The WebMD Health eHome is a a new educational collaboration between WebMD and Healthy Child Healthy World and is sponsored by Seventh Generation.  It provides you the tools to discover how to create a safer and healthier home for you and your children.  While many of the writers here provide daily information on how to provide your family a safe environment both outside and inside your home the WebMD Health eHome promises to provide more wonderful information on how to rid your home of health hazards.  With a variety of tools it may even enlighten some ECP readers on new ways to improve their quality of life.

The Health eHome Blog

The two main contributors to the blog include Christopher Gavigan, CEO of Healthy Child Health World, and Janelle Sorenson, the senior writer and health consultant for Healthy Child Healthy World.  Other contributors include guest posts by WebMD Health Professionals and members.  The blog covers a wide array of topics including methods on how to manage asthma to understanding the chemicals in everyday products.

Virtual House

The WebMD Health eHome includes a virtual house accessible from the main page of the Health eHome website.  Throughout the home there are highlighted spots that when clicked on will open a box providing small tidbits of information and links to videos and pages with further information to educate you.  There is a floor plan you can select to easily access various rooms which include bedrooms, kitchen, bath, and the garage.

Health eHome Check

From the Health eHome front page you can reach the Health eHome Check, which will lead you through a series of questions about your use of plastics and cleaners, what your kid’s toys are composed of and even test your knowledge of what is safe around your home.  At the end it will provide you with a summary of how you are doing and ways to improve the safety and healthiness of your home, along with links to articles they suggest you read based on your answers.

Improve Your Home’s Health

From the front page of the WebMD Health eHome you can access a tab titled “Improve Your Home’s Health” which leads you to a place from where you can easily access various rooms, without having to wander through the virtual home, and links to articles including a section titled “Get Involved” which links to legislation and policies that can affect our children’s health.  One of the articles I enjoyed reading through was “Give Your Baby the Best Start: Creating a Healthy Home for Your Child”, although I suggest reading Heather Dunham’s article series on Baby Essentials That Aren’t, which starts with cribs, for a great starting point if you are expecting or have an infant.

Overall, I think that this collaboration between WebMD and Health Child Healthy World is wonderful and will help people to enlighten people that are not as aware of the dangers lurking in their home.  And while Seventh Generation has sponsored the WebMD Health eHome there are many other companies that produce great cleaning products that are a good alternative to bleach, I highly recommend reading Jennifer Lance’s article on Shaklee and Jamie Ervin’s article on Vinegar of Four Thieves to help find a cleaner you feel comfortable having in your home.  I suggest checking out the WebMD Health eHome for yourself, as well as Healthy Child Healthy World and Robin Elton’s most recent article “EWG Updates the Dirty Dozen” to stay up to date on what is safe for your family.

Image Credit: Screen Capture of WebMD Health eHome by author