When my husband and I toured schools to find the one we wanted to enroll our daughter in, I’m sure I was silently voted one of the strangest parents ever. Why do I feel I was secretly endowed with this title? Because every room and hallway we were taken through, I sniffed. A lot. And, according to my husband, I wasn’t terribly discreet.

I didn’t have a cold or postnasal drip. And, I’m not part bloodhound. I was simply concerned about the indoor air quality. My daughter was prone to respiratory illnesses and I wanted to be sure the school she would be attending would support and protect her growing lungs in addition to her brain. For many air quality issues, your nose knows, so I was using the easiest tool I had to gauge how healthy the environment was.

Back then, I was part of a very fringe minority of parents concerned about toxics in our everyday environments. Today, the movement is much larger and there are many more opportunities for creating cleaner, greener, safer school environments. Here are just a few:

Global Green USA Green School Makeover Contest. Global Green USA is working to ensure that every child has the opportunity to learn in a healthier, greener school. Their Green School Makeover Competition, as presented by Pureology, gives you the chance to help a school in your area by nominating it for a Green School Makeover. Go to Green School Contest to enter your school (by September 30th) and learn more. In December 2011, Global Green will announce one grand prize winner to receive $65,000 to renovate their school, plus approximately $65,000 of in-kind technical assistance, and fourschools will each receive $2,500 towards their green school renovations.

Whole Kids Foundation School Garden Grant Program. The newly established Whole Kids Foundation has launched the School Garden Grant Program initiative to educate students on healthy eating habits, sustainability conservation and community awareness. The organization has teamed with Whole Foods Market and FoodCorps to provide grants of $2,000 to grant school garden wishes throughout the U.S., UK and Canada. To date, they have raised more than $708,000 for the School Garden Grant Program! Do you know a school in need? Applications will be accepted through December 31, 2011. Visit Whole Kids Foundation for more details.

Episencial 2011 Green Your School Grant Preschool Program. Episencial has partnered with Ecomom, CleanWell, Revolution Foods and Eco-Kids to offer more than $30,000 in green goods and funds through the 2011 Green Your School Grant Preschool Program. For more information, visit Episencial.

Woolly School Gardens. Woolly Pockets is helping plant modular gardens at schools across the nation through their Woolly School Gardens program. Schools just need to have one teacher or manager to oversee the program, a sunny wall or fence and $1,000 to get their own outdoor garden. The garden comes complete with 50 Woolly Pockets, do-it-yourself hardware and instructions, premium soil, organic seeds, compost tea, a planting chart and gardening manual and Nutrition and Garden Curriculum Lessons. For schools that don’t have the budget, Woolly provides easy fundraising suggestions and an online fundraising platform that schools may use to raise funds for their garden. Their goal is to help thousands of more schools land their own gardens over the next year. Learn more at Woolly School Gardens.

More Resources:

Teens Turning Green Project Green Challenge - The Project Green Challenge seeks to engage high school and college students across the country and inspire them to transition “from conventional to conscious,” via a 30-day green lifestyle Challenge.

National Walk to School Day - This year Healthy Child is supporting EveryBody Walk http://everybodywalk.org/ and National Walk to School Day because walking (or biking) is not only great for promoting health, but it’s also a way to reduce air pollution created by vehicle exhaust. Walk more. Pollute less. Breathe easier!

Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution - Get the facts, find support, and start a campaign to improve your school’s food using the tools and resources the Jamie Oliver Foundation has developed.

Healthy Schools Network - This national non-profit is working to create healthier school environments for all children. They coordinate a coalition of over 400 partners, provide a wealth of information and referral services, and coordinate the National Healthy Schools Day every April. Host your own event to raise awareness of the issue and launch a local effort to improve school environments.

The Green Flag Program - The Center for Health, Environment and Justice coordinates this student-led program to make schools healthier places to work and learn. This flexible three-step program will help you advance your schools environmental behaviors and become a shining example to others. Achieve recognition for all the good work your school already does, and improve your program with the support of teachers and field experts across the country.

Do you have any resources, opportunities, or tips to share?

Read more from Healthy Child Healthy World here.

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It’s summertime and the weeds are growing like, um, weeds. Instead of reaching for a toxic chemical that could be harmful to your family or pets, try one of these easy natural ways to kill weeds quick.
1. Use mulch to smother weeds.

Covering garden soil with a mulch blocks weeds. Use two or three inches of shredded bark, wood chips, straw, cocoa bean hulls, gravel or rocks. The mulches will also keep moisture in the soil so you’ll have to water less frequently.
2. Douse weeds with boiling water.

Weeds, like humans, will burn if exposed to boiling water. This method also kills weed seeds.
3. Soap weeds to death.

Mix 5 tablespoons of liquid soap (such as dishwashing liquid) in one quart (4 cups) of water in a spray bottle. Coat the weeds with the soapy water. Works best on hot days.
4. Pickle weeds with vinegar.

Pour household vinegar into a spray bottle and evenly coat weeds with it. U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists recently confirmed this in tests. Vinegar is really five percent acetic acid in water, and it burns the plant, especially on sunny days. For extra strength weed killer, look for pickling vinegar, which is nine percent acetic acid. Don’t get the vinegar on your garden plants, as it can kill them too.
5. Give weeds a stiff drink of alcohol.

Mix one to five tablespoons of alcohol – depending on how stubborn the weeds are – with one quart (4 cups) of water in a spray bottle. Shower weeds with the spray. Don’t let the alcohol get on garden plants as it may damage their leaves.
6. Don’t let ‘em sprout!

Use corn meal gluten as a pre-emergent herbicide and fertilizer. Corn meal gluten prevents weeds from growing, then breaks down to provide nitrogen to your plants or lawn. Use it on lawns or established perennial beds, as it won’t kill already growing plants. That does mean, of course, that it won’t work on already existing weeds.
What are your non-toxic tips for killing weeds?
Learn more:

Easy Tips To Battle Bugs Without Toxic Pesticides

Parents Share Their Favorite Natural Bug Remedies

Ten Non-Toxic Tips To Keep Bugs From Biting (And Four For If They Do)
Healthy Child Healthy World ignites the movement that empowers parents to protect children from harmful chemicals. No one can do everything, but everyone can do something. Together, we can change the world.

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Processed and packaged foods are a convenient choice for today’s busy families, but they’re loaded with strange additives to control color, flavor, smell, nutrition, texture, and shelf life. (Thus, the impossible to pronounce ingredients lists!) Some are okay, and some should be avoided, especially with kids since they are uniquely vulnerable.

Limit your child’s intake of food additives by following these easy steps:

Identify what your child eats

Keep a food diary for a week, noting everything that is eaten – including at school. At the end of the week, you should have a good idea of your child’s exposure to food additives. Food additives are largely present in processed and packaged foods, candy, soda and other “junk” food, so if you limit those foods, you’ll cut down considerably.

Eat whole foods

Eating a balanced diet of fresh produce and whole grains will go a long way towards keeping additives out of your child’s system. Whole foods are much healthier than processed and packaged. But, if you do buy processed foods, look for the organic options which have little or no added synthetic colors or preservatives.

Read Labels

According to pediatrician, Dr. Alan Greene, be especially attentive to the top five risky additives:

1. Artifical Colors – anything that begins with FD&C (e.g. FD&C Blue No. 1)
2. Chemical Preservatives – Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA), Sodium Nitrate, Sodium Benzoate
3. Artificial Sweeteners – Aspartame, Acesulfame-K, Saccharin
4. Added Sugar – High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Corn Syrup, Dextrose, etc
5. Added Salt – Look at the sodium content and choose foods with the lowest amounts.

Additionally, according to the Center for Science in the Public Interest, some of following additives have been associated with negative health impacts:

Propyl Gallate
Sulfites (Sulfur Dioxide, Sodium Sulfite, Sodium And Potassium Bisulfite, Sodium and Potassium Metabisulfite)
Potassium Bromate
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil
Potassium Bromate
Olestra (Olean)
Heptylparaben
Sodium Nitrite

If you have a question about any food ingredient, dietary supplement or cosmetic contact the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Nutrition, 888-SAFEFOOD.

Report Adverse Reactions

Alert your health care provider to any adverse reactions to find out if your child has special sensitivities or allergies. These reports are also often compiled for health agencies to monitor the safety of ingredients. If too many adverse impacts are reported, regulatory action may be necessary.

Learn more:
Eat Healthy
Just Say No to Blue, Green, Red and Yellow
6 Steps to Reduce Exposure to Synthetic Hormones in Food

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Baby food mill

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Enlist Your Kids!

I was recently speaking to a pediatrician about the risks of toxics in everyday products and what we do at Healthy Child. One of the things I mentioned we recommend to parents is making their own cleaners.

He scoffed at me like I had said the most preposterous thing ever – “Parents don’t have time to MAKE cleaners!”

I had to bite my tongue. Hard. And, after a brief pause I gave him a saccharin smile and said, “I’m a busy parent and it’s never been hard for me – and I know A LOT of other parents who do it, too.”

Have you made the switch yet? I know more and more parents who are – not only because it’s better for their family’s health and the environment, but also because it’s a lot cheaper.

Here are my 5 favorite, easy steps to keep your home clean safely:

Go with H2O

Water is the universal solvent and many everyday jobs are easily and effectively addressed with a damp rag. Try it for dusting, wiping water-spattered vanities, spot-cleaning floors, and more.

Buy 5 simple staples

Keep your cleaning cupboard stocked with safe power-houses like:

Liquid soap: a plant-based soap like castile soap.

Distilled white vinegar. Note that while vinegar has a slight scent while wet, when dry, it leaves no odor. (Read about The Wonders of White Vinegar.)

Baking soda. (Check out these 61 uses for baking soda.)

Salt. (Here are 10 Ways to Clean with Salt.)

Essential oils

A little goes a long way for both adding a nice scent to your cleaning and, more importantly for disinfecting. According to Annie B. Bond,“There are many essential oils, such as lavender, clove, and tea tree oil (an excellent natural fungicide), that are very antiseptic, as is grapefruit seed extract, even though they aren’t registered as such. Use one teaspoon of essential oil to 2 cups of water in a spray bottle (make sure to avoid eyes). A grapefruit seed extract spray can be made by adding 20 drops of extract to a quart of water.”

Make a Wonder Spray

Mix up an easy, all-purpose spray. I have a very random recipe that we use for almost everything: a couple cups of water, a couple squirts of liquid soap, a splash of vinegar and a few drops of essential oil. You can find tons of variations on-line.

Use baking soda for baked on grime

This is one of my favorite tips because it’s so easy and because oven cleaners are some of the most noxious cleaners available. Simply spray the bottom of your oven with water. Sprinkle baking soda over the area. Spray with a little more water and let it sit overnight. Spray it again with water in the morning and wipe away baked on grime with no sweat or tears. This also works great for baking sheets.

Enlist the kids

I’ve had my daughters helping clean since they were two years old – and at that age it’s fun for them. The sooner you get them engaged in the responsibilities of taking care of your home, the better. I used to just give them spray bottles with just water and direct them to various surfaces. (Be sure to label bottles clearly.) Whether or not they were always helpful (sometimes mom has to follow behind to do a little “touching-up”), they felt empowered helping me, and they learned basic skills and tricks over time to tackle projects on their own.

Just a few months ago I was grumbling about having to clean our grease-spattered stovetop. My 10 year-old piped up, “Mom, can I do it? I’ve seen you do it so many times and I want to try!”  I thought,  “Pinch me, slap me, hit me with a board – am I dreaming??” No. She did it. And the sparkles gleaming off of it were almost audible. Ting. Ting.

Note: ALL cleaners, whether homemade or store bought, and cleaning ingredients should be kept safely away out of the reach of children and pets in locked cabinets or high places.

What are your favorite tips? Do your kids help?

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Photo by Mr Phil Price

Even if you’ve never done it before. Even if you think you don’t have the time. Even if you don’t have a yard. Even if you have a brown thumb. Really. There’s no excuse and the results are so gratifying: cheap, healthy food; eating the fruits of your own labor; the look of awe in your friends’ eyes when you bring homegrown culinary delights to the next potluck.

So, for all of you greenhorn gardeners, here are four tips for getting started.

1. Pick a pot and a place. You don’t need green acres or a plow to have a healthy harvest. You don’t even need to have a yard. You can grow a wide variety of herbs, vegetables, and even fruits in containers (on your roof, fire escape, patio, or windowsill). R.J. Ruppenthal, author of Fresh Food from Small Spaces: The Square-Inch Gardener’s Guide to Year-Round Growing, Fermenting, and Sprouting, even has tips for using closets and empty bathtubs. Your only limitation is your imagination.
2. Start simple. Ensure immediate success by beginning with surefire winners like herbs, sprouts and lettuce. Take it up a tiny notch by growing a pizza garden (basil, oregano, cherry tomatoes) or a salsa garden (cilantro, onion, tomatoes, peppers). There are specific varieties of vegetables and fruits that fare best in containers. You can find a list of them and the specific size of container they need at Garden Guides.
3. Enjoy the experiment. Gardening is all about experimentation and even the most adept grower sometimes has a failed crop. It doesn’t mean you have a brown thumb. Keep a journal of your successes and failures (including details like type of container, type of soil, lighting conditions, watering schedule, etc), so you won’t make the same mistake twice.
4. Get some help. Pick up some books from your library, like Organic Crops in Pots by Deborah Schneebeli-Morrell. Join the growing community of home gardeners by visiting websites like www.gardenaut.com. Call your local extension services with questions (for some immediate troubleshooting tips visit Texas University Extension Services).

I remember when I was a child and we had a small garden. The tomatoes were amazing. They were so delicious we would sprinkle a bit of sugar on them and eat them for dessert. Children eating tomatoes for dessert. Today parents share all sorts of tips for trying to get kids to eat their vegetables and even adults rarely eat the recommended amount of vegetables every day. Maybe it wouldn’t take so much effort if the vegetables actually tasted like they’re supposed to, flavorful and delicious. Once you taste your own homegrown organic produce, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. So, do it. Grow your own.

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• Sweat it out. At least three times a week (but ideally every day), work up a good sweat. Exercise is the healthiest thing you can do for your body for a variety of reasons, and when sweat comes out, toxins do too. No need to get a gym membership, make it simple family fun by taking a vigorous hike or bike ride together.
• Flush it out. Drink plenty of water every day, especially before, during, and after exercising (drop in a wedge of lemon for added benefits). Eat cruciferous vegetables (like broccoli, cauliflower, and cabbage) and high fiber foods to keep your systems flowing.
• Love your liver. Your liver is your body’s toxin filter. Keep it healthy by limiting alcohol, caffeine, refined sugars, saturated fats and medication. Look into herbs or supplements to support general liver health. (Talk to your physician before starting supplements or herbs).
• Relax. Your mental well-being is inherently connected to your overall health. Stress slows down detoxification, among other things. Keep family stress levels low, so all your body’s systems are in prime working condition, by taking time to cuddle and read with your kids, or by doing yoga and meditation together.
• Breathe deeply. Oxygen is essential to cleansing and feeding your body’s cells. Whenever you think of it throughout the day, take some deep cleansing breaths to oxygenate your body.
• Soothe. According to Diana Carswell at the Washington Post: “the body can efficiently expel toxins through the pores of the skin. To hasten this process, combine in a bath 1 cup of Epsom salts and 1 to 2 tablespoons of an essential oil, such as lemon, jojoba, rosemary or olive. The ingredients’ stimulating properties naturally draw toxins out. (Just be sure to test the oil first to make sure you’re not allergic by applying a small amount to the underside of your forearm.) Another option is to exfoliate the skin, which increases respiration and removes toxins. Combine 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1 tablespoon cornmeal and several drops almond oil with enough milk to form a paste. Apply by hand to the entire body (excluding the face) with gentle, circular motions. Rinse, then brush the skin using a loofah or sponge.”

Aaaaaahh…..These tips will not only help you detoxify your body, incorporating them into your daily life will also lead to greater overall health and happiness. Enjoy!

Note: While these tips are applicable to your entire family, more extreme detox diets are not intended for children or pregnant women.

This was originally posted at Healthy Child Healthy World. Read more from Janelle there, on Twitter, or on Facebook.

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