Learn now, before it gets out of hand
One of this last seasons more inventive shows was NBC’s The Baby Borrowers. Not only were they able to avoid major conflict as a result of the writer’s strike, but the show brought up an excellent point about raising children in present day America.
Most people don’t know how!
As children, we spend our time going through schooling and learning our core educational requirements, english, writing, math, science, and history. Sex education is even taught vigorously in most districts.
Though our education system seems to have forgotten the importance of knowing how to raise a child, or maintain a family. They teach us how to create but not how to deal with the results. That’s mainly why The Baby Borrowers is such a great show.
If you’re looking at starting a family, rather than signing up for the show (honestly, I’d have a heart attack too if I was caring for a young one and being filmed while doing it…), talk to your friends that have kids. Even go as far as offering to babysit them a couple times.
They can get free babysitting for a night out (yeah!) and you get a test baby to trial your ambitions with. I can’t think of many better options around!
One of the best things you can do for your child is teaching them how to eat well. It’s one of those lessons that will last with throughout their entire life.
It’s also the best way to keep them healthy in general. When you eat well, your body has the correct amounts and types of foods it needs in order to most easily operate during the day.
Tips (2-3 Years +)
- Eat a variety of foods
- Eat a high grain, vegetable and fruit diet
- Balance eating with physical activity
- Minimize sugars and salts
- Foods with enough calcium and iron, kids need this
- Minimize fats and cholesterols
If you’re an eco-minded parent, disposable shouldn’t even be a part of your vocabulary.
They’re uncomfortable (really, would you wear one of those things?), made with non-degradable plastics, and cannot be recycled.
And if you’ve found a way to recycle these things, you’ve already jumped the first hurdle to make the transition to cloth diapers.
My favorite organic cloth diapers
My mom dressed me in huggies. My mom’s mom most likely dressed her in cloth diapers because huggies weren’t invented yet. I don’t know how my grandmother could have survived without piles of disposable diapers at her, um, disposal.
I, will be dressing my kids with the classic cloth diaper. These days you can still get a traditional sized cloth sheet that you’ll pin together but there are also ones pre-cut to fit around your infant and velcro in the front.
I opt for the latter because they’re considerably easier, yet still good for the environment.
Did you know?
If you use disposables:
- Your child will use nearly 10,000 diapers by the time they’re fully potty trained (that’s expensive!)
- Disposables, once in the landfills leech bacterias into the ground from the human feces that otherwise would be taken care of properly in the waste system (ie. toilet)
Check out this article from 1988. Those statistics are 20 years old. You can bet that the state of things is even worse today.
Add that onto the fact that we’ve become even more dependent on disposable products and plastics in general and we definitely have a mess there.
Trendy Japanese-styled clothing.
Organic Cotton Japonesk Baby Round Kimono
Sckoon is an amazing organic clothing retailer so I thought I’d mention one of my favorite baby outfits.
I love Japanese design. It’s simple in though and implementation and simply looks amazing. That’s where I begin to really like this sweet baby kimono.
Organic Cotton Japonesk Baby Round Kimono - $36.00
Take a look around. They have some amazing products and I’ll be on the lookout for any new ones.
USDA organic symbol
In order to keep your baby completely safe, there are some things you need to know about organic food labeling.
The USDA organic food certification system is completely volutary and at expense of the producer so many small farmers or producers may choose not to participate.
Single ingredient products such as milk or eggs bear the USDA organic symbol whereas multi ingredient foods are categorized using the following system:
100% Organic
Foods with this classification are made with 100% organic ingredients and may display the USDA organic symbol. Salt and water aren’t included.
Organic
These products contain 95-99% organic ingredients by weight. The remaining ingredients are not available organically but have been approved by the National Organics Program. These products might display the USDA organic seal.
Made with Organic Ingredients
Products with this label must contain 70-94% organic ingredients. These products cannot display the organic symbol but may list up to three organic ingredients on the front of the packaging.
Other
Products with less than 70% organic ingredients may only list organic ingredients on the information panel of the packaging.
Natural
Products with the term natural are unregulated. That doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be bought. Extra care just needs to be taken when deciding to buy these products because no proof of the claim is required.
They’re those little red or white bumps that make it so hard to take a good photo. Whether it’s your newborn infant or 13 year old teenager!
Baby acne is just like the acne we get as teenagers and is usually caused by a change in the production of hormones prior to delivery. The hormones cause an increase in oil production, which causes the acne. It’s otherwise known as neonatal acne. It can also be caused by bad nutrition or oily skin.
Baby acne is perfectly normal and occurs in roughly 40% of infants. It doesn’t last long and usually goes away within a few months.
What should parents do?
Keep the skin clean but don’t disturb the pimples. They will go away on their own. Don’t use acne creams or oils unless your pediatrician tells you to. Rarely they may get infected. If so, contact your pediatrician and follow their directions.
