Category Archives: Eco Friendly Parenting

How to Green a Child’s Birthday Party

Birthday parties for kids have turned into something of an environmental nightmare in a lot of ways. All the paper used once and thrown away, plastic toys given not only to the birthday boy or girl, but often to every guest, the competition in many areas for each family to outdo the one before.

It gets pretty ugly.

The challenge is that it’s not a comfortable thing telling people what they should give for gifts. It pretty much goes against the usual etiquette. Registration for birthday presents isn’t all that common yet, so it can be difficult to get the idea across.

One thing I have noticed, however, is that if you make the theme clear on the invitation, at least some of the guests will bring gifts relevant to that theme. Declare a gardening theme and your child is likely to get at least some garden tools and seeds as gifts. Just think about what kinds of gifts would be welcome and try to figure out a theme relevant to it to have a shot at welcome gifts without telling your guests what kinds of things to buy directly.

Of course, if you’re comfortable putting on the invitations that you want a particular kind of gift, charitable donation or no gifts at all, do so. I know many people are glad to know what kinds of things to buy, etiquette or no.

I’ve always been a believer in keeping things simple. No buying themed paper plates, napkins, cups, gift baggies, etc. No renting bounce houses. Invite the kids and tell them to go play when they get there. Organize them only for things like opening presents and cutting cake. Children don’t need all that much direction to have fun.

Healthy food and kids can be a challenge, but it’s not impossible.  Believe it or not, many children do like vegetables pretty well. It helps if you provide dip for those that want it, but if you can keep the food healthy, organic and/or local, you’re a step ahead of the game.

Depending on the age group, the cake can be another target. I’ve noticed that most kids don’t like cake so much; they like frosting. Just look around at any child’s birthday party and notice how many pieces of cake are stripped of frosting but otherwise untouched. If the birthday boy or girl is agreeable, you may want to substitute cookies or another treat that will actually be eaten.

Gift wrap can be a pain, but at least some of it can be reused. We always save any gift bags used, so that they see at least a second use before someone else disposes of them. Wrapping paper is more challenging, but many types can now be recycled at the very least. Or you may be able to come up with craft ideas for some of the more interesting papers.

Those little gift baggies that are pretty much an expectation anymore are one of the big challenges to a green birthday party. They’re often plastic, filled with more plastic toys that will last a couple of days tops, as a rule. Not ideal by a long shot.

My own recommendation is to get a bit more creative. Get some little pots, soil and seeds and have the kids plant something. Flowers, tomatoes, whatever. It’s an activity combined with a gift for those attending the party.

Or if you want to do gift bags, think about fabric ones. If you sew you can make some quickly out of scrap cloth, or just buy some inexpensive ones. Fill them with things that will last better than the plastic junk you see most of the time, or some snacks.

You may be surprised at how much you can do to cut back on the waste generated by birthday parties. You may only have limited control over what your guests bring, but you can certainly decide what you will do for your part.

10 Ways to Make Going Green Fun for Your Family

One of the challenges of getting the whole family to be environmentally friendly is that they take it so seriously. It sounds like a drag, as though it requires you to deprive yourself. And in many ways you should deprive yourself, or at least cut back, which to many is the same thing.

green fun outdoors

But that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun.

1. Explore thrift stores.

You can find some amazing things at most thrift stores. Shopping at them means a lot less guilt since you aren’t buying new. And while you shouldn’t go overboard still, you have more reason to buy things just because they appeal to your sense of fun.

2. Reward the kids for turning excess lights off.

Chart it or make it a competition. Just keep a sense of fun about it and have a little reward for whoever does the best at keeping excess lights off. Getting to choose the game for a family game night is a good choice.

3. Explore the chemistry of homemade cleaning products.

Kids love seeing the reaction caused by mixing baking soda and vinegar. That they also make an effective cleanser or drain cleaner is quite a bonus.

4. Garden.

Most kids love to get dirty and they love growing plants. Even if all you have is a kitchen shelf or apartment balcony you can grow herbs. My kids love it when our tomatoes are ripe enough that they can just go out and graze on them.

5. Play as a family, outdoors, no power toys.

Play tag, kick or throw a ball around. Just interact as a family. Oh, and make sure you turn off all the lights, television, computers, etc. before you head out.

6. Make crafts from things you would otherwise throw away.

Cut pictures out from magazines, grocery store ads and junk mail. Make a caterpillar from an empty egg carton. Make a quilt from old favorite clothes. Get creative.

7. Go to the farmer’s market.

A farmer’s market is often much more fun to explore with kids than the neighborhood grocery store. Keep the kids well behaved, of course, but also encourage them to talk to the people selling produce there. They may learn some interesting things.

8. Buy organic makeup, personal care and beauty supplies.

While many of these tips are easiest to do with small children, this one will appeal to a wider range of ages. The scents of many products can be a challenge depending on your kids, but there are plenty of options to fit just about any image yours are comfortable with.

9. Plan when you water your lawn.

While a lawn isn’t the most environmentally friendly thing you can grow in your yard, most people have them. Try watering your lawn in the late afternoon in the summertime, when it’s still warm enough the kids will enjoy running through the sprinklers, but it has cooled off enough that your watering efforts won’t simply evaporate away.

It’s not quite as efficient as watering after things have cooled off still further, but young children love to play in the water so much it’s hard to deny them the opportunity completely.

10. Talk about other things you can do.

Every family works differently. Get yours involved in living in a more environmentally conscious way in your own way. The harder you want to push on this front the more challenging it can be, but keeping the lines of communication open makes it much easier on everyone.

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Coping with the Easter Excess

Wow. I didn’t think my kids were going to end up with quite so much chocolate this year, but boy did they ever!

We had bought the smaller chocolate bunnies for them, as did my inlaws, but my mom decided to have fun this year and got big ones. They’re some pretty serious (low quality) chocolate. Never did like Palmer’s chocolate, even as a kid. I flat out refuse to buy it on my own. But the kids of course are quite impressed and will no doubt enjoy it well enough.

Add in some Peeps, jelly beans and chocolate eggs, and we’ll be dealing with an overage for months.

That’s how I always handle Easter candy. It takes months to get through it all. The kids get to have some fun eating more of it than usual early on, but afterward they’re limited to a couple smallish pieces a day.

Then there’s all the other JUNK! Fortunately, aside from the candy there’s not much non-craft stuff we gave them. The plastic eggs are from previous years, and will be saved for future years. Ditto the baskets. We haven’t had to buy the basics like that for some time now.

We did end up with more plastic eggs this year, though. My daughter’s class had an egg hunt.

As with any holiday, it’s best to find your balance between buying and reusing. The more you can keep the buying to things that are organic, fair trade, local or needed, the better, but the more you can reuse, better yet.

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Thinking Green for the Easter Basket

Easter is so early this year! It’s already time to finish planning out the Easter baskets. It can be a bit tricky to balance fun with environmentally friendly at times, but with the first holiday of spring, thinking about the environment should come naturally.

green easter egg hunt

Along with your chosen religious celebrations, of course.

Tip #1

Save Easter baskets from year to year. Don’t get the cheapie plastic ones from the store. Get some nicer ones that will last. My mother still has our childhood Easter baskets… those that survived years of use, anyhow.

Tip #2

Don’t use that plastic Easter grass. Shred junk mail or buy paper grass or tissue paper if you must for the baskets. If the lawn has been mowed recently enough you could even try using real grass clippings. Fabric is another idea. Kids don’t really care that much about the “grass” filling their baskets. They tend to be much more interested in the treats.

It’s too late to start it now, but there are even kits so that you can grow real grass in the Easter baskets.

Tip #3

Go easy on the candy.

This one is a weakness of mine, since there are several Easter candies I adore. Many people try buying just organic candies and treats, rather than the usual mess.

You don’t have to limit the treats to candy either, of course. I love to give my kids craft supplies for holidays. They adore them, and I’d end up buying them some other time anyhow. Anything that is something a bit special that I would have to buy anyhow I consider to be a good idea for gifts. Some ideas:

Tip #4

Think about how you dye your eggs. The one good thing about dyed eggs is that your kids won’t be eating the dyes themselves, aside from the tiny bits that may seep through cracks in the egg shells. But if you make the effort, there are many natural ways to dye Easter eggs, and the colors can be beautiful.

Skip the plastic eggs, of course, although if you already have some they are great for hiding coins and small treats in for the egg hunt.

Tip #5

Think Fair Trade or local when possible for any of the above. The more we take advantage of these options, the more available they should become.

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I May End Up a Homeschooling Mom Yet

I’ve never really been into the idea of homeschooling. I don’t doubt that I could do a competent enough job, but it’s not what I’ve wanted to do with my days.

homeschooling

And my daughter so loves going to school.

But I have to admit, life may well be pushing me in that direction. I’ve already decided that if my husband doesn’t get some work soon, and we have to leave this house to move in with my inlaws, I will homeschool my daughter for the rest of kindergarten. Just makes sense to me with only a few months left in the school year. You don’t have to register kids for school until first grade in my area, so no worries about making it formal.

But California schools may well take a big downward turn if the current budget goes through. We’re currently around #46 in terms of state spending per student on education, which is pathetic! And they’re talking about a 10% cut for next year because the state budget is in so much trouble.

I am, of course, keeping an eye on the situation and seeing how things go. In some ways it could be a good thing for me to need to homeschool the last bit of kindergarten, just so that I have a feel for it if I should choose to go for it later. Not that I want to live with my inlaws… the very thought almost makes me run screaming, in fact. But we do what we have to.

Something about living with someone who prefers the term enviro-Nazi to environmentalist to describe people who care for the environment just makes it sound difficult. Although I will admit that having more people in one house can be counted as greener. Maybe I’ll be able to get my father-in-law to understand how deeply offensive it is to use the word “Nazi” as a suffix for just about anything. And that environmentalists really aren’t bad people, aren’t going to take away his preferred lifestyle, etc.

I know my inlaws will have some trouble with the idea of me homeschooling my daughter even for a short time in their home. They really have no faith in it. Maybe it will be another thing where I show them that it’s really not so bad. Did that before with breastfeeding, which they had also been entirely against and now firmly support.

And don’t get me wrong about them. In most ways they really are wonderful people. They’ve invited us to live with them rent-free until my husband gets a job. They do recycle and garden. They are in many ways supportive of my husband, and my daughter has a relationship with her grandfather that is outstanding.

It’s pretty much political and lifestyle choices that make up the challenges.