Mommy Goes Green

Debate after debate exists about using disposable vs. cloth diapers but I think all parties would agree that the most eco-friendly (and cost effective)  option is to get kids out of diapers as soon as you can.  Fortunately we’re done potty training our first child but we’ll be back there again in a couple years.  I’m surprised there aren’t more eco-friendly potties out yet but I have noticed that one or two plastic potties that are recyclable – a step in the right direction.  Here are the most eco-friendly potty training finds on the web:

Growing Up Green Bamboo Potty Seat – Made with pesticide-free, 100% sustainable bamboo.

becoPotty – Instead of yet anotherpiece of plastic children’s gear, the becoPotty is made with bamboo and rice husks left over from farming.  When you are done potty training, you can bury it in your garden, plant some seeds and let the natural product biodegrade.

Poteez Disposable Potty- Great for parents on the go, this disposable potty is made with 100% compostable, biodegradable cardboard.

Clean and Green Public Potty Protectors- Disposable toilet seat covers made of 100% biodegradable cotton.  Over sized so little hands don’t touch dirty toilets.

Organic Cotton Training Pants and Underwear - Hanna Andersson has both training and classic ”unders” in 100% organic cotton for boys and girls.

SafeMama‘s Kathy and Statia spend a lot of time combing through the ingredients in sunscreens to find the safest ones for our families.  Check out the guidefor 2010 to make sure you buy one on their list.  I’m disappointed that one of my favorite brands, TruKid, didn’t make the list (except for the stick) – hopefully they’ll take note for future formulations. 

I recently visited our pediatric dentist with my 3 year old and was surprised to learn a few things I hadn’t heard about before regarding infant oral health.  I hope you find it helpful, too!  

• Cavities are the most common chronic disease of childhood?  5x that of asthma or hay fever.
• The AAP and American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry are now encouraging parents to bring in their children when they turn 1 year oldfor homecare recommendations, feeding tips, sucking habits management and trauma prevention.
• You can decrease the risk for early childhood cavities by minimizing saliva sharing activities like sharing cups and utensils between infants and other family members.
• Many formulas contain sugar ( check our our review of organic formula )
• Making formula with water that contains fluoride is NOT recommended – do you know if your water has fluoride?  Call your local water provider.

My 3 year old daughter loves to be “ladybug girl” so I know she’s going to love being “DIRT GIRL”!   dirtgirlworld is a new green living series designed to introduce preschoolers to the joys of outdoor play and sustainable, green living.  It will air on Sprout starting with a 3 hour marathon ( um, 3 hours of TV for a preschooler? ) on Earth Day, April 22 from noon – 3pm ET.  After that, it will air daily at 4:50pm ET.

dirtgirlworld shares an environmental message, explores the natural world and invites the audience to “go get grubby” with dirtgirl, a gumboot-wearing girl who grows awesome tomatoes, knows clouds’ names and drives a big orange tractor.  Helping dirtgirl is a wildly original cast of characters – her best friend scrapboy, who lives next door and is a whiz with junk; grubby, with her grub’s eye view; ken the weevil, a super stunt star with an inferiority complex; roger the rooster and the chicks; hayman the monosyllabic scarecrow; and the green thumbs – real kids in real gardens having unreal fun.

I’m totally excited to watch this with my daughter and then explore outside - what a green geek.

In celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day this April, PBS KIDS GO!’s Design Squad is launching the nationwide 2010 Trash to Treasure competition on April 5th. Kids across the country ages 5-19 are challenged by the award-winning series to recycle, reuse and re-engineer everyday materials into new inventions. Three young innovators will win a trip to Boston to see their designs built and have the process chronicled for an upcoming episode of the engineering TV series. 

For a video about last year’s winner and his Home Dome invention check out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJAaMQuEFl8

It’s getting easier to find safe, non-toxic bath toys but vinyl-free bath books are few and far between.  I found many books that were labeled ‘non-toxic’ but the packaging didn’t tell me what they were made of.   I scoured the web and here are the few that made the short list.  If you have any to add, please let us know!

Haba Bath Books - Mermaid, pirate or frog

Poppy Cat 

Sandra Boynton - several of the popular Sandra Boynton books come in a bath book

 iKids Soft Shapes Foam Books – there are many books in this series

 Everybody Takes a Bath – cloth coloring book for the tub

 Bath Time Buddy Books by Kate Toms – each book is a hand puppet made of wash cloths

While nursing my daughter, over 3 years ago, I burned through disposable nursing pads.  I felt like I was constantly running to the store for another box and at $7-9 per box, I was burning through money, too.

Since then I’ve become more eco conscious and realized that reusable nursing pads would not only be more eco-friendly but more cost conscious, as well.  There are several types of reusable nursing pads – find one that works for you!

Reusable Cloth Nursing Pads – You can find cloth nursing pads made out of cotton, organic cotton, bambooand several other fabrics.  They come in plain jane white or fun and funky colors.  You can even make  your own.  I’m using cotton ones that absorb well and are easy to throw in any load of laundry.  One of things I hated about disposable pads was that they would stick to my damp nipple – making it painful to peel off, particularly in the first couple weeks of nursing.  The cotton pads absorb moisture well so I haven’t experienced this problem. 

Lilypadz- When you’re nursing, you can’t always wear swim suits, sports bras or workout shirts without showing a little bit more than you want to (you know what I’m talking about).   You can also sometimes see cloth nursing pads as they can add a lot of bulk to your bra.  Lilypadz have totally changed all that. They are made of silicone and have a ”stickiness” to them so you stick them to your breast creating a tight fit protecting you from leaking.  They are super thin and you can’t see them under your clothing, allowing you to wear tightly fitted clothing, go swimming or go braless. My only recommendation is not to use them the first couple weeks and/or months while your milk supply is stabilizing because if  you are leaking a lot, they won’t keep it in. Every nursing mom needs these and they would make a great gift.

Milkies- I cringe when I leak because breastmilk is like liquid gold. Milkies was created exactly to fix this issue – they save your milk when you letdown.  You put it in your bra on the side you are not nursing on and it collects the milk when you letdown.  I haven’t used them yet but from what I read it can be several ounces.  I can’t even believe that I’m losing ounces every time I nurse.   That means if I’m nursing 6-8 times a day, I could be losing 2 or 3 bottles worth of milk, per day.  These would be particularly helpful during the first several weeks and months of nursing when your milk supply isn’t stabilized.  I wish I had these 3 months ago!  If you’ve used Milkies I’d love to hear about your experience!

I rely on SafeMama for toy recall information and over the weekend, they reported on the Mattel and Fisher Price toy recall and settlement.  So, I headed on over to see if any our toys were in the recall and sure enough, on page 21 (of 51 pages) were a set of Dora figurines we had sitting in the toybox right in front of us. Fortunately, I combed through the rest of the 51 pages of recalled toys and didn’t see anything else ( yet ). 

It’s so frustrating to find one set of toys on the list knowing that there are likely other toys in our house with lead – we just haven’t found out yet. While we would rather have a few high quality toys over a large quantity of cheaply made, potentially toxic toys, with birthdays and holidays, they are bound to come in the house.

WHAT TO DO:

1.  Look through the list of recalled toys.

2.  Submit a form on the Mattel website – they will email you a brochure to help you identify toys in the recall and a pre-paid return label to send back any affected toys.  If your product is affected, you will get a voucher for the retail price good for any Mattel or Fisher Price toy ( do we really want more toys from this company?)

3.  Buy toys from manufacturers of high quality, non-toxic toys like Green Toys, Haba, Kidkraft, or Sprig Toys.

 Joo Joo Baby- created on non-toxic EVA foam, this modern take on children’s decor features over 400 designs. They are removable so there is no damage on your walls and you can move them around the room as needed.  The personalized panels allow you to add an image or your child’s name.   They come in 2 sizes: 8.5 inches and 10.5 inches ranging from $18 – $22.50 apiece.  If you don’t have the time or creativity to put together your own design, you can pick from a collection of packages, all pre-selected to go together.

Mae Gallery – most wall decals are made from vinyl (the “poison plastic”) so I was excited to stumble upon these vinyl-free decals.  They are made of adhesive fabric and are completely removable and reusable (again, unlike most vinyl wall decals).   They are even washable – perfect for when your little ones decide to ‘enhance’ them with their favorite crayon! 

Children Inspire Design – I just can’t pick my favorite item, there are so many cute posters, wall cards and art.  I can see these numbered wall cards in French in my play room or this world map posterin my son’s room – all printed on 100% recycled cardstock. The prints and canvases are printed on 100% paper printed with soy ink.

Zoe B Organic – these great biodegradeable chalkboard stickersthat are made with a bioplymer derived from potato starch, a 100% bio-degradable plastic. You can compost them to return nutrients to the soil, or put them in the trash knowing that in about 6 months, 90% of the material will have biodegraded (unlike vinyl stickers). The inks and glue are also eco-friendly.

Olli and Lime – modern alphabet and number wall art looks great framed and comes in several different color palettes.  They are printed on 100% recycled paper.  They also have these in wall murals- large scale versions of the wall prints and tailored to fit your space.  I would love this in my play room!  They are made with Wallsmart paper, it’s washable and VINYL-FREE.

Children’s birthdays can get overwhelming with too many gifts – ECHOage is a great alternative to traditional gift giving. It’s is a charity-driven, online birthday party service where children learn the value of giving and receiving while celebrating.

Step #1. Choose an invitation, select a charity and invite your guests.  Charities include both U.S. and Canadian organizations such as Healthy Child, Healthy World, Autism Speaks, Reading Is Fundamental, WWF and Free the Children.

Step #2. Guests RSVP and contribute online and you get to watch the giving grow on your ECHOage Tracker.

Step #3. When your party is over, ECHOage will send half of the money collected to buy a dream gift for your child and the other half to the charity your child has chosen.

This is a great way for the birthday child to learn how to not only receive gifts but to give them, too.  It’s also the perfect opportunity to talk with your children about charity work and to let them choose which cause to donate their gift money to.