Filed under: Parenting
I’m embarassed that I didn’t think of this before…
I perused more than my fair share of school supply lists this past month. (the 12 glue sticks required by Ankeny for Kindergarteners was a bit shocking.) I couldn’t help but notice all the disposable and/or toxic “supplies” on these lists.
Now, obviously, disposable tissues (not Kleenix, as noted on most lists, which is a brand name) are the way to go for classrooms. I get that.
But Clorox wipes? Hm. Not sure there.
So… parents of children who attend school. What do you do? Do you just buy the single-use, toxic-ingredient Clorox wipes? Do you buy something else? Abstain? File a complaint with the school?
What are those wipes even used for? Do our schools not provide adequate cleaning supplies these days?
Filed under: Parenting
DesmoinesDem over at Bleeding Heartland has an excellent response to the recent article “The Case Against Breastfeeding” in Atlantic Monthly. Check it out.
I want to address the latest in a series of articles out of Great Britain that are attempting to assert that cloth diapers are bad for the environment.
My husband sent me this article this morning.
The report found that using washable nappies, hailed by councils throughout Britain as a key way of saving the planet, have a higher carbon footprint than their disposable equivalents unless parents adopt an extreme approach to laundering them.
To reduce the impact of cloth nappies on climate change parents would have to hang wet nappies out to dry all year round, keep them for years for use on younger children, and make sure the water in their washing machines does not exceed 60C.
(snip)
The report found that while disposable nappies used over 2½ years would have a global warming , impact of 550kg of CO2 reusable nappies produced 570kg of CO2 on average. But if parents used tumble dryers and washed the reusable nappies at 90C, the impact could spiral to . 993kg of CO2
There are five key things here.
The first two involve the “extreme” laundry approaches, haha.
1) Washing diapers at 60C instead of 90C. 60C is 140F. Most US government agencies recommend that US families keep their water heaters at around 130-140F. The recommendations for families with small children is 120-125, which is also apparently the temperature at which most detergents work best. (I looked at about 10 articles online to come up with those numbers. Here and Here are two of them.)
One of our own local cloth diapering moms who is from Europe has said in the past that Europeans tend to have their washing machines washing clothes at MUCH higher temperatures than we use in America, and that might explain why they are calling 60C “extreme.”
2) Hanging dipes to dry. I will admit that I don’t have any sort of engineering degree, so I can’t examine this in detail. But when I was doing my Extreme Cost Comparison for Wallypop, I found that the average US dryer uses about 3.3 kwh per cycle. That’s not a whole heck of a lot. Of course, many of us DO hang our diapers out (I know that’s my preference).
3) Keeping diapers for at least 2.5 years. The vast majority of cloth diaper users, at least in this country, either DO keep their diapers to use on future children, or else they sell them to other parents to use. Other than one-size diapers, which often last through only one child, I would be surprised if there are very many diapers in America that get thrown away instead of passed along. I chuckle that the article considers this to be “extreme.”
4) Other environmental impacts other than just carbon footprint with the end-user. The study seems to have completely neglected other ways that things impact the environment than just energy use. Landfills certainly impact the environment. Sending human poop into the garbage rather than the sewer certainly impacts the environment. The manufacture of disposable diapers certainly impacts the environment (as does the manufacture of cloth diapers, just less so). As with most articles of this type, there is absolutely no mention of comparing the whole lifecycle of the diapers.
5) No mention of other ways to reduce the environmental impact of diapering. Cloth babies tend to potty train earlier, reducing the impact of diapering. Hemp and bamboo diapers are softer on the environment than cotton diapers are. Buying quality diapers that will last and last and last will reduce the impact of diapering.
So, when you see articlces like this, put on your Critical Thinking cap and really look at what they’re saying.
Filed under: Parenting
Just thought you’d like to know.
here is a link talking about her pumping. Here is a picture of her wearing Trig in a pouch sling.
Filed under: Parenting
This was originally posted by Sara Janssen at her personal blog a few years back, but it’s one of my favorite of her posts. Sara can be found at Walk Slowly, Live Wildly, or at her Live Lightly Tour blog.
Tonight I spoke at our local chapter of Holistic Moms Network about “Parenting in a Commerical Culture”. We had a great turnout and a lively discussion about the challenges facing parents in a culture where advertisers are actively fighting for your child’s mind. Much of the conversation centered around television viewing and the merchandising of cartoon characters. It was clear that everyone felt the pressure to conform to mainstream culture, but that they were taking steps to push against it. I am very fortunate to have such mindful and intelligent mamas to bounce ideas off of and turn to for support.
Here are some action tips on this topic from the New American Dream*:
- Get rid of the TV.
- Expose kids to other media – surrealist films, conceptual art exhibits (carefully selected), gatherings of interesting adult friends with non-mainstream stories to tell.
- Remove the logos from clothes, theirs and yours. Talk with kids about why you’re doing this. Suggest to kids to design their own, personal logos.
- See a wonderful passage on commercialism and consumerism by Brian Swimme
- Parents who resist consumerism for themselves are the ones who teach their children to resist it.
- Teach children to be doers and creators rather than shoppers and buyers.
- Supply them with sidewalk chalk, old cardboard boxes and other makings of creative play.
- Grow your own food. Involve the kids. Teach your child of the connections within the natural world. Experience their beauty together. Talk about where things come from, who made them, what they are made of.
- Teach by example and conviction a set of values that allow kids to make their own choices.
- Teach kids empathy for others. Instead of buying toys, suggest they spend the money bringing some groceries to the local food bank.
*I used a handout from New American Dream that was full of great resources, websites, etc. They are a really neat grassroots organiziation on a mission. Check them out!
Filed under: Parenting
I have posted the makeup of my newborn cloth diaper stash over at Wallypop, in the event that is useful to anyone.
Filed under: Parenting
A while back, I was interviewed for an article in Des Moines Moms about how we can help children to make Green lifestyle choices and care about the environment. Apparently, the article came out this week. I haven’t had a chance to read it yet, but I wrote this post shortly after the interview and feel that I can now share it with you. It contains the gist of my entire conversation with the reporter.
First and foremost, I think kids learn by example. We can talk about taking care of the environment and our bodies all we want, but what will make the most impact is if we walk what we talk. Talking about exercise being important for our bodies doesn’t make much impact on our children if they never see us getting off our lazy butts, you know? Wally learns what is important to our family by living here. He sees us recycle, he hears us talk about waste and sees us trying to reduce it, he knows where we get our food and what we eat, he camps with us and hikes with us, he picks up trash with us. We talk about the things we do, but – at four – we don’t hit him over the head with it. If he were older, we’d incorporate more in-depth discussions about why we do what we do, but we keep things age-appropriate.
Second, though I can’t find the article to save my life, a back issue of Mothering cited a study that found that kids respond better to POSITIVE messages about the environment, rather than negative messages. Kids are so easily overwhelmed by the largeness of problems – particularly something like the environment. When I think about the messages I heard in school growing up…I honestly thought that the world was probably coming to an end. And that there was really nothing we could do about it.
The study cited found that kids who are hit over the head with the bad things – endangered species, shrinking rain forests, acid rain, global warming – tend to become more apathetic than kids who aren’t given those messages. They actually care about the environment less. Wow.
But what they found to be more effective is to first get kids engaged in the environment. Get them out in it. Get them caring about it. Adopt a Manatee (ok, showing my age?). Pick up trash. Go camping and hiking. Go on a nature walk. Learn about birds and trees and bugs. Garden. Once they are vested in the environment, they will naturally want to take steps to ensure that it stays safe.
–
In the end, there’s really nothing you can do to force your kids to be “green” or to care about the environment. Just like you can’t force your kid to enjoy playing the piano. But being green yourself and holding off on the scary doom-and-gloom messages seem to be great ways to encourage your (potentially) budding environmentalist.
Filed under: Parenting
Victoria’s Secret is carrying nursing bras!!
Now – I have plenty of problems with VS. Their mannequins look like cheap hookers, for example. I have never really purchased anything from their stores (but I do own a pair of VS shorts and they fit me really well). Their catalogs are soft porn.
BUT. This is great.
Talk about taking nursing mainstream. Women can walk into a store known for carrying sexy, alluring bras and panties and buy a bra they can wear while nursing their babies. We don’t have to shop online or choose from among the two or three styles of white, Army-looking nursing bras available at Target or department stores. VS acknowledges that breasts are functional and not just decorative.
I spent a good deal of time when W was a baby lobbying for VS to carry nursing bras. I stopped in the stores whenever I happened to pass by one to talk to the salespeople or managers. I called a few times. I emailed and wrote letters. The response was always polite, but always like “hey, we appreciate your feedback. Go away.” (Except the folks in the stores, who were always very nice and many of whom seemed to genuinely think it was a great idea. One store manager promised to call her district manager that afternoon to ask about it.)
Though I no longer wear bras, I am happy to see Victoria’s Secret is taking this step!!
Filed under: Parenting
I realized with a jolt recently that I haven’t really worn Wally since summer. I suppose at 3 and a half, he’s generally just feeling far too old and mature to ride in a sling these days…plus with winter, it’s hard. It was easy with a baby, but it’s hard with a preschooler and winter coats.
So it’s been a while since I explored the world of babywearing online, and I allowed myself to indulge in a brief bit of web surfing this morning. I found this awesome Flickr group featuring babywearing photos from around the world. Turns out, there’s a new type of baby carrier on the market – the Chunei. It seems to be yet another “modern take on a traditional Asian carrier” type of deal, this time with buckles and straps, but if you’re into buckles and straps, it does actually look pretty cool. I like the looks much better than most structured carriers, that’s for sure. Me, though – I’ll stick with my Mei Tai and wrap carriers! I even still love my Podegi.
I also found this awesome blog, which now holds a spot in my Bloglines. Magic City Slingers is a babywearing group much like our own Des Moines Babywearing, but much more active and with a blog.
