children are inside verses exploring the great outdoors. Find out how to locally get involved or start an initiative near you by visiting Getting Kids Outdoors.
The idea is to leave no child inside. I found many helpful tips for parents on a handout given to me at our local health fair and hopefully you can use some of these tips and join in the effort to get our kids off the couch and outside where the rain won’t hurt them and some mud could be fun for everyone!
Limit Screen Time. Designate how often the television can be turned on and stick to it. Avoid using it just for noise. I’m guilty at this. My children love to just have the television on but they’re not watching it. It wastes energy and it’s just noise. [read the full article...]
