Baby | Sustainable Personal Finance

Green Tip #242: Sharing Toys

By Mrs. SPF

Anyone who has looked after kids knows that they have short attention spans. Moreover babies grow at such a rapid pace in their first year that a toy that was intriguing and difficult to manipulable one month is easy and boring the next. So you go through a lot of toys, keeping them entertained and aiding in their development. You can spend a lot of money on 1st year kids toys.

SPF and I have bought toys both new and used and received others as gifts for lil’ SPF.

I was recently very happy to discover a toy library in town recently. It is part of a government subsidized family resource center which hosts drop in playgroups every week, teen parent support suppers, baby massage and sign language classes among many other great services. Kids can rent 2 toys and 3 books per month. Lil’ SPF and I have taken out a couple of toys now and he seems to enjoy them.

Not every town has such a program but if you don’t you could start one! Either through an existing family center such as ours or a church group. Or perhaps even simpler, set one up with some other parents you know with kids around the same age and trade toys. The kids will be happy with these “new” toys and you won’t have to spend a ton of money.

Added bonus as always with our Green Tips: less resources, production and shipping which helps our environment. Back to the good old days. Win-win.

Would you think of using or creating a toy co-op? How about borrowing toys from the library or trading with other Moms?

Check out our 365 Green Tips Series!

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How to Make Baby Food

By Guest

Carrot baby food © by Ross Catrow

I want to start off by saying that I do not have any children. I have a godson, J, whose father decided that I could be trusted enough to take care of him. He is one of the most amazing kids. He can make you laugh when you are about to cry, make you look at the world in a entirely new way, and teaches you to appreciate the little things. We can spend the entire day in my backyard looking at plants, and not realizing that I know nothing about where his questions are leading or how snails are so fascinating to him. He is honest, genuine, and kind; as all 6 year olds are and should be. He is uncorrupted by greed or revenge or any other sin that slowly starts entering our lives as we get older. He is a 6 year old, pure and simple.

As perfect as he is in his personality, he is also allergic to quite a few different by-products in processed food. His dad discovered his food allergies when he was 7 months old and the non-organic baby food started making him itchy, blotchy and gave him all sorts of other stomach issues that I don’t want to describe.

After a few hours of research on the interwebs, we (I say ‘we’ because at this point I was in school studying biochem and I thought I knew everything) that perhaps we should try to make baby food from scratch. I want to preface the next part by saying that my mother believes in all things organic and natural. She doesn’t understand why vegetables that used to be the size of a fist are all of the sudden the size of human head, and feels that our bodies don’t need any more chemicals in them. I say this because making baby food was a team effort.

These are the steps that we followed: Continue reading How to Make Baby Food

Why Use Cloth Diapers?

By Mrs. SPF

Diaper duty © by mhofstrand

Before lil’ SPF arrived I started researching diapers. I knew that I wanted us to use cloth diapers but had no idea what kind to buy. It turns out that there are many, many different kinds of cloth diapers to choose from. We have now been using cloth diapers for over 3 months and so far we are really happy about using them. What follows are my thoughts on why cloth is more sustainable, not only for the planet but also for your pocketbook – the reasons why we use cloth diapers.

Why use Cloth Diapers vs. Disposable Diapers

The first choice to be made when it comes to diapers is whether or not to go cloth or disposable. I really wanted to go cloth mostly because of how much waste disposable diapers produce (we used disposables at my in-laws at Christmas and filled a grocery bag in two days with soiled diapers!). According to wired.com “Diapers made up 3.4 million tons of waste, or 2.1 percent of U.S. garbage, in landfills in 1998 — the last year this information was collected, according to the Environmental Protection Agency”. A LOT of waste.

Disposable Diaper Information

In addition to all the waste that disposable diapers produce, most big brand disposable diapers have a lot of stuff added to them which I am not particularly fond of nor do I want touching lil SPF’s bum. Most of the top brands of disposable diapers are made with chlorine, latex, fragrance and petroleum based lotions as well as a gel that has been linked to skin irritations and respiratory problems.

Diapers are made with all these additives so they that they are super absorbent and keep baby dry for 12 hours! In reality, baby is not dry but rather the additives in the diapers pull the moisture away from the skin but the diaper is still soiled. Continue reading Why Use Cloth Diapers?

How to Childproof Your Home for a New Baby

By Guest

You’re having a baby? Congratulations! Your life is about to change forever, and in ways you can’t even imagine. But don’t worry. As the father of three beautiful children I assure you it’s all worth it. I can also tell you that children can be even more mischievous that you would ever imagine. Remember, kids are naturally curious and they’ll get into all sorts of things as they start to explore the world around them. As a responsible parent you’ll need to childproof your home to keep your baby from getting hurt.

Making your home is childproof doesn’t mean you have to line the walls with bubble wrap and hover over your baby like a helicopter. It just means taking some simple steps to give them a safe environment where they can explore and learn.

If you’re just bringing home a newborn you have some time before you have to worry about him getting into trouble. But don’t wait too long to start childproofing your home because once your baby learns to crawl and then walk…all bets are off! So let’s talk about a few simple and inexpensive ways to make your home safer for your new addition.

6 Ways to Childproof Your Home

The first thing I want you to do get down on your hands and knees. I’m serious! It may sound silly but your little one is much lower to the ground and has a completely different point of view than you do. By taking a few minutes to crawl around on the floor you can get a better idea of how your baby will see the world. And it might help you spot a dangerous situation that you otherwise would have missed.

Continue reading How to Childproof Your Home for a New Baby