I participated in this program on behalf of Seventh Generation and The Motherhood. All opinions are my own.
When I found out I was pregnant for the first time, I became protective immediately. Our instincts kick in and we want to protect them from harm. When we bring our beautiful babies home, we have prepared it so that we can safely welcome our new addition into our lives. We research the safest car seat, purchase baby laundry soap, shampoo and soap, just to name a few.The sad reality is, most don’t actually realize that the environment they are bringing their new babies into is not safe. It is actually far from safe!
This topic is near to my heart. I have three beautiful babies that I want to ensure are given the opportunity to thrive. I encourage you to watch this short video to really see how much of an issue it really is.
The Sad Reality
- There are more than 80,000 chemicals registered for use in the U.S and comprehensive pre-market safety testing of these chemicals is not required under any federal law. Yet in the European Union, 1,328 chemicals have been banned for use in personal care products. In the U.S., only 11 chemicals have been banned or restricted by the FDA.
- In a study of 10 minority newborns, more than 232 chemicals were found in umbilical cord blood.
- Cancer is now the leading cause of child-related death in the U.S., exceeded only by injury.
With Knowledge is Empowerment
Healthy Child Healthy World was a company that was founded by James and Nancy Chuda in 1992 as a result of the tragedy of loosing their own daughter, Collete. From those heartbreaking moments came something beautiful.
Healthy Child’s vision is a world where every child has the opportunity to grow-up in a healthy and safe environment.
They help us to see that we can take simple, affordable actions daily at home to decrease our chemical exposure. These small steps add up!
5 Easy Steps to Decrease Exposure
- Take off your shoes at the door: 85 percent of the dirt in our homes is tracked inside on the bottom of our shoes. It’s not just dirt, but toxins like lead, pesticides, gasoline residue and more. Keep your home safer by taking off your shoes. It’s the public health equivalent of washing your hands.
- Buy safer body care: Children are exposed to an average of 27 care product ingredients on a daily basis that have not been found safe for developing bodies. Protect your family’s health by avoiding products that ingredients like parabens, synthetic fragrances, triclosan and more. For a list of the most toxic offenders, download their free eBook, “Easy Steps to a Healthy & Safe Nursery” at Healthychild.org/resource-center.
- Open a window: People spend about 90 percent of their time inside, but indoor air is typically far more polluted than outside. So, open those windows! Even a few minutes a day can improve indoor air quality.
- Eat more whole foods: Processed foods may be convenient, but they’re also loaded with sweeteners, artificial flavors and colorings, and synthetic preservatives. These lack nutrients and many are also linked to health issues like ADHD and even cancer. Reduce by eating more whole foods.
- Ban the can: Bisphenol-A (BPA), a hormone disruptor that has been linked to everything from obesity to cancer, is in the plastic resin that lines most canned goods—from soups to sodas. Avoiding canned food for significantly lowers exposure. Look for foods packaged in glass or eat fresh, dried, and frozen options.
What We Can Do
Healthy Child Healthy World has partnered with Seventh Generation to bring more awareness to parents so we can make our homes actual safe havens for our little ones.
When we try to minimize exposure where we know there is harm or potential harm and it just makes sense! If you think about the facts, there are 80,000 chemicals that are in the world today and the health effects of less than 5% of those are known! That is scary! Why would you not want to take a precautionary approach because our ultimate goal is to protect our children from harm or potential harm?
Seventh Generation for 25 years has created healthy products for healthy homes by using plant-derived, bio-based ingredients. They don’t use chemicals of concern and disclose all the ingredients right on their packaging. The Seventh Generation diapers contain absolutely no fragrances, inks, petroleum-based lotions or chlorine processing. While in the past greener diapers may have seemed out of reach, that isn’t the case anymore! Target stores are now carrying Seventh Generation diapers, wipes and cleaning products, making it easier than ever to makeover the nursery and cleaning cabinet!
You can even to apply host your own 2014 Healthy Baby Home Party! This is what came in my party kit, lots of information to share with my friends about the toxins we need to rid our homes of, lots of great Seventh Generation products for you to try, and even some to share with your friends.
Twitter Party-Let’s Celebrate!
When: November 14 at 1 p.m. ET
Hashtag: #HealthyBabyHome
Prizes: Join the party to win a month’s supply of baby diapers and wipes!! We will be awarding prizes to five winners, all chosen randomly from the U.S. participants who answer the Twitter party trivia questions correctly.
We are trying really hard to not wear our shoes inside. I like the suggestion to open a window.
Item #1 was really enlightening! I used to tell people not to worry about their shoes because my dogs track more dirt than anyone else. Well, I guess it’s not about the dirt, it’s about all the other stuff!
I have definitely been much more conscious of what we purchase in our home for cleaning purposes and other uses. I still have room for improvement but I have been doing well!
I am absolutely floored by the number of harmful chemicals we’re allowing around us. Truly shocking.
Love 7th Generation products. So many toxins in those other cleaners.
So scary!!! I even worry about my pets with a lot of toxins in the house. 🙁 Thankfully there are products out there to help! Thanks for the tips.
That is a very sad reality. I am so glad there are brands like Seventh Generation doing their part.
What a wonderful and informational post. It really is frightening at how toxic the products we use are.. I hate it. It’s so easy to overlook and ignore.. so thanks for getting the word out!!
I love that photo of you and your kidlets, beautiful!
Thanks Dawn! Of course I’m partial 🙂
They make great products. I try to do everything I can to keep my house as safe as possible for my kids.
Love Seventh Generation Products. We have been using them for years and love them. I love that they do not have a strong scent and work great.
Those are some scary stats! I’d love to read that Lick This Book, book.
I had no idea some of these things were linked to obesity. How crazy…and scary!
It is scary to read this, but good to be informed! We are trying to avoid canned goods, but it can be difficult
Seems like so many products have toxin in them it is crazy, to really look around the house I think we would all be really shocked at what we would find!
We’re doing decently on many of the things on your list, but I had no idea about canned foods (not that we eat that much….maybe 2 times a week)! I learned something new today. Thanks!
It really is scary how many toxins are in our homes!