Green Parenting

Parenting as we all see it is a cumbersome task which irrefutably pays off in the end. However, some fear that they may fail miserably as parents. Nurturing children stretches far beyond the routine of changing diapers and singing lullabies. Moreover, there is a growing concern about the ever increasing expenses that accompany the mundane responsibility of parenting. Then, panic may arise with regards to safeguarding a baby’s environment and keeping it clean. In such case scenarios, one must resort to the phrase- “when there is a will, there is a way”. Introduce yourself to the art of ‘Green Parenting’! As the world raises a hue and cry about global warming and environmental degradation, teach your children to conserve the energy and resources of our planet! You will be amazed with how easy it can be to appropriately utilize the available resources without causing mother earth much harm. Remember, that your child is the future of the world. Inculcate them with environmental friendly habits and may they be so proud of their actions that they pass it on for generations to come. Here are a few ideas to aid you in the process of green parenting.

Green Parenting Tips

Pure Wash 

Babies dirty. Babies spill. Babies throw up. All in all, a giant mess is inevitable when there is a baby in your house. And as you work your way through scrubbing clean the tarnished surfaces, keep an eye for the right eco-friendly detergents! Do away with nasty chemicals that manipulate the air you and your baby breathe, and use vinegar instead. Vinegar is a mild acid that cuts through grease, disinfects and discourages mould. Steering clear of all the commercial and harsh chemicals keeps the groundwater clean, hence safe drinking water! Also, some cleaning products trigger asthma in many children.  

Cheap, Homemade And Second Hand Toys 

Toys are fun and endow toddlers with an odd sense of security. But these plastic moulded objects last for barely months and are soon tossed into the bin! Let alone the waste of money, the damage that one plastic toy could cause to the environmental cycle is mortifying! Don’t splurge unnecessarily on mindless toys. Perhaps, a bunch of parents and kids could gather and organize a sale and swap of toys meet. Creating games for kids as they grow is a fantastic source of entertainment and a phenomenal way of educating them. Be it cards or a second hand board game, you are taking the greener route to parenting!

Recycled clothing

Sad but true, the cotton industry has a catastrophic impact on the environment! By merely accepting hand-me-downs from a relative or friend, you are doing a really good deed. Swallow your pride and resist the urge to splurge. Of course you may want to pamper your child with materialistic things. Contribute to green parenting and watch the textile mills churn at an astonishingly slower speed. When buying new clothes, avoid polyester, acrylic, rayon, acetate, triacetate and nylon. Always hand over your old clothes to a charity house, it’s a good feeling!

Nature Bath 

The market is flooded with good natural organic baby skincare products. Nevertheless, it is recommended you try out the wonderful baby bath mix that will leave baby’s skin feeling silky smooth. Blend a cup of oats in a food processor and sprinkle them into the bathtub! Baptize your baby into an eco-friendly world! Cleanse him or her of every speck of impurity!

Re-Usable Nappies

By all means, avoid disposable nappies! They use 20 times more raw materials, three times more energy, twice as much water, and generate 60 times more waste than cotton nappies. Furthermore, they largely contain harmful chemicals. 

Two Years Of Breastfeeding

Not only is the physical and emotional health of babies protected, but the food miles, packaging time, cleaning products and money all greatly plummet with an increase in breastfeeding. The ‘World Health Organization’ (WHO) recommends two years of breastfeeding. This may be quite a challenging task, but after six months, one feed a day sufficiently provides important antibodies.

Fruits Of Nature 

Teach your kids to be one with nature. Convey to them the beauty of connecting with nature. May they encourage the trees and plants around us to flourish. Do not buy them books. Let them resort to library books and hence, save the trees we need to breathe! Teach them to use rain barrels. Something like a 55 gallon drum to catch the rainwater is a beautiful and innovative technique of rainwater harvesting. Buy them bicycles and let them know that it is the greenest way to travel.