How New Parents Can Go Green

New parents who are conscientious about the environment may find it a challenge to “go green”. Just one trip down the baby isle in the department store will expose them to a plethora of disposable products, mostly made from man-made materials. Another trip through the toy section and their senses are assaulted with brightly colored plastic toys, most of which run on batteries. Items like these made from petroleum products and synthetic materials are not friendly to the environment.

The first thing to keep in mind when you want to be eco-friendly parents is that billions of mothers raised billions of babies for thousands of years without any of this stuff and many in less developed countries still do. In order to go green one only needs to go back to the methods used by parents only a couple generations ago. The plastic, disposable era of child rearing is really fairly recent. Although many of these baby products are quite convenient, they are not all absolutely necessary.

Disposable diapers are about the biggest environmental hazard of all the baby products. These tightly wrapped bundles of human waste are a huge problem in our landfills. Since they’ve only been in existence for about 40 years, nobody knows for sure how long it takes for them to decompose. Reusable cloth diapers made from cotton are definitely the more eco-friendly choice, plus they are far less expensive than disposables. Once the child is potty trained, cloth diapers make excellent cleaning rags.

Another way for new parents to go green is to make their own baby food. Processed baby food purchased from stores is packaged in glass or plastic containers that ultimately get thrown away and they’re not nearly as healthy for your baby. Home made baby food is much more nutritious and has fewer preservatives. If you are able to grow your own vegetables, that’s better yet.

When purchasing items for your baby, like car seats or strollers, try to get products made from recycled materials. On the flip side, make sure you recycle any items you dispose of instead of just throwing them in the trash. It’s also a good idea to buy baby clothes made from natural fibers like cotton instead of synthetic materials. Recycle all your used infant items and clothes by passing them on to friends and family or give them to charity when you no longer need them.

Breast feeding your new infant is much more eco-friendly than bottle feeding. The only bottles you will need would be for storing excess breast milk. Also be sure to use baby bottles that can be washed and reused instead of disposable ones, especially if you’re unable to breast feed.

In order for new parents to go green they must be very conscious of the amount of disposable products they use. Diaper wipes certainly are convenient, but are they absolutely necessary? For generations parents washed their baby’s bottom with soft wash cloths that were laundered and reused.

It’s amazing how much more laundry a new baby can produce. If at all possible, dry your wash on a clothesline to conserve energy. These solar/wind-powered clothes dryers do the job without using a bit of electricity or gas and leave your laundry smelling fresh as sunshine.

It may take a little more effort on their part, but new parents can definitely go green. They just need to keep in mind that they’re not doing anything more than previous generations. In fact, their lives are so much easier with modern conveniences like indoor plumbing, automatic washing machines and refrigeration. By making a few adjustments, new parents can raise happy, healthy babies who are also eco-friendly.