BPA in bottles!
GMOS in baby food!
Toxic chemicals in toys!
Disposable diapers are the devil!
Raising a healthy kid in today’s polluted world is anything but easy.
Every parent wants the best for their child, and if you happen to be an eco-conscious parent, the stakes are even higher. You have both your children and the planet that they’ll someday inherit to worry about.
The struggle to protect our children while also being a good child of Mother Nature is front and center in a new book aimed at helping green-minded navigate the often shifting landscape of healthy parenting.
Called Spit That Out! The OverlyInformedParents Guide to Raising Healthy Kids In The Age OfEnvironmentalGuilt, the bookis part parenting handbook, part autobiography, and overflowing with humorous stories that all parents will relate to.
With chapters like “The Precarious World Of Poo Maintenance” and “Can I Afford To Be This Conscious?” author Paige Wolf seeks to cut through the avalanche of conflicting information, providing parents with humorous anecdotes full of useful tips for staying sane and healthy in an increasingly toxic world.
Chock full of staggering statistics (more than 50 of the one million annual child deaths from acute respiratory infections are attributable to indoor air pollution); hilarious realizations (“Goldfish feel to me like a gateway drug to toddler junk food”); and advice from green living experts (never buy plastic toys with the numbers 3, 6 and 7 on them, they’re likely to leak dangerous chemicals and can’t be recycled), Spit That Out!is aninformative read whether you’re a parent yet or not.
Care2 recently caught up withWolf, an eco-chic green living expert, blogger and advocate, to learn more about what she hopes parents will gain from reading her book.
Care2: What inspired you to write this book?
Wolf: “When I was pregnant with my first child I was overwhelmed by all the conflicting information and constant barrage of things to worry about! What was in the food, the cleaning products, the shampoo, the toys? Could we pull off cloth diapers and breastfeeding? Talking with other new parents I realized I was not the only one up Googling these things every night. Many of us feel paralyzed by all of the eco-anxiety and green guilt and I wanted to find straight answers and real ways to make green and healthy living more manageable, practical and affordable. The book is part commiseration/part solution!”
Care2:What’s the biggest life change (eco-wise) you made when you become a parent?
Wolf:I was making small changes for years leading up to becoming a parent. It started with just basic recycling and then composting, eating a more natural and organic diet and swapping out personal care products. I dont know that there was a specific switch that happened in correlation with becoming a parent it has been more like making more small changes and upgrades everyday.
“For instance, I remember thinking I had gotten rid of all the nonstick pans years ago and it suddenly occurred to me that my George Foreman grill was coated in Teflon. Opening a cabinet and saying, Why are we still buying conventional raisins? Its a constant learning experience and balancing act trying to create a more sustainable and health-conscious home while also making peace with the fact that my kids are going to find a way to eat Munchkin Donut holes at least three times a week.”
Care2:What’s one thing “green” parents stress about that you wish they wouldn’t?
Wolf: “There isnt really one thing its just the greater idea of doing everything perfectly. We all have our parenting differences. Some of us feel guilty for not breastfeeding long enough or at all, others for not cloth diapering and many for not feeding our kids organic all the time. Its important that we dont ignore the significance of these things and at least TRY to make an effort, but we also have to realize that we cant live in a bubble. We have to do the best we can with the opportunities available to us. Fortunately, though, many of these opportunities are becoming more accessible and affordable.”
Care2:What’s THE most important piece of advice you’d give to environmentally-minded parents in today’s world?
Wolf: “Perfect is unattainable but better is always possible.”
Connect with Spit That Out! author Paige Wolf on Facebook, Twitteror Instagram.
Spit That Out! The OverlyInformedParents Guide to Raising Healthy Kids In The Age OfEnvironmentalGuilt is available wherever books are sold.
Image Credit: Thinkstock
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.
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Survival Tips For Green Parents Dealing With Information Overload
