Green Baby
Green Baby
By Susan Spicer
Today's Parent
How to protect your baby's health and leave a cleaner world for her to grow up in
Given the rising tally of smog days every summer and warnings about the risk of toxins lurking in everything from apples to baby toys, itÌs not hard to understand why Stephen and Laurie Collette, who live in Lakefield, Ont. with their two young daughters, are seeing a growing interest in earth-friendly lifestyles. Stephen is an environmental building consultant and Laurie runs an annual Green Expo. ÏAttendance is up every year,Ó she says. And when I go to my mommyÌs group, people are asking me about cotton diapers.Ó
Having kids can be a powerful motivator for greening our lifestyles, as CBC broadcaster Gill Deacon well knows. ÏWhen my son was born, awareness of pesticides in foods was growing. I found it hard to go to the store and buy grapes from Mexico that might be coated with pesticides to save 69 cents, and then feed them to this baby that I loved.Ó DeaconÌs concern for her childrenÌs health blossomed into a career focus on environmental issues. She hosted the CBC show Code Green, and is the author of Green Tips: How to Save Money and the Planet. SheÌs dedicated to spreading the word that green choices not only benefit your familyÌs health, they help protect the planet and can save you money too.
Green poll
We asked Todaysparent.com users to tell us whether theyÌd made any environment-friendly changes in the past six months: 69% of over 650 respondents said yes. Almost 100 people agreed to tell us more about their choices:
88% Have a pesticide-free yard
70% Buy organic or locally grown food
51% Drive less and walk more
47% Use non-toxic cleaning products
Votes:29
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