There are so many stresses on the environment that many scientists believe we are in the midst of one of the largest extinctions that has ever occurred on earth. Add to that the fact that many of our natural resources are finite, instilling a sense of awareness and care for the natural environment is incredibly important for today’s youth. A generation without concern for the world’s precious ecosystems and natural resources may be the final stressor that pushes the world into a dangerous imbalance that it won’t be able to recover from. How can parents help kids be eco friendly, be caring stewards of the beautiful environment they live in?
Tag Archive: green and clean mom
Collecting Rainwater: Is it necessary and who owns the rain?
I’m fascinated by rain barrels and collection of rainwater. My husband and I debate this because he does not believe that collecting rain water is necessary. The idea that we can’t make more water just does not “click” with him. The Great Lakes surround us and I see people every day taking this resource for granted, as if they can wiggle their noses and suddenly have clean safe water anytime they want. Maybe they need to visit a third world country. I’ve considered tricking my husband into some sort of trip to pry open his eyes and see just how hard it is to get clean, safe drinking water.
Aluminum Foil or Wax Paper for an Eco Friendly School Lunch?
I love getting emails from readers and recently, after I posted about Eco-friendly school lunches, I got an email from a reader asking a very “Eco” good question. Her older children don’t like to use the new earth friendly lunch boxes and wrap mats because they aren’t cool and nobody else is using them (more should be using them, grrr). That’s an issue so what is a mom to do? Her big question is whether she should use aluminum foil or wax paper and which one is safer and more earth friendly.
I answered, aluminum foil because it can be recycled and you can buy recycled aluminum foil.
Be Healthy: Get Active with Your Kids
Previously, I wrote about my weight loss journey and overall, journey to be healthy. My children are an extension of me and therefore my journey is their journey. What I eat, how I exercise and the way I view the world affects them. This is why it is extremely important, for me, to set a good example in as many ways as possible. The way I see it, when parents set good examples the children learn what the parents does. Children usually do as they see. I love reading, for example, and I continually saw my mother read and encourage us to read, instead of watch television.
Around The Greenosphere: Weekly Link Roundup
We love finding fabulous links from around the web for you each week, and this week they are all from the personal blogs of our awesome Green Team here at 5M4GG. Enjoy!
Sommer from Nature Moms is sharing about her success with homeschooling, and making me realize how fun it could be.
Jennifer from The Smart Mama spreads the word about the potential for chemical burns from tagless labels.
Green Mamma, Jessica, started a great series on trash that continues our quest for reducing waste and safely getting rid of the rest.
Sommer from Green & Clean Mom gives us tips on green camping (I adore fall camping!) and there’s even a giveaway!
Plastic Fast Food Toys-Reducing Waste
Last weekend we had a family picnic and went to the beach to find rocks. My son is into fossils and thinks he will be a archaeologist and a truck driver. I cheated and decided we would go to Subway and throw this into the cooler for our picnic. It was a long week and I wanted a break.
Rightly so.
Anyhow, even Subway gives toys in the kids meals and to reduce the waste, my children share a meal because neither will finish a entire kids meal. Small eaters. My son looked at this dinky plastic key chain and said:
“That’s dumb.”
What?
A Green Pet – Making Your Own Pet Food
When I bought my little cutie, Rex, I felt like a new parent. He was so tiny and dependent on me. I had many questions about what food to feed Rex or how to care for his health, now that I was living a more green life style. I had some nay sayers that couldn’t believe I cared, he was an animal. Go to the pet store and get whatever. Well, yes but he deserves to be well taken care of and if I don’t take good care of him he won’t live as long. Taking care of our pets will decrease costly vet bills.
Natural and Healthy Weight Loss: A Personal Journey
Weight loss has always been an issue with me. When I was younger I was skinny and wore boys extra slim pants. Something happened (less activity and more food) and I started having to buy plus size clothing. My size didn’t define who I was but it did affect my health. I’ve tried a variety of things in the past 10 years and not all of them are healthy or “green”.
I’ve done the over the counter diet pills but they made me feel jittery and I was always scared of side effects, so I would stop taking them. I’ve even had prescription medicine, Meridia, and despite the list of side effects, I had zero and it did help curb my appetite.
5 Green Reads
I love to read. If you’ve read my blog, you know this because I allude to it often. I read parenting books, fiction and now going green titles. Last week, I wrote about how to start going green and I thought it would be a great follow up to recommend some of my favorite green reads that have helped me on my journey, thus far. I’m sure my list will continue to grow. Mind you, these aren’t all the books that I’ve read but I’ve compiled my top five reads for the new greenie. A few are downloadable from Eco Brain where you can just download the book onto your desktop or laptop and save a tree.
Ready, Set, Go: Your Green Getting Started Guide
When I had my son, four years ago I was far from green, but my husband was–kind of. He was the one that hassled me to recycle or to not go over board on purchasing and consumption. I was the wife that threw the soup can out verses cleaning it and recycling. Sorry, but I just wasn’t in to it and frankly, I didn’t get it. Now, I’ve got it. Funny thing is, it took having my second child for me to wrap my head around toxic chemicals and how bad they are and how I want to be more earth friendly.
