What does it mean to raise a green kid? Apparently, Green is more than just a color these days. Green is the way we live, the way we must live in order to protect our environment AND be healthy.
AND, we MUST raise our children to be this way too.
1. Reduce consumption. Don’t buy what you don’t need, evaluate what you really want, and use everything you have.
2. Reuse when you can. Pass down clothing, donate, use papers again, etc.
3. Recycle cans, bottles, paper, books, toys, clothing, etc. Use Freecycle, eBay, and Craigslist instead of buying new.
4. Enjoy nature instead of …read more

“Close Encounters of a Very Green Kind” is 100% eco-friendly and 101% fun to read!
The first adventure book of Garry Errill, “Close Encounters of a Very Green Kind” follows the exploits of the Eco Family, the most ecological family in the cosmos. The setting for the book is futuristic, sometime in 2150 and aliens are no longer strange unknown beings – they are everywhere across the galaxies. Living in the City of Fontainia on Planet Algore, the Eco Family includes Professor Eco and his beautiful wife Mother Eart, Grandpa Zuron, teenage girl Mira and a younger Eco Jr., …read more

It’s only 4:00 pm but the air is starting to get chilly. BRRR! Fall is here, and it’s the best time to get some outdoor exercise! But with homework and projects and after-school jobs, students often lag behind once the cold season starts.
Here are some tips to keep your children active during the cooler season of autumn:
(FIRST) Right after school, give a light protein-packed snack. It staves off hunger and prevents over-eating, but also gives them a little more energy for the physical activity.
1. Get them involved outdoors while it’s still daylight and warmer. Walk, bike, stroll the …read more

A healthy and clean home plays a big role in keeping our children healthy, and I really believe having less chemicals in the home adds to a healthier place to live. So I am giving away 3 parent-approved and parent-tested products, and here are the winners, randomly generated:
2 Laura Emerson won the Universal Stone all-purpose cream based cleaner.
208 Kathy won some Seventh Generation cleaning products
81 Nancy C won an organic and cloth Ringley Teether 
The products were donated by PTPA Media, which stands for Parent-Tested, Parent-Approved, a company that provides parents with home and household products that have been …read more

I’m really excited about October for Kids Health Notes. One of the best ways that this blog can serve you is to help your families’ health by encouraging the use of eco-friendly products in our homes. Less chemicals in our cleaners mean less hazard for our children.
‘Sides, it’s Kids Health Notes’ First Anniversary last month, so I want to start the new year with cleaner, greener, and healthier families for our readers.
I’m giving away three products that have been parent-tested and parent-approved, so you know they really work.

Universal Stone all-purpose cream based cleaner. It’s certified green and …read more

A startling new research from the UK blames chemicals in the environment for the obesity epidemic in children.
Published in the current issue of the journal Acta Paediatrica, the study measured the levels of harmful chemicals or pollutants in the umbilical cords of some 400 children in Menorca, Spain. One of those chemicals is hexachlorobenzene (HCB), a pesticide that has been banned in the UK.
When the children were followed up six years later, those with the highest levels were twice as likely to be obese. Experiments in animals had already shown that pollutants can cause obesity (in animals) but …read more

The asterisk, *, means a footnote. In sports, it also means a fake, and refers to one who uses steroids.
These days, we hear about it all the time, of famous athletes being caught or admitting that they used performance-enhancement drugs. Unfortunately, this drug abuse also happens in college campuses, where the pressure to excel in a sports or varsity can push a young person to take steroids.

The AD Council has a new campaign called “Don’t Be An Asterisk” to make steroid use socially unacceptable, and get parents, teens and educators become more aware of this kind of drug …read more

  Chapter One Organics is one of those extra-special companies. It is dedicated to the greening of the earth – to be socially and environmentally responsible in every area of its business practice. And it has a fashion-forward babies and toddler clothing line that uses sustainable materials.
Talking with Jennifer Murphy, the owner of Chapter One, was a delight as I educated myself a little more about clothes that I want my family to wear.
I received a pair of boy’s loungewear, the Earthluxe red clay top and bottom for review last month. There is a onesies and pants …read more

Organic is the IN thing in fashion these days. Clothing manufacturers from the high end to the mass-produced are putting tags on their clothes that say “organic“.
But are they really? There are so many terms and so many things out there that say “organic”, and I don’t still know for sure what it totally means. So it was a treat for me, and quite a learning experience, to talk to someone who makes it her mission to be environmentally responsible in her life and at work.
  Jennifer Murphy is the proud owner of Chapter One Organics, a …read more

It’s summer! School is out, and children are off somewhere – playing video games, watching TV, or hopefully playing sports. The last thing they want to do is read yet another book.
WAIT! Hold your horses. I am pretty sure children are gonna love these books I’m giving away, and maybe get them to read more this summer! My personal favorite in the lot – The Encyclopedia of Immaturity. It kept me laughing and wishing I had an excuse to be a child again.
The contest is easy:

Just browse the selection of books on the next page, and let …read more