Category Archives: Eco Friendly Parenting

Free Anti-Racist Parent Handbook

While it’s not exactly a “Green” topic as such, I think most people who are concerned about the environment can appreciate this offer for a free Anti-Racist Parent Handbook. You don’t have to sign up for a newsletter or anything, just download it directly from their site.

The advice in this ebook comes from submissions by readers of the anti-racist parents website. The varying viewpoints should make it easier to choose the things that would be most workable for your family.

Racism is still a tragically real problem, and it’s easy to let the minor bits of racism slide because you just don’t think they are that bad. But you should try to help your children understand that sometimes they will see or hear things that should not be acceptable. How else will they know how to cope?

Race and kids can be an interesting issue. One day at the grocery store my daughter looked at the girl bagging our groceries, who was black. Now, my daughter had seen black people before, but for some reason this time the question came out… Continue reading →

Why Are Antibacterial Products So Hard to Avoid?

I’ve tried for years to avoid antibacterial products. They’re just an annoyance to me, as I trust soap and common cleaning to take care of the germs that matter. I don’t need a sterile home.

Heck, if I wanted that I wouldn’t have had kids!

But antibacterial products are all over the place. And there’s an article in Scientific American that my husband pointed out to me that confirms my own feelings on the matter – that antibacterial products are not good to use.

The trouble is that they tend to produce resistant bacteria. That’s always a bad idea.

Triclosan is a common one you should be checking ingredient lists for. Not all products that use it call themselves antibacterial. It hasn’t been shown to be a problem in humans so far, but the potential is there. It may act as an endocrine disrupter in bullfrogs and rats.

Too few bacteria also means that children don’t develop the natural immunities they need for a healthy life. Continue reading →

I Just Love Watching Kids Start to “Get” It

My kids are pretty good about recycling. Even my 2 year old knows the difference between the garbage can and the recycle bin. He’s even good about guessing what goes where.

But lately my 5 year old has made it clear she’s getting the idea. At least so far as finding things she can reuse.

Yesterday it was the cup the ladybugs for our garden came in. She told her Daddy that she wanted him to save it so that she could use it for a project. No idea what she has in mind, but I’m all for it.

Then this morning she took a cardboard box that was waiting to be recycled and announced that she needed it to be a car. She talked about how she was recycling it. So now it’s in our garage, being crowded into by two children who consider it to be their car. Very cute.

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Greening Up Children’s Parties

We just celebrated my daughter’s 5th birthday this past weekend. She had a crowd of classmates and cousins over; lots of fun, lots of little girls in Princess attire. But it did get me to thinking about how to keep a child’s party green yet kid fun and friendly.

We’re very much of the mind that a child’s party should be simple. We don’t plan a ton of activities, no inflatable jumper, etc. At this age children are very good at entertaining themselves. Just being together and playing with the toys we already have on hand satisfied them. As a matter of fact, the daughter of a mom who was surprised we hadn’t hired a “Princess” character for the party was apparently raving about all the fun she’d had.

We don’t theme things all that hard. This was a Princess party because we told the kids on the invitations that Princess attire was suggested. No Princess plates or decorations. Yes, we did get Princess tiaras and jewelry for the gift bags, but that’s as far as it went. Have to keep things fun for the kids, after all. Continue reading →

Helping Kids Be Green in the Kitchen

My children are at that age where they love to help me in the kitchen, especially my son. He’s 2 and is acting the part of the natural born chef. So it’s the perfect time to teach them about being green in the kitchen.

Of course, a 2 year old can’t do much cooking. He just watches very intently for anything I can allow him to do.

One of the easiest things to allow a young child to work on is disposing of trash. Both my son and my daughter already understand the difference between the trash and the recycle bin, and when in doubt ask where to put things. My son gets it wrong sometimes, of course, but my daughter is nearly 5 and pretty good at figuring it out.

They also know that food scraps when possible go for compost. They still sometimes throw apple cores or banana peels out, but other times remember to leave them out so we can dispose of them more appropriately. Continue reading →