Few things are less environmentally friendly than kids.
You know it's true. They stand as examples of our populating an overpopulated planet. They need a lot of stuff, or at least that's what other parents and Babies 'R' Us tell us. And nothing says "earth hater" more than the billions of dirty diapers now calling landfills home.
But here's the thing: Before kids, I wasn't much of an environmentalist.
It wasn't until I birthed my children and moved them to suburbia that I finally made the decision to strive for a simple, sustainable existence. If I was going to stay home with them, I was going to enjoy it -- and that did not mean driving around town all day looking for playgroups and sales on kitchenware. I didn't need to drive a minivan or shop at Wal-Mart. Instead, I'd take the bus ... to Target. Better, right? Maybe a little better?
I struggle with these decisions, and the most frustrating part is that even though I stopped driving (mostly) and made my life completely inconvenient, I still do virtually nothing to stop global warming.
Every day makes me wonder if it's worth it. Sometimes -- like when my girls and I leave story time in a thunderstorm complete with ice pellets, we miss our bus and the coffee shop clerk seems displeased that I don't want my coffee to go -- I think I'm making things worse. The minivan moms don't seem concerned with the state of the world (but don't get them started on stranger safety).
Then I think, maybe I'm not supposed to be the solver of problems. Maybe I'm the teacher.
I just can't help feeling that parents should do something, any little thing, toward a better future for their kids. When my girls get older and ask why we don't just drive to the library like normal people, I can explain my motives. And for now, I can make small changes to green my household. It's not all at once, and I have a long way to go (No Impact Man's family in New York City has taken a decidedly more drastic road I simultaneously covet and fear), but I try.
In fact, I'll try anything once. I want to live greener, you want me to live greener, I want you to live greener. Dare me to do something and I'll let you know how it goes.
Getting to know the neighborhood — through its trash
Child safety? A Father’s Day call for a longer view
Comments View as Flat
kacheek Posted 3:20 am
04 Apr 2007
CSAs
Try a CSA membership (Community Support Agriculture). The one I'm looking at joining this year welcomes kids; some of the products are u-pick and they have workshops for the kids, too.
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kacheek Posted 3:21 am
04 Apr 2007
link to find a CSA
Search for a CSA near you here: http://www.localharvest.org/csa/
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amazingdrx Posted 3:30 am
04 Apr 2007
Organize
you could do environmental campaigning from home with the computer and phone. It really is effective.
Actual meetings are not where the work gets done anymore. It's people phone calling and emailing in mass campaigns that really works. and a few rallys too. But again, rallys take lots of online and phone coordination.
We ought to take our own advice and telecommute to organize environmental action.
http://amazngdrx.blogharbor.com/blog
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PBrazelton Posted 3:36 am
04 Apr 2007
Since you asked...
I hate to say it because you've probably thought it a dozen times yourself, but the reason you find living without a car so difficult is because you live in a pedestrian-hostile city. The suburbs were created for cars, not humans, and your soft fleshy bodies are not well adapted to the rigors of the road. So maybe a great challenge would be to figure out how to leave the suburb you live in and move to a walkable city?
Not going to happen, is it?
Probably for the same reason I still work 15 miles from home in the suburbs when I'm right by a commuter rail line going downtown. Economics suck, especially in one income families.
Perhaps a more appropriate challenge worthy of your level of crazy would be to see how much of your own food you could grow. My guess is that you have an absurdly large lot covered in hydroponic turf, so not only would you be saving money (in the long run), but you would also be sequestering carbon by growing plants that actually have a root structure. It would also give you and the girls something constructive to do on those long, hot summer days. It certainly beats you wandering the shimmering asphalt with two small children.
So that's my vote. And my vote counts, as I have two girls of almost identical age (the youngest named Penelope!) who stay at home with their mom during the day. We're struggling with the same issues, but in a significantly better environment.
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Pandu Posted 3:38 am
04 Apr 2007
kids
"Few things are less environmentally friendly than kids."
It's hard to believe adults are better. It's probably close.
I was an environmentalist before having kids, but I eventually became discouraged by public apathy. Having kids meant that, regardless of my perception of public interest, I had to do my best to present them with a nice planet to call home.
...
I dare you to significantly reduce or eliminate meat from your family's diet, if it's not already accomplished.
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Kif Scheuer Posted 4:03 am
04 Apr 2007
Another perspective
Something I have struggled with as an environmentally oriented parent is a seemingly small conflict of interests: The confinement of exploration that can accompany environmentalism.
The most tangible example I can think of is this - every kid loves to play with water. It's an incredibly natural, exploratory, sensory activity. But I don't want to waste water. So I find myself torn between letting my kids play at the sink or take more baths then they need to and shutting off the flow and telling them why. My 2 year old cannot grasp water conservation, but they do need to explore their bodies and the world around them.
The same goes for paper, food and other consumables. So much of the most important parts of childhood are messy, wasteful and resource intensive. Do you tell your kids not to stomp in mud puddles because you don't want to waste energy cleaning their shoes? You want to be prudent, but you don't want your kids to feel the world is too breakable and precious for them to live in.
I don't know if this seems like an inconsequential thing to others, but I find myself struggling with this contradiction on an almost daily basis.
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earthbiscuit18 Posted 4:06 am
04 Apr 2007
Go vegetarian...
or better yet, vegan!!
Truth be told, I know nothing of your family's eating habits. If you already prepare your meals sans meat, I applaud you.
If not, I challenge you to (at the very least) reduce your meat consumption.
Several commentors mentioned CSA shares-- and I must agree that eating local is great. (Also seemingly more reasonable during the upcoming summer months).
For more information on how a veggie diet reduces GHG emissions check out this article--
http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0220/p03s01-ussc.html?s=hns ...
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David Roberts Posted 4:07 am
04 Apr 2007
Meat
Now that I've joined the naggy veggie brigade, I'll echo Pandu: one of the most immediate and impactful things you could do is eliminate meat from your diet.
I've got two young boys and they haven't noticed meat disappearing from their meals. It's easier than you think.
www.grist.org
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caniscandida Posted 4:11 am
04 Apr 2007
"Community" ...
... is not a four-letter word.
None of the other parents at story hour could offer you a lift home, seeing how bad the weather was?
The clerk at the coffee shop was being grouchy and inhospitable, in spite of seeing how bad the weather was?
I do not really want to know where you live, Christine, but perhaps you have a duty to speak it forth, as a public service announcement, so that others can steer clear of that heartless place.
Chickens are our cousins! So are other sensitive animals! Enough is enough! No more factory farms!
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Pandu Posted 4:18 am
04 Apr 2007
diapers
We've always used cloth. Contrary to some reports, washing them once after each use is fine.
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GreenEngineer Posted 4:28 am
04 Apr 2007
sacrifices
The subject of personal and lifestyle sacrifices for the sake of the environment is a tricky one. It's particularly tough in your case, because you're teaching your kids how to think about the issue. On the flip side, if you go too far (such that they perceive these choices as a major hardship) you could cultivate rebellion in the form of a to-hell-with-the-planet attitude.
We live in a profoundly unsustainable society, in which a little attention to footprint makes you much better than average, but major sacrifices (e.g. No Impact Man) are still only a tiny drop in the bucket. Given those circumstances, I look at the question through a lens of being a responsible consumer and making sure my footprint represents a good investment. For example, driving your kids to out to the country, so they can watch a calf being born, is an investment in their education and their relationship with the living world. Driving them to the mall, on the other hand...
Teach them where their food/water/energy comes from, and how privileged they are to have it, and they'll probably take care of the rest.
And garden with them! It does so many good things all at once. Kids love it, and it's the only way that many city kids ever get a chance to interact with the natural world in a meaningful way.
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PBrazelton Posted 4:28 am
04 Apr 2007
I'm with Pandu
We've done cloth for two children, three years running. It's a complete non-issue for us and takes no more time to deal with than disposable. And, as Pandu says, if you have a good detergent and competent washer, one cycle is enough.
If you have children in diapers this is a HUGE way to reduce your impact. The arguments are multitude.
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GreenEngineer Posted 4:32 am
04 Apr 2007
diapers
I don't have kids, so I haven't personally confronted the cloth vs. disposable issue. But, as the owner of a front-loading washer, let me assure you that if you are going to go with cloth, a frontloader is a worthwhile investment. It gets the clothes MUCH cleaner with much less water, wrings them out better so they dry faster, doesn't wear them out as fast, and doesn't leave soap residue in the fabric.
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Tom Philpott Posted 4:44 am
04 Apr 2007
It ain't easy being green...
...amid the minivan-driving denizens of the suburbs. Sounds like a nightmare to go without a car there. Any chance of moving to a city with mass transit?
Victual Reality
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Roz Cummins Posted 6:48 am
04 Apr 2007
Inviting vs. daring...
I would just like to say that I think it's nicer to invite someone to cut down on or eliminate meat rather than dare them to. For one thing, it sounds more polite and more inviting (and people tend to respond to that more willingly than if they feel bullied) and secondly, when you dare someone to do something you are kind of implying that it's not an easy thing to do.
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karenc Posted 8:51 am
04 Apr 2007
Inviting to Dare!
I think Pandu and others were just responding the the word "dare" in Christine's last sentence... and having thoroughly enjoyed her going without a car story (and inspired by it to make more major changes myself), I know she is one gutsy mom up to any invitation, challenge, dare, or double dare!
An ounce of practice is worth twenty thousand tons of big talk. -Vivekananda
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Mmimika Posted 9:00 am
04 Apr 2007
gdiapers...
...are the last word on green diapers. I think I got that from Umbra. Starter package goes over real well at baby showers... we definitely got the 'yours was the best gift' card.
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GreenEngineer Posted 9:07 am
04 Apr 2007
gdiapers
I didn't know that Google had gone into the diaper service business! Talk about branching out!
:)
Seriously, though, flushable does NOT mean green. In fact, it probably means the opposite. Sewage treatment is very energy intensive, and stuff like this just adds to the load.
Looking at the website, I see that you flush just an insert, not the whole diaper. That's better, at least, but I'm still not clear that it's a net win. Either way, it's just another form of disposable, an effort to make our shit go to that mythical place known as "away".
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Mmimika Posted 10:23 am
04 Apr 2007
flushable...
"flushable does NOT mean green. In fact, it probably means the opposite. Sewage treatment is very energy intensive, and stuff like this just adds to the load."
Fair Point. Heres how they answered the flushable question (entire interview with gdiapers here)
Q:I'm excited to see that gDiapers has received Cradle to Cradle design certification from MBDC, but I'm wondering if this award has taken the water and energy usage of sewage treatment into consideration. Does the environmental success of these diapers also require innovations such as low-flow toilets and a renewable energy source at the treatment plant? -- Sara Marks, Aspen, Colo.
A: The MBDC certification assures that all the materials used in the flushable refill have been evaluated against 19 human- and environmental-health criteria and can be fully recycled without risk to ecosystems or human health. The environmental success of the product does not require low-flow toilets or renewable energy sources at the treatment plant, but both would make it even better.
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busymom Posted 10:40 am
04 Apr 2007
home energy efficiency
Hi Christine,
I'm a fellow busy ecomom. I have spent the past year changing my family's lifestyle similarly. I have lots of suggestions, some of which can be found on my blog (www.thegreenadventure.blogspot.com) I'm in the process of building a consulting firm (www.green-adventure.com, coming soon) to help suburban moms make environmentally friendly changes that fit into our busy lives. I am teaching moms in the burbs everywhere that it is possible to lower your home energy use 20-50% using efficiency technology and behavioral changes that are not that difficult. I am finding that when I give moms this information, discuss and inform about the realities of climate change, and then provide recommendations, goals and time frames that are implemented a lot of positive changes result.
One of the most important changes to be made is to understand that individually we cannot combat climate change with any effectiveness. The problem is too complex and must be dealt with too quickly. So, even if everyone in the US lowered our carbon footprints 50% that would not be enough, as a nation we must lower 80% and then negotiate and lead China and India. So, being politically aware and active is very important. I periodically send specific email alerts (I call them "easy armchair activism') to all of my mom friends and clients who do not get your standard action alerts from environmental defense, NRDC, sierra club, etc. I make the process very user friendly, and most moms are happy to send off an email, make a call or mail a letter if you tell them when, what and to whom. So, my challenge to you would be to maximize your home energy efficiency, speak up in support of effective climate legislation (locally and nationally), and build a network of moms in your area to do the same. I believe that we moms can make a lot of difference, and we care enough about our kids to leave them with someplace safe and healthy to live.
Have fun on your "green adventure!"
Jessica Drummond
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Roz Cummins Posted 12:09 am
05 Apr 2007
Inviting vs. daring...
Hi. Yes, I see that she is inviting people to dare her to try new things. I just meant to say that I think that inviting goes over better than daring as a general comment. Besides, whenever I hear the phrase "I double dog dare you!" I start thinking of the movie "A Christmas Story" (which has some excellent double dog dares in it).
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Zeth Posted 4:25 am
05 Apr 2007
Little things
About the veganism thing: no nutritionist in the world will advocate veganism for growing kids. You and your husband can make that choice if you prefer, but let your kids eat a healthy, omni diet if they want to. Please.
Okay, so I'm 22 and don't have kids, but these are bits and pieces of how my poor, broke mother ran an eco-tight ship when we were little.
Bicycles. We used to bike everywhere, for fun, for errands, whatever. My time in England supports this: it can be a family modus transportandi.
Entertainment. Each other, frankly. Toys in our house were big pieces of colorful, organic cotton that could be used for nearly everything and Tinkertoys, because they are versatile. We had a wagon that took its fair share of abuse as well. Did I mention bicycles? frisbees?
Cooking. We cooked with Mom (and Dad) all the time. It was fun. I still think that every time my bread rises, it's a little bit of a miracle. We gardened, too. Even if you do planter gardens for herbs and tomatoes and maybe some flowers, it provides a sense of investment and accomplishment, and, frankly, it can cut some dollars off the budget which can then be fed into more expensive eco-friendly products in other areas.
Co-operative parenting: say that little Amy's mother is a great quilter. Have the kids in the 'hood collect old clothes and do a quilting day with little Amy's mom. Is Ted's dad a good cook? Have him show the tykes how to cook something easy. It's a mistake to think that we all have to be able to do and demonstrate anything. Kids love to learn and they love to do, and if everyone in a social circle gets to show off what they like best, the kids will learn. The more they learn how to do for themselves, the less dependent they will be on the machine as they grow. This is really all it comes down to: teach your kids everything. It's all very Emersonian, but in the end, everybody wins. I dare you.
Good luck!!!!
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bgfranco Posted 5:33 am
05 Apr 2007
Baby Steps to Green parenting
As a mom, and now a grandma, we worked hard to raise our children to respect the earth, by doing lots of things, outings, adventures to explore, educate and promote a good lifestyle. We took the bus, rode our bikes, as soon as they all learned. I became adept at finding events and outings that were either free or very low-cost. The kids took their lunches in their metal lunchboxes and before there were handi-wipes, I carried a wet washcloth in a plastic bag. I know how to get around via public transportation when its not promoted or honored. Heaven forbid we get out of our cars and meet people!! Some adventures didn't always work out as planned, i.e. we got lost - but it was still an adventure and became the funny and memorable stories our family shares. Now, I'm introducing my grandchildren to the train, to hiking, exploring and more adventures. As an added note: we all need to use canvas/recycled bags to get our groceries, not plastic. Oh, the possibilites are endless. Keep on and be a role model for your children, friends and families. And.....have fun at it. They will too.
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SMHrock Posted 5:59 am
05 Apr 2007
I dare you to......
I also thought running a green team of my own would be difficult. However, teaching my kids from an early age that being green is who we are made a huge difference.
They make good choices everyday. We try to offset bad habits with good ones. For instance, certain toys they really want come with an energy tag. We created energy tags for plastic toys, electronic toys, and junk food. If they want them, they have to pay the energy tag. We all participate on clean-up porjects at local nature centers, recycle, purchase clothing that is green and feed baby birds as part of a rehabilitation project. Sure they are 9 and 10 but they have learned that it takes an effort to protect the earth.
Try it!
Time to feed the worms.
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emmapeel Posted 6:10 am
05 Apr 2007
Thrift Stores
How about perusing your local thrift stores when you are in need of something for your household? I used to do a lot of shopping at Target, but always seemed to end up with lots of stuff I didn't really need. Also, I started to think about how they keep their prices so low...shipping stuff in from China?
My child is now 25 years old, but back in the 80's I was buying her clothes from consignment stores, using cloth diapers and breastfeeding. Much of this was due to my economic situation, but I also couldn't stand the idea of all the disposable diaper waste.
Keep up your good work. Hopefully you will help influence other mothers and you're certainly already influencing your children in a positive manner. Thank you!
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JMG Posted 6:10 am
05 Apr 2007
I dare you ...
to read "The Consumer's Guide to Effective Environmental Choices," which would relieve your anxiety about things that don't, in the end, amount to much but cause tons of needless fretting (paper vs. plastic, cloth vs. disposable, etc.) and would also help you focus on the BIG THREE:
- Limit driving -- live close to your job(s), use transit and bikes, walking
- Cut meat consumption as much as possible. That is HUGE.
- Insulate your house, and upgrade your heating/cooling systems to be as efficient as possible. Get into smaller housing if you can.
You do those three things and you've gotten 80% of the benefits available; not that you won't want to do more (replacing incandescents, making sure your hot water heater is set properly, learning to take conserving showers, etc. etc.) but never lose sight of the big picture and the BIG THREE for the overwhelming details."An optimist is someone who thinks this is the best of all possible worlds. A pessimist is someone who is afraid that the optimist is right."
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Jessica at Low Impact Living Posted 6:19 am
05 Apr 2007
Recommendations on how to raise healthy green kids
Christine you are right that's a particular challenge to be a great "eco-mom" (or ecodad!).
We just posted a newsletter with lots of recommendations of sustainable, healthy parenting over at our website www.LowImpactLiving.com. We've got info on diapers, bedding, furniture, paints, flooring, toys, clothes, and more. I'd love to hear what you all think about it.
http://www.lowimpactliving.com/pages/newsletters/newslett ...
Thanks!
Jessica of Low Impact Living (www.lowimpactliving.com)
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Christine Gardner Posted 6:27 am
05 Apr 2007
So much to think about, so little to say
I really appreciate all the excellent suggestions (dares, invitations and threats, well not threats) posted in last few days. It's given me a lot to think about and consider.
I'm definitely ready for some challenges and a chance to let other moms know what works, what doesn't and why. I'll be posting here monthly on updates to these little experiments and appreciate all your green guidance.
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radrerun Posted 6:39 am
05 Apr 2007
Yay!
Somebody wants ME to give them ADVICE?! I totally relish these opportunities since I'm sure my friends and boyfriend are sick of hearing me.
I think it's really great that you ride the bus and I ditto the person who said to ride bikes for more transportation options.
Ok, to start off I'm gonna give you some websites that I've been trying to find in my pursuit of trying to buy less, be more thrifty, and find novel uses for things you would end up recycling or throwing away:
http://www.thriftyfun.com/
I get their daily as well as weekly newsletter so I don't miss any new tips. Doesn't always have the most eco-friendly or eco-health friendly ideas, but I just separate the wheat from the chaff and I'm sure you can do that, too (i.e. NO to vinyl ANYTHING, plastic wrap bad, etc.)
http://www.frugalforlife.blogspot.com/
Little bit more eco-aware and also has newsletter option
Some other ideas are:
-Switch out incandescents with CFLS
-Buy local food (http://www.localharvest.org/ should get you on your way)
-Get rid of your vinyl shower curtains and sew your own or just buy a nylon liner so that the PVC doesn't leach into your kids' skin when they take a shower (just make sure to wash the nylon liner every two weeks or so with a teaspoon of borax when/if it shows mold)
-take showers for 5 minutes or less if you can
-if it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down
-don't use paper towels, use an actual towel
-bring your own utensils and your own plate/bowl/mug (not the throwaway kinds)
-why buy when you can borrow from the library? (DVDs, music, BOOKS!)
-get rid of what you don't need (old computer, furniture, misc., etc.) and give it to a local battered women's shelter (they need stuff for when they move out), a homeless shelter, and/or post it on craigslist or freecycle, or even a library (if it's books, music, or DVD)
-reuse your ink cartridges and get them filled up at a participating retailer (just call and ask if they do this)
-use low or no-VOC paints or clay
-ditto on the canvas bags for groceries
Whew! That's just off the top of my head.
Hopefully you'll also remember to get organic when you can and fair trade for your purchases, as well.
Can't wait to hear how it's going:)
Kim
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Mary Posted 7:31 am
05 Apr 2007
Please Zeth, get your facts straight
Per the ADA: http://tinyurl.com/djodu
"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases...Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence. Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer."
Thanks for asking, Christine. For more info, see:
Raising a Vegetarian Family
http://www.vrg.org/family/
Vegan Nutrition in Pregnancy and Childhood
by Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D. and
Katie Kavanagh-Prochaska, Dietetic Intern
http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/pregnancy.htm
Growing Vegans...Birth through Adolescence
Excerpted from: Becoming Vegan, Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina, The Book Publishing Company, Summertown Tennessee, September 2000.
http://www.vegsource.com/parent/growing_vegans.htm
also includes very helpful links:
Feeding Vegan Kids
by Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D.
Reprinted from The Vegetarian Resource Group
http://www.vegsource.com/nutrition/kids.htm
Growing Vegans:
Birth through Adolescence
Excerpted from: Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina
http://www.earthsave.org/health/kidsnutrition.htm
Nutrient Needs for Six Month Old Babies?
http://vegrd.vegan.com/pages/article.php?id=426
Vegetarian Diets for Children: Right from the Start
http://www.thevegetariansite.com/vegchild.htm
Vegan Children
by Carol M. Coughlin, RD
http://www.andrews.edu/NUFS/Vegan%20Children.html
Feeding your vegan infant - with confidence
http://www.vegansociety.com/catalog/product_info.php?prod ...
and:
http://www.cafepress.com/shop/politics/browse/store/compa ...
Mary
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ecochildsplay Posted 12:09 pm
05 Apr 2007
Natural Toys
Give away the plastic toys and only buy natural toys (make sure your family does too). Fewer, quality, open-ended toys are better for your children and the environment. Help your children not covet everything and avoid the overconsumerism of this country.
You are teaching your children important lessons through your actions. Keep on keeping one!
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ecochildsplay Posted 12:10 pm
05 Apr 2007
My blog
I forgot to mention my blog on natural toys and natural living with kiddos. You may find more suggestions on the blog.
http://www.ecochildsplay.com
"Play is the highest form of research." -Albert Einstein
ecochildsplay
Natural toys that inspire your child's imagination! A review of developmentally appropriate, ecologically friendly toys for young children.
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Pandu Posted 11:28 pm
05 Apr 2007
baby vegans?
Mary,
I love your response on the issue of vegan children. (Mine have been lacto-vegetarian since birth.) But that last link struck me as odd, albeit cute. Infants and babies should be drinking mother's milk. Is that vegan?
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magreen Posted 6:39 am
09 Apr 2007
green parenting blog ideas
we have been chronicling our family's attempts at green parenting on our Green Parenting blog since last year, before the birth of our little girl (http://www.grizzlybird.net/greenparenting.html)
most importantly: do one thing at a time. do what seems possible to you at a given point. keep adding. otherwise, the process can be more overwhelming and not as fufulling as it really can be.
new green lifestyle choices don't need to feel like you're 'losing' or making sacrifices. they can come out of your own sense of fun and experimentation. when you're feeling oppressed all the time by choices you make, maybe hold back. stick with what changes you've made. focus on those until you're ready to add.
fun we've had:
better than cloth and better than disposable: use elimination communication or potty whispering to train your children. our girl, babyg, has been using the potty since she was 2 weeks old. it was fun, a fabulous way to get to know the baby in the first six or seven months of us rushing to 'catch' her pees and poos in the potty. now she's 15 months and wets maybe 3 diapers a day, hasn't pooped in the diaper in months...not since she was sick. of course, working parents might only be able to do it at nights, but plenty of people do, and report good results. my husband especially loved the ec method because he felt like it gave him a connection to the baby early on.
one nice thing about the suburbs might mean that you have more garden space than city dwellers: you can plant veggies, even a fruit tree. we weren't gardeners and have had many mishaps: but man, i LOVE going outside now, and cutting off some dill for a salad. we're planting an orange tree this weekend: i am SO EXCITED.
get a bike outfitted for short trips from the home.
throw out all your chemical cleaning solutions and convert to what your great grandparents used: vinegar & water. offset the smell by adding essential oils. you can find a good list of cleaning solutions tailored to different needs on our website. i did this in our home: it was fun. i feel like a mad scientist when i'm mixing vinegar and water and whatever oil; or vinegar and oil and hwatever essential oil. good feeling. easy to execute.
don't use dryer sheets.
try going 'no poo' -- stop using shampoo and use baking soda and water.
you can check out our website for more ideas. or to give us more ideas, in the spirit of this post~
MaGreen http://www.grizzlybird.net/greenparenting.html
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Zeth Posted 6:59 am
09 Apr 2007
Touche!
Touche, Mary, and I retract the "none". I'm not hating on vegans or veggies (better not be, 'cause I am one), but just because it CAN be done doesn't mean, de facto, that it ought to. I know a lot and lot of Mom-and-Baby docs and nurses, including midwifes, osteopaths and naturopaths, some of them veggie or vegan, but none of them made it compulsory for their own children. Upon a quick sample, none of them would reccommend it for the majority of children they treat and see, either, though they admit that it's possible to raise vegan kids.
Taking another step back, I work in the Neurosciences and know a fair bit about what makes brains and bodies work. I also know that it's awfully hard for young bodies to extract what they need to grow from plant sources. Nina Planck asserts that "no society in the world is naturally vegan." It's an extreme choice and yes, I know, it's totally workable, but veganism in particular has not been conclusively proven either good or evil. Before we get into a screaming match, however, let me humbly present some of the other literature:
Giannini A. Mirra N. Patria MF. Health risks for children raised on vegan or vegetarian diets.[comment]. [Case Reports. Comment. Letter] Pediatric Critical Care Medicine. 7(2):188, 2006 Mar.
Leblanc JC, Yoon H, Kombadjian A, et al: Nutritional intakes of vegetarian populations in France. Eur J Clin Nutr 2000; 54:443-449
Moilanen BC: Vegan diets in infants, children and adolescents. Pediatr Rev 2004; 25:174-176
Key TJ. Appleby PN. Rosell MS. Health effects of vegetarian and vegan diets. [Review] [65 refs] [Journal Article. Review] Proceedings of the Nutrition Society. 65(1):35-41, 2006 Feb.
Particularly in the last, the study found that vegans were statistically as healthy as health-conscious non-vegans. On the nutritional front, a lit review revelas that the jury is still out on kids and veganism. It's full of stories on adults who benefit from lower BMI and improved cardiovascular function but suffer from B12 or Calcium definciencies. It states that small ammounts of DHA can, in fact, be processed from plant-based foods, but the quantity of soy necessary to compensate is extraoridnarily high, and the research on wicked-high soy consumption is split as well. I couldn't dig up an article from a peer-reviewed, non-biased medical journal advocating for a vegan diet for infants, children or adolescents. Mary, while you've certainly demonstrated that dietitians say that it can be done, all of your sources are from vegan and vegetarian resource groups who can't be said to be free from bias.
The jury is hung and the facts are extant. The last thing the environmental movement needs is more in-fighting, but before you tell people to check their facts, check your own.
And you were right - there are nutritionists who okay a vegan diet for kids.
Respectfully,
Zeth
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Natural Habit Posted 12:19 am
10 Apr 2007
The Meat Debate
Just wanted to post an alternative view to the meat debate: we live in Northern Ontario (Canada) - and one of the biggest things we've started doing to live greener is to START eating meat. Our community has a growing local food economy... and meat is one of the few things we can buy that supports local farmers....and is one of the few commodities on our table that isn't coming from thousands of miles away. I certainly appreciate the argument for going vegetarian, but personally, we're choosing to buy local & it feels good to buy food that's close to home.
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