Category Archive for ‘healthy ideas’ at Healthy Tot

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Finding a Safer, Less Toxic Mattress

Published

on September 16, 2008

in healthy ideas, mattresses and safe products

. 1 Comment

So I mentioned it in my finding a safer crib article, and I am back on it today because we are in the process of buying a new mattress for my daughter. She’s going to be 3 in a few months and we decided to move her into a twin size bed. We settled on using the bed I had growing up, a nice solid oak twin made by Vermont Tubbs. If you don’t know about them, check them out, their products are well-made, on the greener side, use water base glues, and use finishes that do not contain formaldehydes or metallics. They don’t make my exact bed anymore, but it is a timeless style and still beautiful at 25 years old.

Anyway, back to the mattress search. I’ve been reading so many articles lately about mattress safety and fire retardant chemicals as I am sure many of you have been as well. You want a fire-safe, but chemical-free safe place for your little one to sleep. Let’s face it, many of the chemicals added to products to help us, in the end may be hurting us. The chemicals in mattresses have been linked to cancers, hormone disruption, thyroid problems, cognitive delays and more. So what you’ve likely seen is that organic mattresses are expensive, and unless your lucky to live near a showroom that has them, you’re buying them sight unseen online. That is tough when you want something you’re investing in for 10 years, that’s not cheap- you might end up safe but uncomfortable. Your head spinning yet?

There are many organic/natural mattresses to choose from online, but as mentioned earlier, very expensive. One of the most reasonable ones we found in made by Naturepedic, starting at $599 for a twin. Another affordable option, while it’s not organic, seems to be Ikea, where company-wide their furniture, including mattresses are PBDE-free. Other mattress companies that have ceased using PBDEs: Sealy, Serta, Simmons, and Spring Air. But bear in mind they are using some other chemical fire-retardants that conform to US regulations.

Some articles that I have read that were informative and helpful:
About PBDEs fire retardent
Cornell Study on PBDEs
Reducing your exposure to PBDEs
The European Union has banned the use of the most toxic PBDEs. To avoid PBDEs, choose furniture made with natural fibers such as cotton, wool (no fire retardant is necessary for wool) or natural latex.- The Green Guide

Back to School Time- Eco & Healthly Top 10

Published

amy

on August 26, 2008

in Uncategorized, healthy ideas, reading and safe products

. 2 Comments

After being in school for so long, it’s hard to shake the feeling I get at the end of every summer. School’s impending start: the cooler nights, back to school adverts, back to school deals and sales. I remember the dread of summer’s end, excitement for a new year, seeing my friends everyday, what to wear? what will my teachers be like? But I have a 2 1/2 year old, and although we looked into and applied to the few 2 yr old programs in our area, she isn’t going to school this year. Between the lottery system for placement slots and the other expensive options, she’s home with me. In lieu of attending school this fall, I am going to do some quasi-home schooling. My loose plan is to spend two days a week focusing on something, like nature, math, reading etc. and build it into our day through constructive play.

Nonetheless, school is on her radar and she’s interested. She sees school buses, and loves them (what’s not to love about a huge yellow vehicle filled with kids). She knows the neighborhood kids go to school and misses them while they are there. We live near a high school and she sees kids with backpacks, so she had to have one. And our wonderful mother’s helper, Zoe, even bought her back to school supplies for her backpack and they pretend to play school together and line up the dining room chairs like rows of seats on a bus. I have to say, as excited as I am for her eventually to go off to school, I also fret the day as I squeeze her extra hard when she role plays with me and bids me goodbye as she boards her pretend bus.

I know many kids are about to have that first day of school. So I’ve been hitting some of my favorite blogs to see what they are saying. I am picking my top 10 best Back to School articles with healthy, green ideas for your preparations and reading pleasure. Good luck on the first day of school!

1. Healthy Breakfast Ideas from Green and Clean Mom with great ideas to give your kids a good start to their school day
2. 12 Fabulously informative articles on Back to School in Great Green Style from The Daily Green
3. Back to school: Are we ready? Are we non-toxic? from The Environmental Working Group
4. Eco and Budget Friendly Back to School from Healthy Child, Healthy World
5. Safer Lunchbox picks and reviews from Safe Mama
6. Information and idea packed Eco-Friendly School Days from Nature Moms
7. Back to School Eco Style from EcoFabulous
8. Fabkins cute re-useable napkins giveaway for your kido’s lunchbox at Green Mom Finds
9. The Green Office’s school kits for eco kids of every age
10. Back to School 2008 shopping guide from the always fun and trendy Cool Mom Picks

Toxins in the home

Published

amy

on June 24, 2008

in Safer cleaning products, healthy ideas, phthalate-free and safe products

. 1 Comment

Yuck, bleck, ugh! That’s what goes through my mind when I think about all the toxins lurking in our houses. Long before it was on everyone’s radar, my stepfather, a mechanical engineer, was always reminding us to be careful with household chemicals, don’t let them touch your skin, careful of the fumes from them, open the windows, air out dry cleaning and shower curtains, use nail polish remover outside!, keep the thermostat low, turn off the lights, consume less, recycle, compost- the list goes on. He earnestly drove a tiny car for years, putting along in the slow lane, while others drove bigger and faster cars. His knowledge came from years working for engineering firms and as a professor and having understanding and insight into chemicals, waste, limits on resources and their impact on the future of the environment.

What to do…

Since having my daughter more than two years ago, these matters went from subconscious, ingrained habits to a forefront priority to make sure I am doing all I can to make our home a safe place. And with the more knowledge I gain I find that many of the things he preached over the years are becoming a bigger part of what we all need to pay attention to, some of which are toxins in the home. I have dutifully draped my shower curtains outside to gas out for 4-5 days and since they been on the market been using EVA curtains instead. We compost, try to use as many non-toxic household products as possible, keep chemicals off our lawn (aka the clover patch- whatever, it’s green), rarely dry clean our clothes (only the ones that can’t be washed with water), use safer bath products. Today, we are at an advantage and disadvantage, every year there are more chemicals on the market but there is a greater awareness, demand for safer products and availability to information on how to make your home a safer environment. Everywhere you turn in your house there might be something unhealthy, here’s where to look.

This is a huge subject so I am going to list some articles and provide links to some good resources out there, including an article I wrote for a friend’s blog about indoor pollution and solutions. Please comment with any questions or ideas you might have and I will do my best to get you the answers.

Helpful Links

Top Ten Products for Your Non-Toxic Household
EcoMall’s guide to non-toxic product ingredients and safe substitutes
More non-toxic homemade solutions and recipes
The Green Guide Household Buying Guide
SafeMama’s and The Soft Landing Shower Curtain Reports
HealthyTot’s Phthalates and Safer Cleaning Posts

Sunny days are here again!

Published

amy

on May 20, 2008

in Sunscreen, healthy ideas and safe products

. 3 Comments

So you know what that means- sunscreen! Last year I wrote a post on my venture to find a safe and effective sunblock for my fair-skinned little lady. I had read loads of reviews and articles on what was the least harmful, yet most effective choices out there. Last year I didn’t know about Skin Deep (the Environmental Working Group’s cosmetics database/guide), but have used it a ton in recent months. So I am hitting it again to check up on my sunscreen picks.

Last year we used Blue Lizard for Babies and Mustela 50SPF and so far they were pretty good picks. Mustela did make their top ten, and both ended up with 0 sun hazard but 3 chemical hazard and and overall score of 1. (you want the number to be 0,1,2 - low is good) Both of these picks contain zinc oxide and titanium dioxide, which the EWG is skeptical of as the best, but they are still better choices than chemical sun blockers. Evidence has shown that chemical sunblocks are absorbed into the skin while mineral blockers like zinc and titanium stay atop the skin. From what I have read, some of the problems with zinc and titanium is the actual production, they have to use many chemicals to separate the particles and removing ore that are very harmful to the environment.

There is lots more somewhat complicated and in-depth scientific research and info out there that I shutter to try to explain accurately here, check out this article at Skin Deep. Best advice- hit the Top 10 list and limit sun time for you and your little ones. Reminder- keep sunscreen off the little babies (6 months or so and under), just keep them out of the sun.

See Skin Deep’s Top 10 Best Sunscreens for babies and toddlers
Dangerous sunscreen chemicals explained at The Green Guide
As usual- a good, safe, easy to find pick: California Baby (we love their bug repellant)

Safer Wipes- for little hands and bums…

Published

amy

on March 21, 2008

in Uncategorized and healthy ideas

. 5 Comments

A few weeks back you might have read my post about phthalates in shampoos, conditioners, soaps, lotions, etc. One area that I missed (apologetically) was baby wipes. And since I am talking about wipes mind as well talk about hand wipes - the sanitizing sort. As you know I have a toddler so we go thru lots of wipes. And I thought I was doing the right thing for my daughter by using Pampers, Unscented Sensitive, but I just checked it out at Skin Deep and well they are rated 3, moderately hazardous (not terrible, but I’d like better).

So I am looking into safer options and I am striving to be in the low hazard level with any products I use. And for wipes there aren’t too many that qualify- the top 3 lowest are See the Dawn Angel Mist Baby Spray, Seventh Generation Unscented Baby Wipes with Aloe Vera & Vitamin E and Tushies Baby Wipes with Aloe Vera, Unscented. Both the Seventh Generation and Tushies are sold at Whole Foods and natural groceries, See the Dawn is available online.

For safer sanitizing hand wipes- there is Clean Well, an all natural hand sanitizer. I got a sample of the spray quite some time ago is a goodie bag from Whole Foods and Stroller Strides, and it is great. I am happy to know that they have hand wipes as well. (I prefer the wipes on my daughter as I feel like it actually might wipe something off) Its the ingredients that are the great- all natural, no alcohol or any funky chemicals.

Here is more information on these wipes:
The Daily Green
Green Mom Finds
CleanWell at Amazon
CleanWell Site