Good Parenting

As people begin to acknowledge how their behavior impacts the world, ecological consciousness is becoming a popular trend. Parents have the responsibility to teach their children the importance of the environment and the impact it will have on their lives and futures. A few easy steps at home will develop an appreciation of personal action and global awareness in your child. Instilling earth-friendly ideas and behaviors in your children helps make these steps part of their day to day lives.

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A major step that you can take is to use cloth diapers. Many new parents overlook the idea of using cloth diapers but it’s one that’s certainly worth consideration. Cloth diapering is becoming popular once again and is proving to have several advantages over disposable diapers – including being more cost effective and more convenient. The new cloth diapers are not your grandparentÂ’s cloth diapers. Cloth diapers are now very stylish and even have cute patterns and designs. Modern cloth diapers use snaps or Velcro style closures so you don’t need to worry about the old-fashioned diaper pins. They are very cost-effective over disposable diapers since you use them again and again, and there are even one size cloth diapers that will last your child from the day they are born to the day they are potty trained. This can amount to an enormous cost saving. It has become easier to use cloth diapers while going out or if your child is daycare with the modern day wet bags – stylish, smaller bags designed to contain wetness and odor that you put your cloth diaper in until you get home and throw it in the washing machine.

Your entire family can participate in reducing or even eliminating the use of paper products. As convenient as they are, large volumes of paper products are not friendly to the environment. Choosing to reduce the number of times your family uses disposable plates is an environmentally-aware choice, eliminating them entirely from your use is even better! It is a good idea to use regular plates instead of the paper products. And instead of using paper towel and napkins use dish towels and cloth napkins that, instead of being thrown away, can be tossed into the washing machine when soiled. Not only will you be helping with environmental savings but you’ll also see savings in your weekly shopping.

The most cost effective and green way to feed babies starting solids is to make your own baby food. ItÂ’s easy as well. While at the grocery store you can purchase organic fruits and veggies and some ice cube trays. Dice the fruit or vegetables and puree in your food processor or blender. After they’re adequately pureed, pour the mixture into the ice tray and freeze. Once they are frozen pop them out into baggies. When it’s time for your baby to eat you can take a cube out of the freezer and allow to thaw naturally or microwave it for 10 to 15 seconds. When you make your own baby food, you not only know how fresh the food items are but you also can reuse all the items required to make and store the food as well.

The environment can even be effected by the toys your child plays with. Unfortunately, the processes used to manufacture children’s toys is not eco-friendly. Some are even proving to be dangerous to children. Wooden toys or stuffed animals made with organic cotton can be purchased instead of non biodegradable plastic ones. Knitting or crocheting a toy for your baby is always a great option. A book is always a good choice. For obvious reasons books will increase your childÂ’s brain power and imagination, but books can also be recycled when they are outgrown.

You and your family can be proactive in hundreds of ways to make your household as earth friendly as possible. The adage “reduce, reuse, recycle” can easily be applied to your daily activities.Always explain the reason of these actions to your children so they can develop their own understanding how every person has an influence on the planet. And let them know that it’s their future which they are protecting when they take a few simple actions today.

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This entry was posted on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 2:11 pm and is filed under Good Parenting.