Paper Toys

I found an adorable site filled with PAPER TOYS. Obviously not for babies!
But our babies do grow up so quickly! These are wonderful for keeping little hands busy at craft time.
PaperToys
Here is a cute example. This is a marble mouse:

The templates are free and the ideas are simple.
These Marble Mice can roll around on a desk and keep your cat entertained until your little one is old enough to enjoy SAFELY. You know, when they are WAY past the "puts everything in the mouth" stage! LOL

Click here for a printable version (PDF)

Bibby Wraps and Undercover Mama

2 absolutely awesome ideas!  I think it is safe to say that their time has come . . . . .  I wish I had thought of these things!

BIBBY WRAP
A friend of mine simply wanted a better bib for her little ones. This is what she came up with. Brilliant!

UNDERCOVER MAMA
This is a wonderful idea and design!  Link: http://www.undercovermama.com/

Babies & TV

Babies who watch TV are more likely to have delayed cognitive development and language at 14 months, especially if they're watching programs intended for adults and older children. We probably knew that 24 and Grey's Anatomy don't really qualify as educational content, but it's surprising that TV-watching made a difference at such a tender age.

Babies who watched 60 minutes of TV daily had developmental scores one-third lower at 14 months than babies who weren't watching that much TV. Though their developmental scores were still in the normal range. But this is just the beginning of a child's life. If TV remains a constant part of their world those scores may look different as a year or two roll by.
Don't let your child miss out on talking, playing, and interaction that is essential to learning and development.

This new study, which appeared in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, followed 259 lower-income families in New York, most of whom spoke Spanish as their primary language at home. Other studies examining higher-income families have also come to the same conclusion: TV watching not only isn't educational, but it seems to stunt babies' development.

But as they get older what about "educational" TV, like Sesame Street? 
Good question! The real key here is (surprise, surprise) THE PARENT!
There are teachable moments with educational TV but it takes parental participation, interaction and reinforcement to be most enjoyable and effective for children.
One BIG mistake parents make is creating short, short, short attention spans in their children. TV is very much a part of that.
Help your kids find imaginative play. A ball, a set of blocks or card board boxes can equal hours of (educational) play for kids! Sustained activity with varying energy levels is good!

Research (New York University School of Medicine-Bellevue Hospital Center) has found that parents whose children watch non-educational TV programs like Spongebob SquarePants spend less time reading to their children or teaching them.
At this point, parents reading this are probably saying "d'uh!"

But TV is so often a parent's good friend, keeping kids happily occupied so the grownups can cook dinner, answer the phone, or take a shower. It is seductive in the short run. Be careful.

The bottom line: This latest study adds more fuel to a recommendation from the American Academy of Pediatrics that babies under age 2 watch no TV at all. If you've just got to watch, it's best to make sure the tots are fast asleep. And make sure they are not in the same room. The changing lighting and sounds disrupt healthy sleep patterns.

Signing Before They Can Speak

Research has shown that teaching different modes of communication and language is most effective at the early ages of 2 to 5. This goes beyond the spoken word (though it is an optimal time for children to learn a second language); many young children have an aptitude for signing as well. This can be taught at home or some child care programs incorporate it into their curriculum.

While 2 years old seem pretty young, it's not that odd. There are many indigenous peoples around the world in fact, including American Indian nations, who have used sign language for centuries to facilitate communication with other tribes with whom they do not share a language.

In fact, recent research suggests that sign language is innate. Backing this up is an article published by the Boulder Daily Camera in 2003 which presented strong evidence that babies as young as six months old communicate with their hands:

"...by 6 to 7 months, babies can remember a sign. At eight months, children
can begin to imitate gestures and sign single words. By 24 months, children
can sign compound words and full sentences. They say sign language reduces

frustration in young children by giving them a means to express themselves
before they know how to talk." (Glarion, 2003)


The Best Time To Start

The sooner children learn sign language (or any other language for that matter) the better. Young children who are taught sign language at an early age, it has actually been shown, develop better verbal skills as they get older.

Not learning to sign give pre-verbal youngsters a way to communicate, it can also strengthen the parent-child bond. Signing helps to lower levels of frustration in the child, it gives them a way to communicate with the caregivers exactly what is going on in their mind. Which in return helps the parent and makes them feel even closer to their baby.

Looking To Their Future

There are many reasons for people to be interested in and to learn sign language. Many may need it they work with disabled children, some are learning it because of the career opportunities available with it, and others are learning it just so they can have a wide variety of communication.

The ability to communicate articulately in a variety of ways with the widest possible audience is a unique skill that not many have. This includes bilingual ability as well as the ability to communicate in non-verbal ways for the benefit of the disabled – primarily the deaf.


Co-written by Emily Patterson and Kathleen Thomas

Emily and Kathleen are Communications Coordinators for the Austin child care facility, a member of the AdvancED® accredited family of Primrose Schools (located in 16 states throughout the U.S.) and part of the network of child care preschools delivering progressive, early childhood, Balanced Learning® curriculum.

Bibby Wraps

Finally, a great solution!  Bibby Wraps

Johnson & Johnson and Wal-Mart Sued for Selling Toxic Baby Shampoo

If you purchased Johnson & Johnson’s Baby Shampoo or Wal-Mart brand Equate Tearless Baby Wash, you may want to stop using it. A class action lawsuit has been approved this month that claims these products may contain a toxin linked to cancer.

The class action lawsuit, filed earlier this year, accuses Johnson & Johnson and Wal-Mart Stores of selling shampoo and baby wash that allegedly contains methylene chloride, an ingredient banned by the FDA in cosmetics because it’s linked to cancer. 
In addition to noting methylene chloride also identified are formaldehyde (*Q-15) and 1,4 dioxane.

The law firm that filed the lawsuit is also investigating Target’s Night-time Bath and Body Wash, which is not currently named in the suit.

A third Johnson & Johnson plant is now also under investigation for alleged quality concerns. The new Johnson & Johnson plant is one that manufactures Pepcid and Mylanta among other products. You can read the details on that investigation at Legafi.

*PLEASE NOTE!
Formaldehyde (produced by Q-15)  accumulates in the body. Even "safe trace levels" add up over time. The body cannot always get rid of formaldehyde on its own!  On the low end it causes skin irritations, headaches, migraines and immune system problems. On the high end -- cancer!
MANY personal care products contain this chemical - not just the ones mentioned in this article.
AND -- there are over 28 other names for this chemical making it hard to identify on labels.
Yet another reason I shop at a store that only manufactures products with no harmful chemicals.
I passionately believe that everyone has a right to a safer shopping decision!



SOURCES: 
 Top Class Actions  Sarah Pierce, reporter
HMHB article
NJ.com

RESOURCE: http://www.5678.fourpointwellness.com/contact.cpo

Are Chlorine Free Diapers Better?

Chlorine free disposable diaper advertise that they offer a safe alternative to conventional white diapers. They hint that chlorine free diapers are better for the planet. While I am firmly in favor of avoiding the use of chlorine and resulting creation of nasty chemicals like dioxin - avoiding chlorine is just one step towards a healthier planet. These chlorine-free disposable diapers are still made with plastic that is made with petroleum products. They still contain other chemicals and they still use wood pulp and other resources.

Any disposable diaper uses a lot more resources when the raw materials are shipped to the factory, then the finished diapers are shipped to a warehouse, and finally to a store where they are then driven to a home. Whew! That is a lot of travel for a heavy box of diapers.

Let's not forget that for each of the 95 percent of parents who still use disposable diapers, 6,000 or more disposable diapers are going to end up in a landfill for hundreds of years. The numbers are staggering- 18 billion disposable diapers used in the US each year. Assuming that amounts to about 3,000 diapers per child each year, that is about 6 million kids in diapers. Compare 24 cloth diapers versus 6,000 disposables and you can easily see which diaper is the easiest on the planet.

Disposable anything is not good for the planet. We wash our clothing, our dishes, and even our reusable water bottles to help cut down on resource use and the huge landfill problem we are creating for future generations. Washing cloth diapers uses about the same amount of water as an adult flushing the toilet 5 times a day, yet no one suggests we all move to using paper underwear to save water.

Studies that make resource use for disposable diapers look equal to cloth diapers are often based on washing methods no one actually uses (raise your hand if your home water heater is set to 190 degrees - now go turn it down before your kids get scalded!). They also make line-drying diapers seem like a Herculean task when lots of moms and dads do it easily. Air-drying diapers can be done on a simple clothing rack if you want to do even more to lower your carbon footprint. These studies also consistently ignore the disposal problem, acting as if the answer is in simply producing and using the diapers. Someone has to use petroleum to haul those diapers to a landfill, and then they sit for hundreds of years.

Chlorine free diapers and wipes are also not cheap. They will cost you about $2,200 for just two years worth. If your child is in diapers longer, the the cost goes up. The larger sizes are sold for 40 or even 50 cents each. Cloth diapers, even really nice ones, will cost you from $200-600 for the whole two years. Best of all, if your child takes a little longer to potty train, you can usually keep using the same diapers. If you have a second child, cloth diapering becomes almost free since you can use the same diapers again. If you don't need them, there are organizations such as Miracle Diapers that lend cloth diapers to low-income families that will happily take good second-hand diapers.

Finally, disposable diapers that are chlorine-free are not chemical free. If you choose to use cloth diapers, you can find them in many different fabrics so you can choose what is against your baby's skin. Choose a stay-dry lining or go for all-natural fibers, you can even choose organic. Add an unscented, biodegradable laundry detergent and you have a simple system for keeping your baby's bottom chemical free.


article by: Julie Renee Holland  (BellaOnline's Attachment Parenting Editor)
SOURCE BACK LINK: Bella Online article 60777
Click to learn more about modern cloth diapers