Plastic Safety Information (a tired parent's refresher)--

There is a great deal of information to keep in one's head as a parent. Managing food, moods, bodily functions (fun!), and activities is enough to keep your head spinning.

Through the years I have done lots of research on plastics. Which ones to avoid, which ones to use if you must, etc. At times, though, my memory fails and I ask myself, which number plastic means what? So, listed below, are some resources for helping navigate the plastic jungle.

This guide from CHEC is a great short summary of what plastics to avoid (well, all of them, but at times this is not practical!) and it has great tips for dealing with packages and food storage.

Shopper's Guide to Plastics and Food

Here is another guide that is worth printing out and putting on your fridge. For sleep deprived parents, the products in RED are the ones to avoid.

Plastic Products at a Glance

And as a rule, it isn't a good idea, ever, to microwave plastic. The heating causes the chemicals in the plastic to leach into the food. The is helped by the fat in the food, which expedites the process. Click here for more information.

Yikes! Did you know that plastic "cling wrap" is made from PVC (aka: the poison plastic)? Read here for an article about this, and visit here for tons of information about PVC, which is in countless products for children and the home (including many building plumbing and building materials). You can tell a plastic is PVC when it is labeled with the #3. PVC can contain lead, and uses a number of troublesome chemicals called phthalates to make the plastic soft. These phthalates are endocrine disruptors which have been linked to problems in the development of the male reproductive system and the brain development of infants.

Don't have time to read the links? Here is the quick, tired-I've-got-other-things to-do version:

Avoid: Plastics labeled #3, #6, #7
Safer Plastics (notice I didn't say safe-): #1, #2, #4, #5
Never microwave plastic, limit putting it in the dishwasher
Don't use plastic cling wrap, or if you do, don't let it touch your food.

How's that for boiling it down? Writing this helped me refresh my mind about plastics, and I hope it was of some help to you, too.

Blogger's Choice Award Nomination-

Are you sad because you don't live in Iowa? Do you want to vote for something today and make your voice heard?

Non-Toxic Kids has been nominated for a Blogger's Choice Award for the best parenting blog! Thank you to our nominator, whoever you are ("wahoo" I believe, just might be an alias--). If you are inclined, please visit the website linked directly to the left of this post. Once you are there, you have to register, then confirm via email, then you can vote for whichever blogs you like.

Thanks for your support!

Non-Toxic Kid's New Years Resolutions (part 4)--

Happy New Year and welcome to the last installment of resolutions. I thought I would pack my last two resolutions into one post for the New Year.

4. Simplify. For your own sanity, and for the kids and for the planet. What I hope to do is to drive less, rush less, and buy less (yes, I know I already covered that one). I need to be better about economizing my trips to town, instead of going for individual reasons, group them, and do my errands at one time (if the babies are cooperating--). This way, I will save gas (money and global warming causing fumes), time, and potentially, the stress of schlepping the kids out the door everyday. It also may mean for me to not check my email as much or listen to NPR when I could be paying attention to one of my girls (this will be painfully hard with the primaries coming up!). It also means for me to attempt to organize stuff in our household, and move along items in my home that no one is using. I can post unwanted items on Freecycle (a great way to give a new life to something you don't need!), sell them to a consignment shop, or donate them Salvation Army. There are also these huge yellow bins popping up all over with the label "Planet Aid". On the bin it states that the clothing and items dropped off go to needy folks domestically and internationally. There are countless other ways to simplify your life, these are but a few that I will be working on. Do you have a good idea for how to simplify your life in 2008? Please send a comment along. I think we can all benefit from less stress, less stuff, less to manage and more time doing what we love with who we love.

5. Take Action. This is a biggie for me in 2008. The time is now for parents to band together and demand accountability, responsibility, and action to help protect our kids. We need a president who is willing and able to stand up and fight for more regulation and control over what products enter U.S. markets, and we need complete and total bans on chemicals that have been shown to have ill effects on our kids. We can't wait until there is undeniable truth that something is harmful. We need to adopt a more global "precautionary principle", by looking at the cumulative effects of multiple exposures and multiple studies. We need to follow the lead of the European Union. How many smokers had to die before scientists finally proved conclusively that smoking is bad for people?

I plan to be involved with the Vermont legislature this year as they look at new laws in the areas of lead, flame retardant chemicals, and pesticide usage on school property.

There are many ways to take action in the area of environmental health and justice. Stay tuned to this blog for simple ways to act, and follow your state's legislative calendar (here is Vermont's). Call or email your state representatives and tell them what you think is important. You can also look under the "Take Action" section of this blog for more ideas.

Together we can change the course of direction of our country, so parents aren't always on the defensive. Then we can spend less time worrying and more time living.

Happy 2008!