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Part trade show, part educational seminar, and part family-themed festival, the Naturally Healthy Children’s Expo is a two-day event focused on exposing families with children to all the tools they have available for achieving a more natural, holistic, and sustainable lifestyle. Mixed in among more than 70 exhibitors at this year’s expo were five different stages featuring dozens of presentations by speakers covering topics like healthy eating, holistic medical approaches to pediatric conditions, and raising kids with a concern for the natural world. There were also a few activities geared at the kiddos themselves, including a hands-on music stage, coloring wall, and various small creatures of the household pet variety available for the petting.

As you might expect in a LOHAS-themed event, a large proportion of the booths were devoted to healthy food products and alternative medical services. But I wound up spending most of my time at booths that fell into other categories. These included book and magazine publishers, household product makers (hawking wares like truly portable nylon tote bags, safe cleaning products, and sustainable toys), and nonprofit educational institutions such the Shedd Aquarium and Chicago Wilderness. I basically focused exclusively on exhibitors with a direct focus on environmental sustainability, and I still didn’t cover everything after a couple of hours. Here’s a sample of some of my favorite discoveries:

• The Chico Bag: A really handy way to keep reusable shopping bags at the ready. The nylon is guaranteed strong and durable, and the bag can be recycled at the end of its life.
• Me Go Green: A Chicago-focused green search engine, savings/coupon book, business directory, and resource for school fundraisers.
• Leave No Child Inside: A public awareness initiative launched by the Chicago Wilderness consortium based on a national movement popularized by Richard Louv’s book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder.
• Naked Juice: I found out from another exhibitor that this brand is owned by Pepsi, but I’m still sold on their gross-looking Green Machine smoothie made from apple, kiwi, and other assorted nutrient-rich produce. Anything this green that can make a preschooler ask for seconds (and thirds!) without added sugar is some kind of miracle elixir.
• Zota Soda: It ain’t exactly health food, but I predict this delicious soft drink made from organic green tea will be all the rage in a couple years. After just a few samples, I’m hooked on the gently fizzy, lightly sweet, totally thirst-quenching beverage — it’s just that good. Zota comes in six flavors, and I can vouch for lemon, orange, and raspberry. I may never go back to Dr. Pepper.

The aspect of the expo that had the greatest unrealized potential, though, was the extensive series of speakers and panel discussions. These sessions were free of the commercial aspect of the trade show and offered the chance for attendees to hear from passionate experts in many fields in an intimate setting. Unfortunately, these sessions seemed sparsely attended, with just a handful of people stopping to sit and listen to most presentations. Perhaps this was because there wasn’t much in the way of drop-off activities for the younger kids, and the speaking sessions required at least a middle-school attention span.

The few speakers that I did catch seemed to have some thought-provoking things to say about the challenges facing families in the age of electronic personal media and a convenience-driven, throwaway society. More importantly, they were offering practical ideas for meeting those challenges. But without much of an audience (at least on Saturday) I think there were some missed opportunities for information sharing. Hopefully next year’s expo (already scheduled for September 20-21, 2008 — mark your calendars) will concentrate the presentations into fewer stages with better attendance. In the meantime, parents interested in getting free practical advice from the folks who put together the expo can sign up for a monthly e-newsletter that will go out in November.

In all, the Naturally Healthy Children’s Expo seems like it’s just getting started. It appears to be filling a niche for people who want to make better choices for their kids, and who want to learn from other parents or caregivers. Since most new parents enter the world of raising children woefully unprepared, and stumble along figuring it out for themselves, occasionally getting word-of-mouth advice from other parents with similar-aged kids on the playground, it was great to see some young couples expecting their first child educating themselves about their alternatives. (As veteran parents know, once the whirlwind of life with baby hits, things can quickly devolve to the path of least resistance.) Hopefully the word will spread to other mindful parents around the country, and next year some of the families of tourists on Navy Pier next fall will be able to walk away with more than a memory of ride on a Ferris wheel.

The Naturally Healthy Children’s Expo will be coming to San Francisco and Seattle in 2008. Click here for details.

For a newborn, breastfed baby, some of the first toxins that enter his or her body with will notPhoto by David Hofmann be from the food he or she eats, but from the products applied to his or her skin. The skin is considered the "largest organ in the body", and infants under six months old skin is very sensitive. The natural baby beauty product market has grown and expanded recently, along with the organic baby food industry. The following our five natural beauty products for babies based on my family and friend's experiences raising our babes. These products are recommended based on value and quality, as all of the items are cruelty-free.

1. Weleda Calendula Diaper Care Cream: If your child gets a bad diaper rash, this is the natural product you want to use. It relieves and heals the rash fast! Some of the ingredients are zinc oxide, beeswax, biodynamic calendula flower extract, organic chamomile flower extract, lanolin, sweet almond oil, sesame seed oil, and water. A 2.8 ounce tube costs $10.00. Weleda's motto is "In harmony with nature and the human being.

2. Country Comfort Baby Cream: This salve is great for mild diaper rash and soothing chafed skin. If your child is prone to diaper rash, it can be applied at every changing as a barrier cream. Country Comfort Baby Cream is made of pure oils of safflower & hazelnut/pecan, beeswax, lanolin, avocado & apricot oils, chamomile, chickweed, comfrey, calendula, golden seal, St. John's Wort, myrrh gum, aloe vera, vitamin E. The only drawback to this salve is that some individuals may have reactions to the nut oils. A two ounce jar costs about $5.89.

3. Nature's Gate Kids Spf-30 Sunblock Lotion: With a gigglberry scent, a drawback for some, this sunscreen is water resistant and highly protective. Made with many natural ingredients such as certified organic lavender, echinacea, coffee, horsetail, St. John's Wort, rosemary, etc;, this product does contain ingredients that are difficult to pronounce. There are better sunscreen products for children available, but they usually cost twice as much and can be hard to find. Four ounces of Nature's Gate Kids Spf-30 sunscreen retails for $9.00. For 27 years, Nature's Gate has been developing personal care products based upon botanical remedies. It is recommended that children under six months old should not use sunscreen because of the possible risk of the absorption, metabolism and excretion of the ingredients. The American Academy of Pediatrics states, "in situations where the infant's skin is not protected adequately by clothing, it may be reasonable to apply sunscreen to small areas, such as the face and the back of the hands." It is best if prolonged sun exposure can be avoided for children under six months.

4. Tushies Wipes Unscented: The greenest solution to diaper changes is to use wash cloths and water to clean your child's bottom. This may be difficult away from home when diaper wipes are convenient. Many children have adverse reactions to diaper wipes that contain chemicals and citric acid. Tushies Wipes are gentle and alcohol free. The contain water, aloe vera, vegetable derived glycerin, allantoin, panthenol, vitamin E, tartaric acid, and potassium sorbate. A package of 80 wipes costs about $4.30. Tushies were created for sensitive skin babies and parents concerned about their babies; skin.

California Baby5. California Baby Calming Botanical Shampoo and Body Wash: This product does not contains sodium laureth sulfate (SLES). SLES is derived from coconuts and can be an skin irritant. SLES is the subject of an urban legend about shampoos causing cancer. Many natural companies, like Tom's of Maine, support their use of SLES, where as others, like Aubrey Organics, debates its safety. California Baby Calming Botanical Shampoo and Body Wash is available in a bulk size of 17.5 ounces (larger sizes are available) for $17.50. This product has even been reported to heal eczema and cradle crap! California Baby was created when the founder Jessica Iclisoy "went into full protective mom mode. Like all new moms, she wanted her baby to live in the safest environment possible, so when she discovered some of the questionable ingredients in many mainstream baby toiletry products, she sought healthy alternatives."

There are many great natural beauty companies not represented in his list, and there are probably better products out there. The discussion about diapers has been omitted here, but you can read about the benefits of cloth diapers on GNM Parents. Many of these product selections were based on local availablity, but as the market expands, so will accessibility to natural baby beauty products. Hopefully Green Options readers will leave comments about their favorite natural beauty products for children.