After raising three kids and seeing how much waste there was in the toy industry, we said, “NO MORE,” and began making many of our children’s toys. An old box became a way to stimulate their creativity and recycle at the same time. They loved them and so did the neighborhood kids. It took about 17 years, but…voila…Imagination Box Co was born!

Made in the USA, Imagination Box Co. toys are completely recyclable and made from 45% post consumer materials.  Each set comes with watercolors, so that your child may decorate and assemble their own toy. For my eight-year-old daughter, it has provided hours of entertainment and excitement.

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The MobileHome is made from recycled cardboard, is biodegradable, five percent of profits are donated to UNICEF, and is made in China.  It has eight secret rooms and is easy to take with you to the park, on vacation, or around the house.  My children immediately integrated their other toys, including their children’s yoga mat,  into dramatic play with our MobileHome.

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Poot & Boogie Eco-Friendly Dolls

Poot & Boogie eco-friendly dolls are individually handcrafted from cotton and wool. The dolls are stuffed with corn-derived fiberfill, and each one is unique. These dolls are made in Aldergrove, BC, and they remind me of Raggedy Ann and the dolls children played with before plastic dominated the toy world.

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We have had the Child’s Cleaning Set in my preschool classroom for four years now, and it continues to be one of the most popular play items. Children often use the mop for fighting fires (perhaps they have heard the term “mop up” after local forest fires), and they use the broom to clean up sand from the sand table. Cleaning up your own messes is a natural consequence for spills, and the most effective way for children to learn responsibility. Learning life skills, such as cleaning, is also part the Montessori philosophy for early childhood education. According to Michael Olaf, an amazing source for Montessori materials,

I have heard parents exclaim in dismay that their child is “wasting time cleaning in her new Montessori school when she should be doing math!” However, math and all other intellectual work requires the ability to move carefully, to focus, to complete sequential steps, to concentrate, to make intelligent choices and to persevere in one’s work. This is exactly what is learned during practical life work. As a result of periods of time spent concentrating on such a task a child becomes calm and satisfied and, because of this inner peace, full of love for others.

Perhaps an even more important result of this work is that the child sees himself already as an important and contributing member of the group, and as an intimate friend, when he is welcome to participate in the work of the adult.

Magic Cabin’s Child’s Cleaning Set is made in the Netherlands, so no need to worry about Chinese manufactured goods with this purchase. The optional tool stand is made in the USA. With the holidays approaching, the Child’s Cleaning Set would make a great, practical gift.

With the explosion of toy recalls lately and information regarding the dangers of plastic toys, families are searching out safe, green toy alternatives. Previously, I wrote about Plan Toys rubber wood toys, which provide children with sustainably harvested toys; however, children need soft, cuddly play items, too. Silk scarves and dress-up clothes provide children with safe, natural toys that expand their imagination.

Preschool teachers and parents often complain that dress-up clothes are disorganized and difficult for children wear; however, all these dress-up clothes are not necessary. At a performing arts conference for teachers I attended, Play Silks were recommended as the only costume prop needed in the classroom or home. Children can make any costume using their imagination with Play Silks. Like blocks, they are truly open-ended, versatile, and limitless for play. In addition, silk is durable, soft, and aesthetically pleasing.

Play Silks are expensive, but you and your child get a lot for the money. At about $11 piece (you do get a discount for buying a set), their cost kept me from buying them for many years. I wanted to make my own set, but time slipped away, and I realized I never would get around to actually doing it (I still haven’t finished knitting the sweater I started for my daughter five years ago!). You can select plain silk scarves from Dharma Trading Company for anywhere between $1.00 and $4.00 and naturally dye them yourself to save money. Since purchasing a set of Play Silks, I am very pleased with how they have contributed to my daughter’s dramatic play. Our Play Silks are over a year old, and they show no signs of wear and tear.

Halloween is around the corner, and there are many great costumes made from natural silk. Magic Cabin offers many silk costumes for children, and these costumes are breathable and comfortable, unlike the vinyl costumes of my youth. Natural fabrics inspire children to explore life through their play, and a silk costume will long out live the Halloween holiday and be incorporated in your child’s ongoing dramatic play.

Toys made from natural fibers, such as silk, encourage meaningful play. Not only are these toys safe, but also they inspire children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Silk toys may be more expensive than their plastic, vinyl, or polyester counterparts, but parents can feel good about providing their children with natural toys that leave less of an impact on our environment and are safer for our children.

Only 3 days left to leave a comment and enter our monthly drawing for a hemp Eco Child’s Play bag. This will be our last monthly drawing for a hemp bag. Don’t miss your chance!

Preschool teachers and parents often complain that dress-up clothes are disorganized and difficult for children wear; however, all these dress-up clothes are not necessary. At a performing arts conference for teachers I attended, Play Silks were recommended as the only costume prop needed in the classroom or home. Children can make any costume using their imagination with Play Silks. Like blocks, they are truly open-ended, versatile, and limitless for play. In addition, silk is durable, soft, and aesthetically pleasing.

Play Silks are expensive, but you and your child get a lot for the money. At about $11 piece (you do get a discount for buying a set), their cost kept me from buying them for many years. I wanted to make my own set, but time slipped away, and I realized I never would get around to actually doing it (I still haven’t finished knitting the sweater I started for my daughter five years ago!). You can select plain silk scarves from Dharma Trading Company for anywhere between $1.00 and $4.00 and naturally dye them yourself to save money. Since purchasing a set of Play Silks, I am very pleased with how they have contributed to my daughter’s dramatic play. Our Play Silks are over a year old, and they show no signs of wear and tear.

Halloween is around the corner, and there are many great costumes made from natural silk. Magic Cabin offers many silk costumes for children, and these costumes are breathable and comfortable, unlike the vinyl costumes of my youth. Natural fabrics inspire children to explore life through their play, and a silk costume will long out live the Halloween holiday and be incorporated in your child’s ongoing dramatic play.

Toys made from natural fibers, such as silk, encourage meaningful play. Not only are these toys safe, but also they inspire children’s social, emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Silk toys may be more expensive than their plastic, vinyl, or polyester counterparts, but parents can feel good about providing their children with natural toys that leave less of an impact on our environment and are safer for our children.

My son received the Pirate Ship for Easter two years ago. This natural toy is still a favorite and great for the imagination. Our Pirate Ship did not come with the bottom of the treasure chest (just the lid), and the mast is broken. The mast can be repaired by purchasing a new dowel and attaching the sail and crow’s nest, but even without the mast, my children enjoy playing with the Pirate Ship

Magic Cabin offers an affordable, Small Waldorf Mermaid by Kathe Kruse. This doll is made of all natural cotton, wool, and mohair. The tail is removable, allowing the doll to live on land, as well as the sea of your child’s imagination. The detailing on the doll includes beading and shimmering threads. My daughter adores her Small Waldorf Mermaid, which makes the perfect travel companion due to her small size. Kathe Kruse makes natural toys you can feel good about!

The Plan Toys Crane Setcomes with a construction sign, a street sign, a cement mixer, two workers, etc. The Plan Toys Crane Setpivots around and picks up small items. Plan Toys offer many smaller toys that make wonderful additions to the Plan Toys Crane Set

Plan Toys is currently my favorite toy company! They are a socially responsible company that makes beautiful wooden toys. Their prices are more expensive than plastic toys, but their prices is lower than many other wooden toy companies. We will be reviewing many Plan Toys in the coming weeks, thanks to our recent birthday celebrations.

Only 2 days left to leave a comment and enter our monthly drawing for a hemp Eco Child’s Play bag.

Making your own doll takes between 6 to 12 hours, depending on your skills and your child’s involvement. Our doll took about 7 hours to make, including the dress. My six-year old daughter’s participation was limited to stuffing the wool into the body and winding the hair around a book, but she was attentive and watched me sew (and bounced around in excitement) during the whole process. Going to the fabric store to pick out the dress was also a fun experience for us.

The directions included in the Magic Cabin Doll Kit are very clear. I was never confused, although I do have lots of quilting and sewing experience, I have never made a doll. The most difficult part was feeding the elastic through the casing on the dress collar, but other than that, I was surprised at how smoothly the process was for our doll. The Magic Cabin Doll Kit does come with patterns to make five different articles of clothing.

Waldorf dolls typically are very simple, allowing your child’s imagination to fill in the details. The natural materials and soft wool stuffing, make this doll far superior to plastic ones. My daughter really appreciates this doll, and it has become her favorite one, replacing other Waldorf dolls we have purchased. She is old enough to appreciate the doll is handmade with love, and she showered me with compliments when I was sewing. She was amazed her mommy could create such a lovable toy, thanks to theMagic Cabin Doll Kit.

To read more, please visit Green Options: Green Family Values: Natural, Wooden Toys by Plan Toys.

Don’t forget, only four more days to leave a comment and enter our monthly drawing for a hemp Eco Child’s Play bag!

PORCHLIGHT:
A Family’s Weekly Guide to Reducing Your Impact on the Planet at Home

Written by Sonya K. Hess
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Child-Raising: Three ways to lighten your impact on the planet AND economize

Children have become a fad: grocery store tabloids map celebrity-babies’ every move, note who is riding in which tricked-out stroller, and remind us where so-and-so got her baby’s $300 shoes. But fads mean money spent on a constantly changing environment of style, one that only encourages over-consumption and overuse of already precious resources. Want to bring child rearing back to earth, and save money in the process?

1. SHOP SECOND-HAND

For some parents thrift stores may be a budget necessity, but regardless of your wallet, shopping thrift stores for kids has endless benefits. First, remind yourself that your child, at least for the first two years of her life, could care less what she wears, as long as it’s weather-appropriate. Reminding yourself of this can help you to care less too. Second, children’s second-hand clothes are rarely worn out or even stained, thanks to kids’ rapid growth, so your bargains are going to look and wear like practically new clothes. Someone is out there paying full dollar for those clothes, and you stand only to benefit. Third, most small- to mid-sized cities, to say nothing of metropolitan areas, are exploding with consignment shops for children’s clothes. These stores range from mega-cheap to highly selective, so whatever your style and budget, you can find a deal. And finally, buying second hand will really add up: if the average new outfit for a child at a large chain store runs about $25 and you find it for $10, you’ve saved $15 per outfit which can easily mean close to $100 for a week’s worth of clothes. Plus, with the resale options many consignment stores offer, your kids’ outgrown clothes can go right out the door again and earn you credit or cash in the end.

2. USE CLOTH DIAPERS

It’s funny how many people I’ve talked to say something like this: “I know I should try cloth diapers just like I should try to recycle and use less gas and minimize my waste, but it just sounds so hard.” Well, I’m about to show you that it isn’t—at least no harder than trudging out to the grocery store late at night for another package of disposables because you discover you’ve used the last one.

The Economics of Cloth Diapers

If no other reason convinces you, saving money should be a no-brainer. The average child will be in diapers for over two years, and a family’s monthly disposable diaper spending averages $35-55, depending on brands bought, as well as extra supplies (wipes, etc.). Sure, you make an initial investment with cloth diapers that can run anywhere from $150-$300, but even at the high end you’ve easily spent less in total than you would on even six or seven months of disposable diapers. And if you chose to have more than one child, remember that that investment will last you through all your kids, while a family adding a child adds another $35-50 spent, per month, on what is basically garbage.

**Want to learn more about the economics of cloth diapers, including detailed breakdowns of waste production and water use for disposables vs. cloth? Check out Punkin Butt’s wonderful article entitled The Diaper Dilemma: The Environmental Cost of Diapers.

Cloth diapering really can be easy

Think for a minute: wouldn’t you calmly explain to a friend that he/she was crazy for using paper plates and cups for every meal, and show them that using a sink or dishwasher is actually pretty handy? We use paper plates at company picnics because they make things easier, but at home it just makes sense to eat your pasta out of a bowl, wash the bowl, and use it for your cereal the next morning.

Now shift those thoughts over to diapers and clothing: we all do laundry already, right? Does it sound easy to you to do one more load, especially if you know you’re saving money and easing your burden on the earth? I hope so, because that’s what cloth diapering is: a little more laundry, and a lot less money.

Options for cloth diapers

The internet is full of options for those who choose cloth, and this article will give you the basics, as well as referring you to a host of websites that can teach you even more.

Sharp diaper pins and cracked plastic pants are a thing of the past. Cloth diapers come in two basic types: “prefold” diapers (your basic thick rectangle of cotton, folded into diaper shape) with a waterproof velcro- or snap-closure cover, and “all-in-one” diapers (AIOs in the diapering world) that are cover and soaker in one, held on with Velcro, snaps, or elastic. Beyond cotton innards and waterproof coverings, there are many fleece and wool choices as well, especially nice for babies with skin sensitivities.

The prefold route: probably the most savings—you buy 4-8 diaper covers in your baby’s size, as well as 2-4 dozen cloth “prefolds,” depending on how often you’d like to do laundry. The diaper covers can be used more than once, until they are overly wet or soiled, and then a quick hand wash and line dry has them ready to go again in several hours. The inner prefolds that handle the bulk of the urine and waste get rinsed and soaked or tossed in your diaper bin until laundry time.

AIO: you’ll spend more up front for these, because you need enough to get you through all the diaper changes for a couple days (unless you want to do laundry every night). Most folks choosing all-in-ones will buy 2-3 dozen in each size necessary, and wash all of them every third day or so.

Washing cloth diapers—getting down to business

Everyone will develop their own system for washing diapers, and many types of all-in-one diapers or diaper covers may come with their own set of washing instructions. The very basics are a bucket-soak or soak-cycle in your washer, either with vinegar or baking soda, followed by a hot wash/cold rinse, and then drying on the line or in a hot dryer. Since your washing machine will be doing most of the work, the only time you spend is getting diapers to and from the machine, and if you hire a diaper service to do the washing, even this task is cut out, although it really isn’t that much of a hassle.

**Still skeptical? Skim through another article from Punkin Butt’s wonderful website, this one entitled “Punkin Butt Easy Wash System: Simple and effective instructions for how to wash cloth diapers“.

Other concerns: daycare, reusable wipes, etc.
Concerned about how to integrate cloth diapers into your child’s daycare routine?
Heather Sanders’ article “Cloth Diapered Children and Day Care Providers” can be found at http://www.thediaperhyena.com/daycare_clothdiapering.htm. She covers a range of issues, from introducing cloth diapering to your daycare provider to the more complex legal and health-code issues associated with diapering and daycare centers.
Reusable wipes?
Just like the washcloths we use in the shower, wipes for baby’s bottom can easily be made from cloth and used endlessly—my mother still has a pile in her rag bag that get used in the garage, twenty-some years after the fact! Many cloth diapering websites sell their own special styles of flannel or terry reusable wipes; you can make your own or simply buy thin baby washcloths or second-hand washcloths to do the job. Count on getting about two dozen to make life easier.
Ready to get started?
The Internet will be your best friend as you collect your cloth diapering supplies. The websites listed below are only a guide to get started, as many others abound and a simple web search will turn up enough sites for you to compare prices and options. Ebay is also a great way to find new and used diaper covers and brand new prefold diapers for less money than many online stores. If you are lucky enough to live near a children’s supply store that stocks cloth diapering materials, visit them and support your local business. Many carry used diaper covers as well.
www.thediaperhyena.com
www.punkinbutt.com
www.diapersafari.com
www.babycottonbottoms.com
www.treecitydiapers.com

3. TOYS—Simplifying the Playroom

Nowhere is marketing to children more apparent than in the toy department. Aside from limiting your children’s exposure to television (most pediatricians recommend NO screen time for children under 2-3 years of age) you can exercise a certain amount of control over how many toys your child has, and what types of toys you allow into your home. Here are some things to think about:

Plastics vs. natural materials

Recent research has shown the potential risks plastics pose to our bodily health, and this risk is increased for children because their bodies are so much smaller and because they spend much more time as babies with things in their mouths. Why not eliminate the risk of toxic leachates from plastics and give your baby wooden or cloth toys? Plastics are also petroleum products of one sort or another, and so in addition to the fossil-fuel energy it took to produce the toy, the toy itself is using up precious resources, and won’t biodegrade quickly (as wood and natural-fiber cloths do) when finally thrown away.

“Characters” vs. open-ended toys

Marketing is a factor again here. I don’t assume that we can indefinitely shield our children from all toy marketing, movies, and the like. Most parents don’t even want to do this. But at an early age, you probably noticed that babies derive just as much pleasure from playing with your car keys or a wooden spoon as the action-figure they’re given to knaw on. Rather than toys that have just one use, provide your growing children with tools for creativity: blocks, puzzles, materials for forts and other creative play, and of course the great outdoors are your child’s best playthings. These toys will likely be durable as well, reducing what you end up spending and throwing away over the course of childhood. And just like clothes, many quality toys are available second-hand.

Our magnetic doll has been repeatedly played with and hardly rests on a shelf at all. Melissa and Doug’s Princess Elise Magnetic Dress-Up Dollcomes with 24 pieces and is low priced ($7.50). There is a stand for the doll; however, we mostly play with our doll lying flat. The stand is useful when you have more than one doll to interact with each other in dramatic play. Melissa and Doug’s Princess Elise Magnetic Dress-Up Dollis recommended for children three-years old and older; however, with close supervision, younger children can enjoy this wooden toy. Some of the pieces, such as the shoes and crowns, pose choking hazards, but a parent could remove these items to allow a younger child to play with the doll independently.

Parents often think of dollhouses as gender specific toys; however, I have noticed that boys love dollhouses too. Our Melissa and Doug’s Deluxe Wooden Fold and Go Dollhouse was the first toy one of my daughter’s little male friends would play with at our house. My son also enjoys our dollhouse. The large doll house at our preschool is very popular with the male students too. Melissa and Doug’s Deluxe Wooden Fold and Go Dollhouseis affordable, at about $30.00, and compact, allowing every little child a chance to have a dollhouse.

Oompa Toys offers many great natural and organic dolls sure to please any little girl and her crunchy mama. As my daughter’s birthday approaches, I will steer well meaning, doll giving friends and family to Oompa Toys. Oompa Toys is one of my favorite, natural toy stores!

Play Silks are expensive, but you and your child get a lot for the money. At about $11 piece (you do get a discount for buying a set), the cost of Play Silks kept me from buying them for many years. I wanted to make my own set, but time slipped away, and I realized I never would get around to actually doing it (I still haven’t finished knitting the sweater I started for my daughter five years ago!). Since purchasing a set of Play Silks, I am very pleased with how they have contributed to my daughter’s dramatic play. Just think, if you buy a set of Play Silks, you will not need to buy any dress up clothes from major corporations! Our Play Silks are a year old, and they show no signs of wear and tear.

Don’t forget, only four more days left to leave a comment and enter to win an Eco Child’s Play hemp bag!

Don’t forget to visit Green Options to read Green Family Values: Natural Baby Beauty Products. Thank you to Erin for alerting me to the problems with sodium laureth sulfate, so I could amend my recommendations.