Organic is Not the Answer (by itself!)

I'm a sucker for anything organic. Even those organic, crunchy snacks that remind me of cheese doodles. Part of me feels justified in eating these, because they are organic, of course, how can they be bad?

When I am thinking clearly, not in the grocery store at 5pm with two hungry kids, I see plainly that junk food is junk food. The New York times ran an interesting story that too many Americans are seeing organic food as the solution and are not looking at the big picture. We want buying organic to be the answer. We want it to help us eat healthier. We want it to solve the obesity problem. Eating organic food is in most cases better for the earth and for us, but the truth that the article states is:

"most Americans eat so badly — we get 7 percent of our calories from soft drinks, more than we do from vegetables; the top food group by caloric intake is “sweets”; and one-third of nation’s adults are now obese — that the organic question is a secondary one. It’s not unimportant, but it’s not the primary issue in the way Americans eat."

What is our problem? Too much processed food, be it canned Annie's Ravioli or canned Spaghettios--frozen organic or Hungry Man dinners. The question becomes not if it is organic, but if it is processed or packaged. I fall prey to this constantly. I work full time, don't really love to cook, and want organic, healthy food. So what do we do?

"To eat well, says Michael Pollan, the author of “In Defense of Food,” means avoiding “edible food-like substances” and sticking to real ingredients, increasingly from the plant kingdom. (Americans each consume an average of nearly two pounds a day of animal products.) There’s plenty of evidence that both a person’s health — as well as the environment’s — will improve with a simple shift in eating habits away from animal products and highly processed foods to plant products and what might be called “real food.” (With all due respect to people in the “food movement,” the food need not be “slow,” either.)"

And this would have dramatic environmental impacts, too, as the article points out. Eating lower on the found chain would lessen heart disease, and impacts to land and water. Not to mention limiting the chemical exposures as well. So, when thinking about healthy eating, I need to remember this. I try to buy all organic fruits and produce-- but then I actually have to eat and cook with them, which many Americans just aren't doing. Steering clear of the frozen and canned organic foods that call to me-- "no cooking! look, we are organic, we must be healthy!" from the nice hardwood section of our grocery store.

I've been duped; I've eaten too many organic snacks from a crinkly bag. This post from the New York Times simply reminds me that anything in a crinkly bag (including organic!) is simply highly processed food---over packaged and unhealthy.

This post is part of the Green Mom's Carnival called Food Matters. Check out all the posts about how you can grow, cook and eat more healthy, local, and safe food.

(originally posted on Eco-Child's Play)

image: woodchips - now organic! by bookgrl on Flickr under Creative Commons

Too Much "Good Job!" May be Harmful

While researching for my teacher attrition book (now thankfully off my desk for the time being!), I came across this article by Alfie Kohn. I could almost hear my voice, ringing with "good job!" to my daughters, as I read it.

It discusses how too much praise can actually harm our children, and do the opposite of what we intend. The value and judgement in saying "good job" repeatedly apparently raises kids who are more likely to seek out approval for everything, and not do something good for the sake of doing it, or for the benefit of someone else's feelings. We end up raising kids who constantly look for external forms of approval.

Yikes! I've been saying good job for a long, long time. Like when my first daughter learned to clap, and roll over, to now, when she forms a letter. He suggests what to do instead, which are not value statements, but ways to connect with and notice successes.

Here are a few of his suggestions, but I really encourage you to read the whole article, it is quite eye opening.

"* Say nothing. Some people insist a helpful act must be "reinforced" because, secretly or unconsciously, they believe it was a fluke. If children are basically evil, then they have to be given an artificial reason for being nice (namely, to get a verbal reward). But if that cynicism is unfounded – and a lot of research suggests that it is – then praise may not be necessary.

* Say what you saw. A simple, evaluation-free statement ("You put your shoes on by yourself" or even just "You did it") tells your child that you noticed. It also lets her take pride in what she did. In other cases, a more elaborate description may make sense. If your child draws a picture, you might provide feedback – not judgment – about what you noticed: "This mountain is huge!" "Boy, you sure used a lot of purple today!"

If a child does something caring or generous, you might gently draw his attention to the effect of his action on the other person: "Look at Abigail’s face! She seems pretty happy now that you gave her some of your snack." This is completely different from praise, where the emphasis is on how you feel about her sharing.

* Talk less, ask more. Even better than descriptions are questions. Why tell him what part of his drawing impressed you when you can ask him what he likes best about it? Asking "What was the hardest part to draw?" or "How did you figure out how to make the feet the right size?" is likely to nourish his interest in drawing. Saying "Good job!", as we’ve seen, may have exactly the opposite effect."

I know I will be purchasing his book, Unconditional Parenting which also questions the use of time out (immediately I then think, what will we do??). What do you readers think of praise? Do you dole out "good jobs" like snacks to a toddler (like me)?

BPA, Phthalate and PVC Free: Born Free Sippy Cups, Bottles and Pacifiers

We're almost out of the sippy cup stage. I've been happily using the Born Free sippy cups with my two year old since she was old enough to try drinking on her own. In fact, she loves drinking from them, and I have to encourage her to use a "big girl cup" instead.

I realized I never wrote about these cups. They are BPA, pthalate and PVC free. And while I don't like the idea of ordering or using any new plastic, in some cases, these cups are ideal. Like when you one year old can't quite use a Sigg water or Kleen Kanteen bottle yet, and they are learning to sip for themselves.

Born Free sippy cups come with handles that are removable, and the sipping device and nipple are easily cleanable and fit back together with no trouble. The nipples need to be replaced every 3 or 4 months, but I've had the same ones for a year or so and they just leak a little. Not a big deal, usually, unless you have a toddler that like to turn their sippy cup upside down frequently! The simple solution is just to buy new nipples at the point when they leak.

This company also carries plastic bottles, if you feel the need to use plastic. Glass bottles worked very well for us, we never had any trouble with breakage or chipping after repeated uses (2 kids, 2 years).

After a quick visit to their site, I learned that Born Free has new line of recyclable sippy cups. So they never have to end up in the landfill. This is a way to feel a bit better about purchasing new plastic, and I wish these were out when I bought my Born Free cups. They also carry a wide variety of glass bottles now, too.

And last year I posted about the new line of pacifiers from Born Free. These are all we use with our two year old. Now, I have to think about when and how to get her to stop using it, but that is a different story!