Moms & Dads Share Your Earth-Friendly Tips Transcript

sounds great!!
i will be here if i can remember?*&

Sounds Great

I'll try to make it....

Have the incredible kids contest winner been announced yet???

I won't be here to be able to participate, but kudos to Gather for bringing up the subject!!!

can't guarantee it but I will try to be here

What a fantastic topic- this is something I've grown more interested in doing lately, so I eagerly look forward to the chat!

I don't have kids but I think considering green products for children is so important! With growing bodies and immune systems, they are more vulnerable to the ill effects of so much chemical use, whether it's the contaminants in plastic, toxic odors from paint and carpet, or dangerous lead in toys from China.

I am glad to see the ecological movement of the 1970s taking hold again as everyone tries to "go green." We need to think more carefully about our planet and our personal role in keeping it healthy.

I just got here, too.

We recycle everything we possibly can.

It's good that they still do it even though they are out on their own.

Hi Marsha. It looks like we are the only ones here.

We recycle - I haven't taught my daughter anything about the environment since she isn't one yet.

Hello everyone

Our plan is to teach her by example, though. We want her to respect the Earth!

lol - I guess we were talking at the same time.

Hi both Aprils.

We also take her camping with us (she's gone camping 5 times already). They say that children who grow up camping learn to appreciate the outdoors and therefore strive to protect it.

We recycle what we can, cans and newspapers at our school because they get a percentage of it!

I also re-use containers if I can, even if for storage and crafts.

Hi Leah!

I took the green quiz and really need to do more to help the environment. I know we are reusing bags, putting items into the correct dumpsters and buying products that have the energy star like our water cooler. We can have cold water and not open the refrigerator to get it.

We also changed over ALL of our light bulbs to the new energy saver lights, they put off a different kind of light but it's still light! And it SAVES!

We reuse a lot of glass containers - I shy away from reusing plastic containers for food with all of the leaching concerns these days.

We LOVE camping. And I have since I was a kid

We are replacing all the lightbulbs with energy saving ones, but they are expensive so we can't do it all at once. We change them when the old bulb dies.

When we went camping at Port St Joe the bugs were AWFUL!
They haven't been too bad on our other trips though.

That's how we're doing ours Leah!

One thing I've been doing to help lessen our "carbon footprint" is by purchasing reusable bags for groceries, or requesting paper bags.

Gotta run and work on some homework now, it was nice chatting!

To me Going green is a way of living, and that means it must include my kids, and their kids too right from birth . Regardless of their age, my children started learning what it means to live a healthier, more natural and environmentally friendly lifestyle.
This is how I taught my preschoolers


Water: Teach them to keep the water flow to a pencil-thin stream when using the sink.
Energy: Tell them to turn off the lights when leaving a room and to leave the lights off during the day. Natural sunlight is generally good enough.
Toxic Exposure: Cleaning up messy little hands? Be sure to avoid anti-bacterial hand soaps and hand sanitizers that contain triethanolamine. Anti-bacterial hand soaps have been proven to cause more harm than good because they kill beneficial bacteria as well as the bad stuff and may be leading to super-strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. Hand sanitizers that contain the ingredient triethanolamine can damage liver and kidneys.
Waste: Recycle newspapers, magazines and junk mail. You can present it as a game that involves sorting out the different types and putting them in their special bins for points. Assign a daily chore to help with the sorting and recycling.
Food: Teach your preschooler how to help pick out ripe seasonal fruit and vegetables for their snacks and meals. Show them that when they have finished their fruit and vegetables, there are parts that can be composted. Involve your children in composting your food scraps, coffee grounds, etc. Get them used to seeing that food waste is not garbage but rather something that can be turned into soil to grow more food.
Transportation: Walk whenever possible. Plan out your weekly menu and shopping needs, and go to the store once to cut back on multiple trips.

I also swap out bulbs to the energy saving bulbs as old ones burn out. Not only do they last longer, they use less electricity, and help lower our electric bills.

April, I'm glad to hear that we aren't the only ones that have to do it that way! At least we are trying.

The kids are self transport to school, so I walk to and from the school twice a day, rather than drive (as quite a few parents do). It lessens our gas consumption, and it teaches the kids to be active.

My husband and I believe by example our daughter has learned to recycle and does a good job at it. We have 3 bins one for trash, which is always almost empty, 1 for recycling has been completely full several times and one for grass. That is full a lot, as we must mow year round.

We always recycle cans.
And, we try take our plastic bags back to the store so they can reuse them.

Kids in Grades 1-3


Water: Besides teaching your child dental hygiene, remind them to turn off the water while brushing their teeth.
Energy: Make it a rule to unplug the TV and turn off the computer at night.
Toxic Exposure: Harsh chemicals aren't the only way to rid your child's head of lice if they happen to catch the buggers. Greener solutions include smothering the pests with mayonnaise or Vaseline under a shower cap before bedtime and then washing hair thoroughly in the morning. Alternatively, you can brush through the hair with an all-natural conditioner and a fine-tooth comb. It may take a few applications.
Waste: Play a more advanced recycling game and have kids guess what can and cannot be recycled. Challenge them with the following stumpers:
Question: Pizza box with grease on it?
Answer: No, because the grease disrupts the recycling process. The clean top, however, can be torn off and recycled.
Question: Milk carton?
Answer: No because the wax coating keeps it from by recyclable.
Question: Coffee Cup?
Answer: No because the inside is coated in petroleum wax and the lid is not a type of plastic that can be recycled.
Question: Metal bottle caps?
Answer: Yes
Question: Pet food cans (aluminum or steel)?
Answer: Yes
Question: Detergent containers (HDPE #2)?
Answer: Yes
Question: Bubble wrap envelopes?
Answer: No
Question: Enveloples with labels?
Answer: Yes
Question: Post-It notes?
Answer: Yes
Food: Pack sandwiches, fruits, veggies and treats in reusable food containers.
Transportation:Have kids take the bus to school to cut down on carbon emissions.

I try to reuse before recycling or throwing items away, as well. You can make a lot of crafts out of food jars (the type spaghetti sauce, applesauce, pickles, etc come in). Juice concentrate tops can be made into Christmas ornaments with a simple nail, and hammering holes into it. Egg cartons can be used for a number of crafts, or even just as paint dishes for painting projects.

Scrap paper, old notes from school, junk mail, and fliers can all be put through a shredder to make decorative paper for gift bags, or packaging material.

"Do you recycle?" Yes we do everything we can at least. We have curbside recycling pick up we can recycle any paper as long as it does not have food on it e can recycle, glass, aluminum , tin , steel and plastic but they limit the plastic to items that have a bottle neck. Like soda bottles, shampoo, laundry detergent etc... We also have yard wast pickup that goes to a special area at the dump. Because of this we only have 1 trash pickup a week and are limited to two cans.They do not collect plastic bags but we save those and take them to the store where they have collections for those. We don't actually have many plastic bags anyways we have decided to go with the reusable bags that we take everywhere.

Kids in Grades 4-6


Water: Teach kids to wash fruits and veggies in a bowl to conserve water.
Energy: Instead of using the AC or heater, teach kids to put on a sweater or hat when they are cold or to open a window on each side of the house when they are hot.
Toxic Exposure: Make sure children know that they should never microwave plastic or Styrofoam.
Waste: Make notebooks out of cereal box covers and fill with three-hole punched recycled paper. It's simple: Have your kids save their favorite cereal boxes and cut out the front cover a little larger than 8 1/2 x 11. Collect 50 sheets of paper already printed on one side; flip the stack over and punch holes in the entire stack. Slip metal rings through the holes to hold it all together.
Food: Enlist kids to help in the garden and give them their own plants to nurture. You can have them help with weeding, but you can also bring them in at the beginning of the process. Start with sunflowers, carrots and pole beans. Check out Kidsgardening.com for more ideas.
Transportation: Carpool to activities. Check with your child's daycare or school teacher to find out if other kids live nearby and plan carpools to school and other activities.

Leah, we got our lightbulbs at Costco. They were on sale for $4.99 for 6 energy saver bulbs, they were normally $12.99! I was THRILLED at the savings!

My husband has to drive 35 minutes each way to work, so we bought an older ford Escort, which doesn't use much in gas, so he uses less gas than he would with a different type of vehicle.

Bridget- Home Depot sells those lights cheaper than most places, too. I usually pay around $6-7 for a 4 pack of the bulbs, as opposed to almost double the price at regular stores. Not as good as you, but we don't have a costco :(

"We also changed over ALL of our light bulbs to the new energy saver lights"

That is one thing I will not do. They contain mercury and with a 16 month old around I am not willing to risk them getting broken.

Our school has a recycle bin for old school papers which I use. I gather up all papers from the year, put them in a bag, then take and dump there, when it's full.

"I shy away from reusing plastic containers for food "

Same here but I do use them to store craft supplies, buttons, etc..

Kids in Grades 7-8


Water: Teach kids how to wash dishes properly. By hand, use a basin and only a pencil-thin stream of water. By machine, scrape dishes off but do not rinse with water.
Energy: Make sure they don't keep the refrigerator door open for too long.
Toxic Exposure: Allow them to use only non-toxic, recycled permanent markers. Find more green school supplies at Greenhome.com.
Waste: Fix something before buying a new one. If your child's backpack gets a rip or needs a new zipper, check to see if the manufacturer will fix it for free or take it to a local repair shop.
Food: Focus on healthy choices, and let your children help with the shopping and meal preparation. Introduce them to new foods and explore the advantages of organic food together.
Transportation: Have your kids use a push mower instead of a gas mower and leave the grass cuttings on the lawn as natural fertilizer.

Kids in High School


Water: Do a beach, river, waterway or park clean-up with your kids each year.
Energy: Encourage them to unplug their MP3, phone and camera chargers when not in use.
Toxic Exposure: Wash your pet with organic shampoo, and keep fleas at bay with non-toxic remedies. Try one of the following:
Diatomaceous Earth (DE). Sprinkle this powder on your pet and the house. It kills fleas by dehydrating them. Use a mask and vacuum the house after four days. Find more solutions at Care2.com.
Vinegar. Mix 1 teaspoon of vinegar with 1 quart water (per 40 pounds of pet weight). Add to your pet's drinking water.
Spread leaves or shavings of eucalyptus, fennel, rosemary, red cedar, sassafras or pennyroyal under and around your pet's bed.
Waste:Take a field trip to a landfill to understand there is no "away" in "throwing things away." This is when we have the opportunity to teach the importance of recycling and reusing.
Food: Give your high-schooler shopping responsibilities: Take them with you to the local farmer's market and have them develop a shopping list that focuses on balanced, healthy meals using organic, local produce.
Transportation:Teach your kids to consider their transportation options. Encourage walking, riding bikes and using public transportation. If they need to drive and have a car, encourage them to carpool with friends, and teach them to properly care for their car. Plus, make sure they know the rules to live by: Regularly change the air and oil filter, keep tires inflated, don't top off, don't be a lead foot, reduce drag on the vehicle, keep the car free from extra weight and don't idle the car when waiting for longer than 30 seconds.

We walk when possible or take the bus; however, living in California that is not always an option. We have changed most of the light bulbs to use energy savers.

When we bake things, we try to plan ahead and bake 2-3 items at a time, so that I can stick them in the freezer for later. It uses the same amount of energy to bake 3 items at 375 as it does to bake 1 item.

April, where are you copy & pasting from? Sounds like an interesting site.

I do my best to do my part. Afterall, I think that even the littlest things help in a BIG way!

I recently won the Livinggreen House Party and as gifts all of my guests will be receiving those energy saving light bulbs and Nalogen bottles for water instead of the bad plastic ones.

Yeah, April can you site your source?!

Bridget - Way to go! We pick them up when they are on sale or sometimes we get our hands on a promotional coupon.

Awesome House Party to win!

My family recycles aluminum, plastic, cardboard, and newspapers. Our area does not have glass recycling, unfortunately. We turn off lights when we're not in the room, reuse containers and turn the furnace/air conditioner down when not at home. My son still has to remind me to turn the water off while I'm brushing my teeth. It's a bad habit I can't seem to break, but he's very aware of the environment and interested in protecting it. We planted a new tree in the backyard last year. I guess I should mention that he's 15. Each time an old lightbulb burns out, we replace it with one of the energy efficient types. I just can't bring myself to throw away a lightbulb until it burns out. We try to make as few trips as possible and do all of our errands in one trip to save on gas.

Princess Spanky pants. It is from my lesson plans when I was a Park naturalist for the state and part of what I took with me when I taught in Costa rica.

The more people who think Green, the better off the planet will be. It may not seem like much, but every bit will help.

I also think lowering consumption helps. Going out and buying, buying, buying, no matter what it is, adds to the items that need to be broken down to be sent back to the earth.

Because of that, if we need something, I try to buy used first.

We buy from local farmers that don't use pesticides whenever possible. We also try to buy the Earth's Best brand baby/toddler food, because it is organic.

My sources over the years has been my college books for teaching environmental Ed. Teaching Environamental Science was my Major

Next summer, I hope to start a garden, and plant fruit plants that will grow every year.

We also use a reusable lunch bag or sack for school or work lunches. They're made of cloth and not paper.
I also use cloth sacks when I go to stores to try to cut down on plastic bag usage.
I also have switched to energy saver light bulbs.

my daughter collects the tabs off cans. We do not have anywhere around here to ocllect other items. We do turn off the computer at night and we have some of the energy saving light bulbs.. planning on getting some more!

"We also try to buy the Earth's Best brand baby/toddler food, because it is organic."

That is all I fed my son. Now that he is 16 months old he does not eat baby food anymore but I try to buy asmuch organic as I can. We go the local farmers market every week too.

I buy used whenever possible, too, but mainly that is due to our economic situation. It is good that it help the environment, though.

Tiffany what do you do with the tabs? I have never heard about that before.

I ride a horse to town to save on gas. pull my 4 kids in a buggy behind..

I am in the process of putting together some lesson plans to go with the above age lists and I will put it on the site I sell all my lesson plans
http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/

So far people have only been interested in buying my art lesson plans. But with the resurgence of Going Green I hope to cash in with my Lesson Plans

There is a bill company I send a bill to and I wa gonna GO GREEN with them but they wanted to charge me 9.00. YEAAAH RIGHT.. I will stick to the 41 cent stamp..


LOL and Im joking i dont ride a horse just yet..

I just remembered about this.

They turn them in and help the breast cancer awarenes program

I've taken to reusing my own clothing 2 times for shirts and 3-4 times for pants (unless they have a spill on them, or look or smell dirty) instead of rewashing every single time I wear something. It lessens the amount of water we consume, and how many chemicals get dumped into the water with soap.

We recycle and reuse everything we can. When I walk with my sons I pick up cans and bottles. The coke and pepsi points are an extra bonus, and the cans we drop off at a recycling center.

I like to buy used deoderant. Nothing like buying used :)

I would ride a horse if I could but somehow I don't see being able to keep up with traffic on 95. LOL

I've started paying as many bills as I can online- this cuts back on stamp use, which isn't much, but also on paper products being sent around. Each of the bill companies now sends me an eBill, instead of a paper bill. If more people did this, there would be less paper bills sent out, and less paper being consumed.

April - good luck with the new lesson plans. It would be great if more people started to teach these things.

Tiffany - I would LOVE to be able to ride a horse to town!

We collect pop tabs too and donate them to the local Children's hospital!

We grow our own veggies in the summer as well!

We walk whenever possible and combine errands to save gas when we do drive.

I reuse my clothes as well Heather...unless I have been out walking (and sweating in them). I am trying to teach the boys the concept of reusing, and we have a little pile where they fold their clothes to reuse. This way they last longer as well, as the wash wears them out.

Boy Heather you are a go greener winner

Tiffany we turn in tabs for Breast Cancer Awareness Program also.

We wear our clothes 3x before we wash them. turn our underwear, shirts and pants inside out and wear them again! LOL!

A what Tiffany??:)

In the summer, we tend to grill out for dinner almost every night. A single tank of propane costs us $20, and will last about 3/4ths of a summer, where as our gas bill if we cook goes up $20-30 a month, so we're spending less there, and using less natural gas.

I did not know the thing about the tabs, I might just have to do that.

I try to reuse as much as possible too. Also use almost anything for craft projects. Toilet paper rolls make great kazoos!

I also try to have my kids not run the water when they brush their teeth. That is the best way to conserve water. And, when I can, I try not to let the kids flush the toilet so often.
And, we always turn off all the lights when we go to bed.
Even if we leave a room, I make sure to turn the light off, till the next time I go in there.

LOL Bridget!

Tiffany, lol - that just wasn't right! I was SO jealous about the horse! I really would love to have one.

I pay ALL my bills online as well and even have them send me my bill online instead of through the mail!

J - Frugal :)

I receive my paycheck electronically. It's so much better than getting paper checks.

Hardly, Tiffany! I do a lot of this more to be frugal than anything, but I love that it helps lower my carbon footprint. These are all small things most people can do without even noticing a difference in their lives.

Heather I do that with jeans. I wear then a few times but everything else I wash after one use but we purchased a HE Washer and dryer so it only uses the water it needs instead of filling up the entire washer like non HE washers do.

As a matter of fact all of our appliances we replaced when we purchased our home are either HE or Energy Star appliances.

I didn't realize that grilling would save so much. We grill frequently, but maybe could more.

you should try it sometime! LOL!

lol/ Bridget NO YOU DIDNT... I do that too! Totally is going green YEAH BABY