Green Options

What a scary thought. Why would anyone ever want to ban The Lorax? In 1989, the Laytonville, CA Unified School District tried to do just that. They challenged the book based on someone’s belief that it criminalizes the foresting industry.

Why am I bringing you 20 year old news? There’s two reasons.

The first is that the American Library Associations Banned Books Week starts this Saturday, September 27th. Banned Books Week

emphasizes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them.

What does book banning have to do with sustainability. A whole lot.

Many times people want to ban books that scare them. Or they want to ban books that go against their agenda. Or they want to ban books that contradict their religious beliefs.

We’ve been really fortunate not to need outside childcare. I have chosen part time jobs that allow me to take my infants and young children to work, but not all families are so lucky or can afford for one parent to stay at home. I’ve read many studies on the postive and negative effects of childcare on children’s health and social-emotional development, but I have never heard it called child abuse.

I have always enjoyed the children’s books written by Mem Fox. Time for Bed is one of my favorites, and I respect her ideals on peace.  She has written beautiful poetry on tolerance, and she is an advocate for young children. Earlier this month, Mem Fox shocked parents by stating that daycare for young infants is a form of child abuse:

I just tremble, I don’t know why some people have children at all if they know that they can only take a few weeks off work.  I know you want a child, and you have every right to want a child, but does the child want you if you are going to put it in childcare at six weeks?  I don’t think the child wants you, to tell the honest truth. I know that’s incredibly controversial.  We’re going to look back on this time from the late ’90s onwards - with putting children in childcare so early in their first year of life for such long hours - and wonder how we have allowed that child abuse to happen.  It’s just awful. It’s awful for the mothers as well. It’s completely heartbreaking.  You actually have to say to yourself, ‘If I have to work this hard and if I’m never going to see my kid and if they are going to have a tremendous stress in childcare, should I be doing it?