WE have had so many neat submissions on different topics that are important to creating a healthy family…here are five that demonstrate a different value we have:
Breastfeeding
Babywearing
Babywearing on a hike
Co-sleeping
Green Living
Whole Food (and french fries!)
Night Owl eating out – nothing on the menu appealed to him, so he ordered his own smorgasbord for lunch!
Can you tell our nail polish is well-loved?
Have you ever thought about the nail polish you use for yourself, and your children?
Changing your nail polish product is another simple “green” shift you can make in your family’s choices. Doing so will allow you to avoid some biggie toxins being absorbed right into your child’s bloodstream. Here are some ingredients that are commonly found in conventional nail polishes that you may want to avoid in pregnancy, and for your children once they are earthside:
In our house, anyone who wants their finger nails painted is sitting down for a weekly polish change in Puma’s room. Since it is used often and liberally, we are definitely keeping on the “green” side of things when it comes to nail polish.
As students of the Bradley Method®, we had a class devoted to avoiding harmful substances (now we teach that class!). It really opened our mind to all the subtle ways that toxins can enter our environment. One of the biggest culprits is personal care products. So, I stopped getting acrylic nails while I was pregnant, and started using Honeybee Garden when I was pregnant with Night Owl. Then Puma got old enough to have an opinion, and she wanted brighter colors. We have used Piggypaint, and now we have also added Hopscotch Kids (added bonus…local Phoenix mamapreneur!) to our polish collection. All three are free of the chemicals, and I know that Honeybee Garden is also free of the FD&C dyes.
New on the scene is Chrome Girl – two mamas in California are behind this company.
So what do you think? Have you considered switching over to non-toxic nail polishes? What are your favorite brands if you have made the switch?
We are this family on a journey to “green” our lives. The constant inspiration and motivation to live for wellness is our children. We want them to have the best opportunity to live long, healthy, lives, so we feel like their best opportunity begins by building healthy habits.
Recently, I wrote about wanting to “green” our household cleaners. Within the week of stating that goal publicly, we had an episode where one of the conventional cleaners our housekeeper used literally made Night Owl throw up – twice in the same day. After airing out the house, he felt better. That event definitely kicked me in the butt to make my desire to find greener cleaners into high gear, and turn it into a reality.
I will admit – I am a little afraid of our housekeeper. She is a no-nonsense type of gal, and she is very particular about the way things are done. On top of that, I don’t want to add more to her workload of cleaning for our family of six.
After fretting about it for a week, I finally came up with a solution. I printed up different recipes that I gleaned from our Learning to be Green Pinterest Board. I approached her with them the next time she cleaned for us. I asked her to look them over and share her thoughts. I told her I only wanted her to experiment with whatever appealed to her in the bathroom which we use the most. Almost all the surfaces are represented there: tile, wood, glass, and definitely areas that need disinfecting.
As it turns out, by honoring her area of expertise, explaining my concern, and asking for help, we got a win-win for everyone. She shared an idea that wasn’t on my list and will require no extra cleaners…just water and a good steamer. She also told me that if Night Owl was getting sick, she was not going to bother with the bathroom. She said she would do the whole house for us using the different recipes on the list I printed up.
I could have cried!!
So, in about the same amount of time that it usually takes her and her partner to clean the house, we got a “green” clean, the house smelled of refreshing peppermint from the Dr. Bronner’s castille soap, and no one threw up later on.
Lessons I am adding to the Tidbits & Soundbytes page: