• Overview
• Food
• Baby Care
• Hazards & Threats
• News
• Our Purpose
• Prevention
• Products
• Sustainability & Lifestyle
• All Articles
• All Videos

Blog

Parenthood today has, to some degree, become about acquiring mounds of new stuff. A generation or two ago, kids would lie peacefully in cradles or play with a few handmade toys (or whatever items they could scrounge up around the house) while mom went about her business, with no beeping electrical pulses or lights to distract them.

On one level much of this can be chalked up to advancement: Thank goodness for car seats with five-point harnesses; and, who knows, maybe those sound and light shows really do create baby Einsteins. But on another level this behavior is far from logical, since much of what we buy is made from hunks of plastic, which creates pollution in its manufacturing, may release fumes into the home, and sits in landfills until kingdom come.

The challenge for parents is to exert some restraint in what they buy for their kids – and for themselves. Many of the gadgets we feel we must have to simplify the tasks of parenting inevitably complicate things (wipes warmer, anyone?) and we too often end up acquiring toys and clothes that our kids don’t need or even want that badly – or, even when they do, tire of quickly. These things clutter the house, collect dust and other allergens, contain chemicals our kids are at risk for ingesting…and then they become landfill. I remember the panicky feeling of looking at a baby gift registry in the weeks before Luke was born, wondering on one hand whether we’d checked off enough stuff to be prepared for the frenzy of new parenthood, and on the other, feeling dismayed over the wastefulness, not to mention anxious about how the heck we would find room for all our new acquisitions.

I know I must sound like a killjoy. Yet the antidote is genuinely easy, and a boon to the whole family. For one, buy less. For another, buy better: Introduce less stuff that might inadvertently compromise your children’s development or physical health. Before you shop, ask yourself why you’re getting something. Is it wanted? Needed? Or has a marketer convinced your child that he or she really wants and needs it?

 
Find Out More:

• Let’s Tweet about Safer Toys! Thursday June 10 at 6pmPST – RSVP to win prizes!
• The Absolute Greatest Guide to Green Gifts for Kids
• Secondhand Safety

Taken from Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home. Reprinted by arrangement with Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Copyright © 2009 by Healthy Child Healthy World. Learn Christopher’s top 10 tips for finding safer toys, gear and clothing by picking up a copy of our book!

More comments:

Print this page | Email a friend