Living Green with Kids

We want the best for our kids. As parents, we want our kids to grow up healthy, have a good education, achieve their dreams, understand the value of family and friendships and ultimately live the best life possible. I do not mean our kids have to live a kush life in a bubble. They should know the value of hard work and responsibility, understand respect and what it means to be a part of this world. In that, it is our duty to teach them and give them the tools to make it a better world. A world they can pass down to their children, their children’s children and so on. It sounds cliche, but lets face it…that’s how it goes down.

So, how do we teach them the fundamentals of preserving this planet? It’s hard enough for adults to remember to be responsible and practice green initiatives, but when we do, our children follow in our footsteps.

Here are a few easy things (with practice) that you and your kids can do together:

1. Teach the importance of conserving water. When your children brush their teeth or wash their hands teach them to turn off the water in between brushing or scrubbing. Parents – practice too.

2. Grow a garden or plant a tree. Kids love to be outside and this is an easy way to get them interested in sustainability and how to care for the Earth. Planting a tree produces cleaner air. Did you know one tree can absorb 48 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.

3. Use recyclable grocery bags. Keep them in the car so you’re never without. If you find your kids have to constantly remind you to take in the bags reward them with a special treat from the store.

4. Recycle. Make a game out of it for your kids. Have them help you sort. If one person recycled all their newspaper a year, they could save about 250,000,000 trees! Imagine if we all did even just a little bit. On average Americans use 2,500,000 plastic bottles every hour of which most are thrown away along with 25,000,000,000 styrofoam coffee cups every year! Despicable.

5. Turn off the lights. You can make a game out of this too. Let the race begin. See how quick everyone can turn off all the lights before leaving the house. Save the energy…no need to keep that light on in the bathroom if you’re not in there.

6. Turn those recyclables into toys. Try putting some dry beans in a milk jug – you have a maraca. Turn a cardboard box into a space ship (see awesome rocket ship above). There are a million things you can do. It’s amazing how creative kids are and what they’ll come up with.

7. No more wrapping paper. Use a paper bag or recycled paper to wrap presents. Then have your kids paint or draw on the paper. They will love decorating it. It’ll certainly be the most unique wrap job there!

8. Have a toy swap. Kids get tired of their toys…and fast. Why buy more (especially when you can save a buck these days) when you can swap them out with other friends, family or neighbors.

9. Walk. Get outside, explore. Not only are you teaching your children to exercise more, enjoy the outdoors, but it’s just about the most environmentally friendly way to get from A to B.

10. Teach your children well. Kids do what you do, they follow our examples. There is no better way to teach your children how to protect this Earth than to show by example and live responsibly.

Obama Administration gets Tough on BPA

FDA Concerned about Substance in Food Packaging.

Read the linked NY Times post about how the Obama Administration is taking charge on BPA.

Research shows BPA exposure damages intestines; U.S. senators propose legislation to eliminate BPA from children's products


MCT News Service
In the face of research showing BPA's harmful effects, many people are switching to BPA-free or glass baby bottles, shown here.
Bisphenol-A, casually known as BPA, is a plastics chemical that has gotten much attention in recent years for its suspected harmful effects on health. Many plastic water bottles, can linings, baby bottles and other products contain BPA, and for the first time, research has shown that BPA has negative effects on the intestines.

A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy Sciences Journal showed BPA causes damage to the intestines, the first organ BPA meets after ingestion. According to the research, when rats were exposed to doses of BPA that were 10 times less than the amount thought to be safe for humans, their intestinal linings were damaged. The researchers are from the National Institute of Agronomic Research in Toulouse, France, according to the AFP (Agence France-Presse) newswire.

This damage, known as poor intestinal permeability or leaky gut syndrome, makes it more difficult for water and other nutrients to be absorbed by the body. In addition, infant rats who were exposed to BPA while in the uterus and through feeding had increased risks of having intestinal inflammation as adults. Inflammation can make it easier for harmful substances, such as bacteria, to come into the intestines and can also result in poor immune system function, according to a related story from emaxhealth.com.

In the face of suspicions about BPA's harmful impact, Sens. Charles Schumer and Kristen Gillibrand, both of New York, are calling for the elimination of BPA from all container linings that hold foods for infants and toddlers in the BPA-Free Kids Act, according to Medical News Today. Schumer and Gillibrand specifically mentioned a study published in December from Consumer Reports, showing almost all of the 19 name-brand foods that were examined had some level of BPA, including some products labeled "BPA-free."

BPA is thought to act like the hormone estrogen when it enters the body, possibly negatively impacting reproductive and neural development, according to the Medical News Today article. BPA is used in many other products, including CDs, DVDs and glasses lenses, and also makes plastics clear and resistant to breaks. The federal guideline right now is 50 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight, according to Medical News Today, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not officially established how much daily exposure to BPA is safe for humans.

However, many manufacturers and lawmakers have taken steps to eliminate BPA from their products. In June 2008, Canada outlawed the use of BPA in creating plastic baby bottles, according to Medical News Today, and in May, six manufacturers of plastic baby bottles stopped using BPA in their products. And as of Jan. 1, Minnesota outlawed the use of BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups for babies and young children, according to DailyFinance.

Hello New Year

It's a new year and we want to hear from you! As your sili kid grows, we want to grow with you. What do YOU want to see from Silikids? Is your favorite kids shop or website missing Silikids? If so, let us know and we'll see what we can do! We have big plans for 2010 and look forward to sharing with you in the new year.

Thanks for all the support and here's to a Happy New Year!