Eco Child's Play

Open Ended Play Lets Kids’ Imaginations Set Sail!

Jennifer Lance — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 16:29:12 +0000

Editor’s note: The following piece is guest post by Dalit Holzman from Natural Pod, one of our favorite eco-friendly toy companies. Dalit is part of the Natural Pod team (www.naturalpod.com) and raises her two daughters as open-endedly as possible…with the help of some boxes.

We’ve all heard it. In fact we’ve all said it: “the best toy in the house is the cardboard box!” As parents we are constantly reminded that the active imaginations of children really don’t need much stimulation to get going…and going, and going, and going!

Just the other day my very own living room was transformed from, well, a living room into a series of caves and burrows, an enclave for ambushing mini- pirates!

Kids constantly mimic and replay the world around them, and though I am no pirate (lol), my daughters do seem to have many of my mannerisms and modes of communication down to a science (arrr me hearties!) They listen to learn to repeat.

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Rebekak Green Sustainable Earrings: Precious Gifts for Little Girls

Wenona Napolitano — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:25:17 +0000

Rebekah Green has been globally aware and environmentally conscious since the second grade. Throughout her life she’s done a lot for the “green” movement.

Her latest efforts include a sustainable line of earrings made from recycled gold. She even has several designs devoted to children.

Including these precious little turtles which will be going in my daughter’s holiday stocking…if I don’t snag them for myself first (because I adore turtles).

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EWG Gives School Cleaning Supplies Their Report Cards (and it ain’t pretty)

Terri Bly — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:17:18 +0000

Last week, while volunteering at my daughter’s classroom Halloween party, I flinched a little as I saw one of the other parents dutifully strolling around dispensing the requisite waterless, chem-filled hand sanitizers. Aside from my skepticism that anti-bacterial soaps will actually do much to kill a virus, I also suspected the ingredients in the sanitizer weren’t much better than the germs they were designed to kill. So when the teacher instructed two of my daughter’s peers that they were supposed to wash their hands with soap and warm water instead (apparently per parental instruction), I quickly chimed in that I wanted Eliana to do the same. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what other chemicals were being sprayed around the room when the cleaning staff arrived.

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10 Eco-Friendly Toys Under $30

mcmilker — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:48:41 +0000

As the holiday season approaches we’re all looking for quality toys for our children. Readers of this blog, and increasingly the world at large are seeking toys that are eco friendly and inexpensive too.

That’s why Eco Childs Play agreed to team up with Goddard Systems, Inc, one of the largest child care providers in the country, to seek out the best green toys we could find for under $30.00.

After a national call for submissions, the Toy Test Committee, consisting of Eco Child`s Play representatives and Goddard educators, evaluated entrants based on a number of criteria, including:

* Affordable price range ($30 and under)

* Appropriate for preschoolers and early elementary school-age children

* Creative, social or engaging

* Eco-friendly

* Interactive, child-initiated play focus

We’re happy to announce the 10 finalists today!

The Top 10 Eco-Friendly Toys are as follows (in alphabetical order):

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Green Toys: Recycled Cardboard Paintable Schoolhouse Promotes Creativity

Jennifer Lance — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 16:59:10 +0000

Any parent knows that children love cardboard boxes. Often, the box a present comes in encourages more creative play than the toy it once contained. Imagination Box Co. was born out of this cardboard creativity.

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 Great Diaper Debate: Comparing the Environmental Impact of “Eco-Friendly” Diapers

Allison Wolff — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:13:48 +0000

I knew going into having a baby that the mountains of diapers would horrify me from both a personal hygiene and environmental perspective. I also knew that I wasn’t game for potty-training-at-birth philosophies. Sure enough, if I calculate how many diapers I’ve changed for my now 15 month old, I’m horrified.

Two months before I gave birth to my baby girl I did some research on which diapers would have the least amount of environmental impact. Traditional, “non-eco” disposables were never even an option…I was interested only in comparing “eco” choices.

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Last Minute Green Halloween Tip: Iconic Necco Wafers Go All-Natural

Wenona Napolitano — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 19:21:18 +0000

Now here’s a candy you don’t have to special order online or search high and low for. Necco Wafers can be found at most grocery stores in the candy aisle or currently in the Halloween candy section.

Necco Wafers have been around since 1847 but as a sign of the times they’ve gone “green”.

The 162-year-old Massachusetts company has taken Necco Wafers and made them “all-natural” which makes them the largest mass-produced candy line in the U.S. to get rid of artificial flavoring and colors.

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BPA Free Yubo Lunchboxes

Lucille Chi — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:23:21 +0000

Being a lighthearted child in a grown-up body, I have to admit that I still like lunch pails, and my band new Yubo lunchbox happens to be my favorite one of all time because it’s:

BPA Free
Recyclable
Antimicrobial
Dishwasher Safe

Yubo bpa free lunchwear started with two concerned parents frustrated with the amount of plastic baggies used every day. Explaining:

“The typical store bought lunchboxes we owned were impossible to clean, they collected crumbs and foul old-food odors. Worst of all, our kids were over the novelty of their lunchboxes less than a week after buying them! That was the start of our journey to re-invent the lunchbox. We knew there had to be a better way. We set out to balance our passion for the environment with our kids’ passion for having fun.”

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Practically Green by Micaela Preston

Wenona Napolitano — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 22:49:45 +0000

Practically Green: Your Guide to Ecofriendly Decision-Making by Micaela Preston is exactly what it says, a practical guide to going green.

This is one of the best green books I have read, probably because it isn’t all preachy and because I am a big DIY girl I just love the 30+ DIY projects included in this book.

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Polar Bear Bags: The Perfect Gift or The Perfect Gift Bag

Wenona Napolitano — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 18:31:06 +0000

Planet Butterfly has a great reusable shopping bags called Polar Bear Bags because of the beautiful polar bear artwork on the bag. These bags remind us to do our part to help save the planet and stop global warming-therefore protecting the polar bears.

These reasonably priced bags may make the perfect stocking stuffer for someone who needs a little nudge to help them go green.

Or the bag itself may make the perfect gift bag. Fill it full of gifted goodies, make the bag part of the gift and you have the gift that keeps going since it can be reused over and over again.

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