Share Your Green Parenting Wisdom with Kiwi’s Readers!

9 Responses for "Share Your Green Parenting Wisdom with Kiwi’s Readers!"

1. Kelly March 9th, 2010 at 6:45 am 1

   I didn’t think I did a ton, but when I look at what some of my friends did, I realize our actions have an impact. When our daughter was 3 months old, we started cloth diapering. I wish I would have started sooner, but I didn’t know anyone doing it (still don’t know many) so it wasn’t until I was a stay a home mommy with a newborn that I did research. I also breast fed, so I bought formula, which was both better for my daughter and didn’t produce any waste. Similarly, I made all my own baby food. I never once bought those little jars. I am a huge fan of hand me downs, both in toys and clothes. And I also switched to more eco-friendly cleaning and personal care products.

2. Ali March 9th, 2010 at 9:44 am 2

   I cloth diaper both my 2.5 year old and my 10 month old. I breast fed my 1st until he turned one and will the same for number 2. They eat mostly organic homemade food and juices. I try to make All of there snack foods as well. I changed all of our cleaning and laundry supplies to eco-friendly non-toxic cleaners and detergents.

3. Katy March 9th, 2010 at 4:12 pm 3

   My baby won’t be here until June, but we are committed to cloth diapering and breastfeeding, and once he’s weaned, I’ll be making baby food as well. I don’t trust what is in processed food much, and spending money on all that packaging and transport of goods just makes me sick.

4. Amanda March 10th, 2010 at 6:14 am 4

   I tried to be as green as possible during my pregnancy by switching to more local and organic food, using environmentally friendly cleaners and reducing our household waste. Now that my daughter is here, I still do those things and I also breastfeed, use cloth diapers, buy second-hand baby items whenever I can, and try to be conscious of the environmental impact we make.

5. Andie March 10th, 2010 at 8:22 am 5

   We were very careful about only giving our oldest daughter hormone free-milk, preferably from local cows we could visit in their pasture. We moved to a small town, and it is so tough to find the quality milk products now. I do buy milk from a larger producer that claims to be hormone free, but the cheese and yogurt have no such claims. My daughter eats a LOT of yogurt, so we’ve started making our own. It’s much easier than I thought. We don’t throw away any more plastic tubs, so I feel good about that. I still worry about her cheese consumption!

6. Nicole March 10th, 2010 at 8:36 am 6

   I never thought about being eco-friendly but once I thought about it, I’ve always done things that are green! I’ve always recycled everything I can (in fact, we usually only have 1-2 small bags of garbage a week!), use old cloths for cleaning rags, buy items at garage sales that are practically new, stay away from paper plates, paid bills online, etc. I actually did most of these things to save money. Then when I was pregnant with my first 3 years ago, I got into “being green” for more of the health benefits and I started using natural cleaners and personal care products, I cloth diapered my son and plan to CD our next child, breastfed until my son was 15 months and weaned himself, I made all his baby food (my son never had jarred baby food) and I use organic and natural products and foods whenever possible. I never buy the individual packaged snacks – I get a big bag and we put them into reusable containers to take for outings or lunches, etc. I’ve also switched to cloth napkins and I use old prefold diapers for cleaning up messes – I hardly ever use paper towels anymore. Prefolds soak up so much more and don’t fall apart! There are a lot of little things you can do that make a big impact and can save you a lot of money! Sure, they might not be as convenient but it really doesn’t add that much time to your routine.

7. Kyla March 10th, 2010 at 9:52 am 7

   I think having kids really forces us to look at how we treat our planet. While I was pregnant with my second I became a green freak! I had to know anything and everything I could do to raise my two young boys in a healthy world. I always used to be an avid bleach user, disinfecting anything I thought needed it. Then I studied up on indoor air pollution and learned the air in our house is actually more dangerous than the air outside! These days I make all my own cleaners from essential oils, baking soda, vinegar and other non pollutants. Other “green” choices were no brainers for me, I’ve always made my own baby food, breastfed both my boys, I even tried my hand at cloth diapering. Such a shame the diapering didn’t work out, but alas, that’s the way of apartment living and shared washing appliances!

8. Natalie March 10th, 2010 at 11:25 am 8

   My baby won’t be here until May, but we are definitely going to cloth diaper and use cloth wipes and I will be breastfeeding (hopefully for 12 months). I hope to make as much of my own baby food as possible. I grew up on a small scale farm and so I’m used to the farm fresh mentally (with no hormones or pesticides that is)! We switched to glass food storage containers as well (not a fan of icky plastic).

   We have always been avid recyclers and composters. This past summer we planted our first garden and hope to do the same this year around. I hope to nurture a sense of respect and wonder in Mother Nature and all that the outdoors has to offer!

   We use eco-friendly cleaners and supplies (generally baking soda and vinegar and the odd purchased cleaner) and we switched to a high efficiency front loading washer and dryer. We use cloth napkins but are still weaning ourselves off of paper towel (we try to use cloth whenever feasible).

   I use natural products on my body (lotion, soap etc.) and hope to do the same for the wee one. I’m big on household products as beauty products (i.e.: Epsom salt baths, baking soda body scrub) and I’m sensitive to fragrance and chemical additives so I use essential oils whenever I need some scent.

   Looking at it I seem to do pretty good but I still feel like there are a million things I can adopt. Specifically big things like eco friendly home renos and furniture are a little harder for us to achieve but always something we keep in mind.

   Oh, and I currently take city transit as we only have one vehicle!

9. Betsy March 12th, 2010 at 4:51 pm 9

   When my baby sucked on my hair, I decided to switch to a more natural leave-in conditioner (and eventually changed all our personal products based on information from the Skin Deep Database). When we bought a new bed (for us and the baby), I looked for a mattress with more natural materials/ less harsh flame retardants. When my baby sucked on the wood floor, I decided to change to more natural cleaning products. When I opened my son’s disposable diaper on a very hot day and felt a wave of heat come out of it, I decided to change to cloth diapers. When my baby started solid foods, I started buying organic produce and dairy products. I also did and do breastfeed, although that was a decision not really related to trying to be green, but more based on my children’s health and my own parenting philosophy. Eventually, trying to be greener was like falling down a black hole and the amount of information was overwhelming (especially with young children!). I try to work on “greening” a few areas at a time and not worry too much about what I haven’t gotten around to changing.

   Lots of things we do just because we’re cheap (which is why I love the Green Baby Guide!). Saving money on some things makes me feel better about spending more money on other things, like food. Food is one area where I feel like you have to pay for quality, and that we make up for our cheap food with our high health care costs. Here are some frugal green things we do:
   -we don’t wash our clothes every time we wear them, and rarely use hot water for laundry (diapers and sheets only)
   -we use the heat and a/c as little as possible
   -we almost never eat out and make our own beans, bread, granola, etc.
   -most of our kids’ clothes and toys are used (Goodwill or Craig’s List) or hand-me-downs
   -we drive as little as possible
   -we eat little meat

   I will admit that my first motivation for change is usually personal health, but I also think about the impact of my decisions on the earth and world community.