Desmond Williams is a freelance writer and JUNO magazine columnist. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, is half of a mixed-race couple and father to a rambunctious, comedic, and inquisitive preschooler (all great fodder for parenting articles). His writing, with its injected wit and humor, tends to add a light touch to the general gravity of parenting. Desmond is currently working on his new book ‘Daducation’, due out this fall.
If I told you I took a miter saw to a child’s KidKraft kitchen, slapped a square of Plexiglass on top and called it art, well, you might call me crafty. Others might call me crazy. And a few might offer me cash. The latter is the reaction that architect Greg Lynn is hoping art lovers will have toward his new collection of one-of-a-kind furniture made from recycled, melted kids’ toys. And so far, he is right on the money.
HONEST Tea (a company with a commendable social responsibility statement) has a new line of organic, low-sugar, fruit-flavored thirst quenchers that offer “a great-tasting alternative to sugar-laden beverages.” Even though at the end of every HONEST KIDS ingredient list (filtered water, organic cane sugar, organic juice concentrates, asorbic acid and something they refer to as “organic flavor”) comes the declaration “contains 10% juice”, the makers swear the pouches contain ½ the sugar of most kid drinks. And would guys with the word ‘honest’ in their name lie?
OBAMA KIDS WILL FINALLY GET PUPPY: Americans elected the first mixed-race President on November 4, 2008. And those with hopes of a ‘greener’ America made a collective sigh of relief (remember “Drill baby, drill?”) But more importantly, the victory came with a promise that the President-elect’s kids would get a puppy for the White House. The only question… What to name it?
GREENING KIDS IS BIG! There were various lists, books and even mainstream media videos launched in 2008 that advocated for a greener child.
Kid’s toothpastes come in a variety of flavors, yet as adults we sometimes forget how important taste is. We who populate the land of the tall people, tend to think that if it’s good for you (brussels sprouts for example), then it has to possess a slightly off-putting taste. Toothpaste is no exception. We apply a schmear to the brush, stick it in our mouths, and endure the bite of cinnamon, the alkalinity of baking soda, or the sting of spearmint extract and think “Ah, it’s working.” But if you want kids to embrace this most vital of hygienic practices, then great taste has to play a major role.
You emailed your family and friends a link to Jill’s post on reusable wrapping paper alternatives. You wore your “Wrapping Paper Sucks!” pin everywhere you went for weeks before Christmas. Yet here you are, stuck with mounds of clawed, crushed and crumpled paper. Not worry, below are 5 great ways to turn all that trash into shredded treasure.
Here he comes! Here comes green racer! Recently featured in the ‘Pulse’ section of the Sunday NY Times were a collection of kids’ items that adhered to a particular theme: simplicity. Of the items featured, the Bamboo E-Racer caught my son’s eye with its sleek, somewhat natural design.
First, there was the PedoBIKE (a rustic and rugged simple machine), then came the Like-A-Bike (sleek and smooth, it features minimalist design), and now, taking the innovation even further is the Wishbone ‘pre’ Bike. Answering the call for cutting-edge, sustainable options for kids, the guys at Wishbone Design Studio put together a convertible trike/low rider/big runner that is manufactured using 60% post-consumer recycled plastic, sustainably managed woods, eco-friendly bonding agents and non-toxic paints.
Baby drool… isn’t it the cutest thing? Their poor little teething mouths can’t help but issue gobs and gobs of the slimy stuff. And let’s not even talk about dinnertime. So, how do you keep all this cute, messy mess off of that fancy schmancy dress? Bibeez! Fashioned from recycled T-shirts, ReTeez offers a line of one-of-a-kind, double-sided bibs that have that au courant, ‘upcycled pop’ look (think Jeremy Scott).
Inhabitat has written a lot about the One Laptop Per Child Project over the past few years, and now we’re excited to see the OLPC back and better than ever in cahoots with Amazon.com. Big box retailers are generally seen as the scourge of the Earth by environmentally minded folk. Their carbon menace ranks high, (right up there with SUV manufacturing and coal mining), yet sometimes there’s a tiny heart hidden in that tough, boxy, cardboard exterior, and Amazon’s XO program is one such example.
After writing about parents converting to frugality by purchasing used items in the wake of the poor economy, various other money saving concepts have come to light. K-Mart and Sears have been promoting their revived layaway services this season, as a means for shoppers to escape the evils of credit card debt (there is no premium or interest on layaway items), and I’ve recently come across the novel website, rentAtoy, which encourages parents to say “bye-bye” to buying, and stack rented toys under the Christmas tree instead.
Eco cutey hipster Baby k* shoes were born out of designer Keiko Hirosue-Korolev’s desire to produce less waste in her shoemaking studio. She discovered that she could use fewer strips of raw materials by strategically cutting patterns for both her adult and baby shoes from the same squares of leather. “I guess next will be a collection of leather scrap jewelry,” says Keiko, half-joking.
I know what girls like, I know what girls want. They want a dollhouse, and a couture blouse. They want some leggings, they’ll grow some Egglings. They want a princess, sans frilly excess. I know what girls want… girls want… girls want ‘green’.
Hip-hop and heroes and things that are furry. Bikes that go zoom, long-sleeved shirts free from worry. A wacky science show that’s inspiring. These are a few of boys’ favorite things:
The Be@brick craze has been going strong for seven years now. Be@rbrick paraphernalia includes watches and clothing items; and there are various blogs, zines and online communities dedicated to all things Be@brick. The small figures, with teddy bear heads and humanoid bodies, come in various versions ranging in size from 3-inches tall (or 100%) to two-and-a-half feet tall. Handsomely sculpted, the Be@rbricks would make a fine addition to a very fortunate child’s environmentally-friendly toy chest, or any collector’s grouping of unboxed ‘Bricks.
In Japanese animation, the bigger the eyes, the cuter the character. But in the hands of Dutch designer Rogier van Zijp, characters can be just as cute even if you don’t see their eyes at all. Cheekeyes, van Zijp’s latest creation, is a collection of handmade animal characters. With their closed eyes and blushing cheeks, each character seems to be experiencing a moment of deep, delightful thought. Whether those thoughts are blissful nirvana, (see Mr. Hippopotamus above) or a little bit cheeky, (see Ms. Triceratops below), Mr. van Zijp never lets on.
Once thought of as a case strictly for charity, reusing clothing items has become an integral and environmentally savvy facet of green parenting. Now that Goodwill clothing is ‘hip’ (the D.C. stores have a Goodwill Fashionista on their payroll), and we are witnessing the advent of the ‘frugal teen’, can a shift in thinking among parents who once turned up their noses at the idea of hand-me-down or gently-used options for children be too far behind?
Soaking socks plus chilly ankles do not equal a fun time. Especially when those wet feet belong to a pint-sized, snowbound adventurer. Patagonia, a company with unquestionable environmental ethics, offers boots for kids that serve to snuggly wrap eco-friendly feet in sustainable materials that stay warm even in freezing temperatures.
After scaring my newly-pregnant wife with the dangers of toxoplasmosis (I swear I thought there was something to it), we permanently shipped her cats off to her parents’ house, and I settled in to what I thought would forever be our comfortable pet-free home. And then came my son. My son wanted a dog. Really that should read, ‘My wife wanted a dog to replace her cats, and suggested the idea to our son figuring that his incessant querying would break me.’ Well, it didn’t. My winning question to him was, ‘Who’s going to pick-up the poop?’ Disgusted, his only response was, ‘Not me!’
You say moh-buhl, I say moh-beel - on some things we disagree. But when it comes to the aesthetic beauty a mobile can add to any nursery or kids’ room, we all agree that Frazier & Wing’s Recycled Magazine Mobiles are a great, green, gorgeous option.
Last year, while my son was still in preschool, a showy little kid came to school wearing an even more showy little number. It was a red slick, satiny, superhero cape, and my son immediately wanted one. The cape was sold at one of our local kids’ shops, but on inspecting the price tag I experienced a shock worse than a jolt from the super villain Electro: thirty bucks for a single piece of fabric? Not even if the lightning bolt stitched to the back were cast down by Zeus himself would I pay that price. Though I’m no Sally Seamstress, I decided we should make our own.
Pssst…. Ask any pediatrician and he’ll let you in on a little secret: babies don’t need body wash. The baby skincare market is overwrought with lavender scented, coconut infused, citrus steeped choices, which makes it seem all the more ludicrous that any mom, dad or caregiver would wash with just water. But the truth is, babies don’t get very dirty, and most baby soaps, washes and wipes are not safer or more effective than plain, lukewarm water when it comes to washing baby at bath time.
I recently read a NYTimes article about a tiny extension house on Long Island with a grand mission: to lengthen the life of humans through jarring aesthetics that engage the body, and in turn facilitate the stimulation of the immune system. The Bioscleave House is based on a novel concept; one that takes an inverted look at sustainable living by focusing first on the immediate environment which we inhabit, and thereby sharpening our attitude toward the world at large.
Shrieks, gasps, shivers… And I’m not talking about reactions to the twists and turns of the general election or the teeter-tottering economy. It’s almost Halloween! And that means it’s time to scare up some fun. Every kid wants to be something other than himself for Halloween, so once again eco-conscious parents are forced to find that delicate balance between creepy for kids and eerie for the environment.
If a guy does a Google search for the terms “dad” and “baby carrier,” the most highly ranked results he’ll find display the image of a camouflage print contraption, modeled by a headless female. Such is the state of affairs for men trying to find a caddy for their precious cargo. Not only is it the general assumption that in order for men to appreciate baby gear, it has to look like a leftover prop from the set of ‘Rambo’ (Isn’t that the stereotype dads who use carriers are trying to shake?), marketers don’t even bother to actually get a man to stand in for the photograph touting the gear.
In the front, in the rear, trailing two feet behind, pedal-pushing parents have various options when it comes to pillions for their tiny passengers. As a result, these options raise a host of questions for first-time purchasers of child bike seats.
Children and collectible vintage furniture generally don’t mix. No one wants kiddie edibles in their Eames or spit-up on their Arne Jacobsen Swan. But Tiny Modernist encourages such pairings with their fashionable children’s clothing line featuring embellishments of classic furniture designs.
Toys bleep and buzz and boom and bop, and sometimes they even burp. They bemuse boys, make girls giggle, and annoy the heck out of adults. Show me a parent whose kid does not have a battery operated toy, and I’ll show you a likely candidate for the next series of Frontier House. For the rest of us eco-minded toy owners, there is the Green Batteries website.
The explanation I found for the concept behind this wooden bike is a bit convoluted: “A balance bicycle that can be transformed into a rocking horse. The cycles are being folded into the wooden body of the bicycle and are used as breaks (brakes) which prevent from the child to turn over while swaying.” Huh? I assumed the bike’s coolness got lost in translation… READ MORE >
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