Mommy and Me
Sesame Street Has Always Been Green
When my brother and I were five and six, we had a kinship with two rubber puppets. Bert and Ernie’s likenesses were firmly affixed to our left hands for as much as I can recall, their striped shirts flowing down to our bony, prepubescent elbows. My brother’s puppet/role m...
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Write Green with Recyced Newspaper Pencils
Autumn always reminds me of my own school days, and I smile broadly at the memory of sitting outside the principals office of my tiny Catholic grade school, yet again. Sister Bernadette just couldnt get her habit around the fact I was in love. She deemed it inappropriate to wr...
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Tips for Going Green at School
Back-to-school always comes with a blend of excitement, nervousness, anticipation, and dread. Parents, weary of hearing the millionth Im bored, are happy to wave good-bye to the kids for six hours. Kids are eager to see friends theyve missed, but many would rather do without t...
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Green Your Home for Baby
A new baby brings joy and excitement—and, sure, plenty of sleepless nights and dirty diapers and worrying about your baby. Most parents go to great lengths to baby-proof their homes, but many often overlook some key environmental hazards. Babies and young children are par...
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Green Lessons from My Mother
My childhood was probably pretty typical of a young girl growing up in the U.S. suburbs during the seventies: Mom stayed at home with us kids while Dad went to work. Mom was burdened with mundane housework and playing referee to frequent arguments between my older brother and me....
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Celebrate and Educate This Earth Day
One of my fondest memories as a child is, oddly enough, spending two Saturdays volunteering at a recycling depot. The depot—which was held monthly in my town—was in an old, small warehouse with bare concrete floors and no heat. The local environmental center ran the depot to c...
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How to Green Your Baby's Nursery
Babies are a wonder. They soak up their surroundings from the moment they enter the world, and their curious nature means parents have to always be thinking about safety. When parents think about safety in the nursery, they tend to think about falls from changing tables, ...
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Hey Kids! Increase Your Green and Win
What do Nick Cannon, DoSomething.org, and HP have in common? A little program called Increase Your Green. Increase Your Green is a national campaign to encourage youth to make a difference to benefit the environment--and the prizes for the best projects are pretty sweet. The sc...
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High PDBE Levels Linked to Trouble Conceiving
Having trouble getting pregnant? If you've gotten the caffeine habit under control and are managing your stress, the culprit might just be your mattress or carpet. A new study out of University of California at Berkeley and published in the journal Environmental Health Pers...
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5 Reuses for Baby Food Jars
Babies are lovely, but then can create a lot of waste. Some parents use cloth diapers and make their own baby food, but there are those times when store-bought solutions are just easier. But you can still reduce waste even when you're relying on some single-use products by r...
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5 Paint Palette Alternatives for Crafty Kids
Most kids love crafting and making art, but when it comes to painting, things can get a bit messy. Paint palettes are a great tool for a budding artist, but they're often too small, and flat palettes aren't great for thin craft paints. Plus why would you spend your time...
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Forget Diapers, Try Elimination Communication
Wouldn't it be great if babies didn't need diapers? There would be no smelly surprises, no need to change a diaper when you're driving down the interstate, no frustrating attempts to potty-train your toddler. Well, it is possible with a process called elimination c...
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Head Back to School in Organic Cotton Clothing
Back to school: Three words that warm a weary parents heart. Back to school shopping: Four words that stop it cold. Between the paper, markers, pencils, pens, binders, backpacks, and clothing, back to school shopping can take a toll on your sanity, and it can also be rough on ...
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Keep Kids Occupied as the Summer Winds Down
The kids are growing restless; you're ready for a break from crafts, the park, board games and toys. And if someone whines "I'm booored..." just one more time, you may very well have a nervous breakdown. Thankfully, the first day of school is in sight. Still ....
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Homeschooling: Tips for Teaching Green
Parents who homeschool their children take on a big responsibility, but the educational pay-off can be big. Homeschooling affords opportunities that just arent possible in the public and even private school systems: Families can travel for part or all of the school year and ki...
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Homeschooling: Green Your Classroom
September isn't always a big month of changes for homeschooled kids. Many homeschoolers learn year-round, and others work on a unique schedule. Nevertheless, the change from summer to autumn affords a natural segue from playtime to study time, and there's no better time...
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DIY: Recycled Banner for Kids or a Backyard Party
Maybe its just me, but it seems those hanging banners—you know, the ones with the inverted triangles strung from post to post or around a room (also seen at used car dealerships)—are trendy once again for kids playrooms and parties. Sure you can buy a designer garland, but why...
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Pool Chemicals Linked to Childhood Asthma Risk
We generally think of infant and children swim lessons as a good way to get kids comfortable in the water, and a way to teach them a skill that could save their lives. But those mom and tot swims and childhood swimming lessons may be linked to the rise in childhood asthma, part...
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Get Green Kids' Rain Gear
Rain, rain, go away, come again another day. It's the mantra of cooped-up kids and exasperated parents everywhere, but it's pretty hard to avoid rain in spring. Rain gear is a must-have for kids across the country, but a lot of those rain boots and slickers contain PV...
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Kids Yoga is All Fun and Games
First it was the traditional yoga classes, followed by yoga/pilates/tai chi-fusion classes. Then hot yoga took North America by storm. But the newest big thing in yoga is actually little—as in little ones. Lately Ive been noticing a lot of yoga classes for kids. They...
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Avoid Plastics When Feeding Your Toddler
We've all heard the cautions about bisphenol a (BPA) and baby bottles, but what happens when babies become active toddlers, eating solids out of plastic bowls and carting around plastic sippy cups all day? While regulations aren't in place for products we use to feed...
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DIY Cloth Diapers
So you're thinking about cloth diapers. First of all-great job! The diaper dilemma is great: Each baby uses around 5,000 diapers before being potty trained, and roughly 18 billion disposable diapers end up in landfills each year where they take 500 years to decompose. Secon...
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Green Baby Website: Ecorattle.com
From the founders of Ecorazzi comes super eco-baby blog Ecorattle—and it couldn't have popped up at a more opportune time. With recent concerns over toy safety, the spotlight is on all items our kids come in contact with, and the laundry list of concerns is long: baby bottl...
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Teach Your Kids About the Earth With Toys
Being the eco-mom or eco-dad that you are, you're probably teaching your kids about the importance of reusing and recycling for a sustainable future. But what about solar energy and natural medicines and carbon credits? It's all a bit difficult to explain, and chances ...
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Opt for Stainless Steel Baby Bottles
You've baby-proofed the house from top to bottom, purchased a state-of-the-art car seat and, eco-mama that you are, switched to natural cleaning products. But have you considered how those baby bottles may affect your little one's health? From baby bottles to toys to m...
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Top 10 Green Tips For Children
Teaching children to care for the environment is an important parental responsibility that is crucial for their future. But sometimes helping the planet can feel overwhelming for small shoulders. Remember to encourage young children to take one step at a time when going green. T...
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Staying Green at the Pool
My family and I have a membership at our local pool. Admittedly, a “green” pool isn’t a good thing. It uses lots of chemicals to keep the water clean. However, when I look at what the pool offers my family –socialization, exercise, and the bonding my husband and I do with...
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