Growing Up Green! Baby and Child Care

Green This #2

by Deirdre Imus

The essential, parent-friendly guide to raising a healthy child in our increasingly toxic environment.

The second volume in the New York Times bestselling Green This! series, Growing Up Green: Baby and Child Care is a complete guide to raising healthy kids. Environmental activist and children's advocate Deirdre Imus addresses specific issues faced by children in every age group -- from infants to adolescents and beyond. With a focus on preventing rather than treating childhood illnesses, Deirdre concentrates on educating and empowering parents with information such as:

• How to make sure your child is vaccinated safely

• Which plastic bottles and toys are least toxic

• How to lobby for safer school environments and support children's environmental health studies

• Advice from leading "green" pediatricians and nationally recognized doctors such as Mehmet C. Oz, M.D.

Chock-full of research and advice, Growing Up Green makes it easy for you to introduce your child to the "living green" way of life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Green, Parenting, Health

304 pages, Paperback

First published April 15, 2008

About the author

Deirdre Imus is the Founder and President of The Deirdre Imus Environmental Center for Pediatric Oncology® at Hackensack University Medical Center and Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Imus Cattle Ranch for Kids with Cancer. Deirdre is the author of two New York Times bestsellers -- the newest book in the Green This! series, Growing Up Green, Baby and Child Care; a practical family guide to raising children in an ever increasing toxic world; and Green This! Volume 1: Greening Your Cleaning, offering a wealth of insights and expertise for protecting families from harmful chemicals. She is also author of The Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys, a national bestseller, and a frequent contributor to the Huffington Post.

Reviews

[Sally]

Just flipped through this highly anticipated follow-up to Greening Your Cleaning. Already highly disappointed. She's actually suggesting that organic baby formula in a glass baby bottle might be safer and superior to "contaminated" breastmilk. Then she refers mothers who might still choose the frightening avenue of breastfeeding in today's polluted world to La Leche League. If she had read anything about toxins and breastmilk by LLL, she would have learned that even mothers with serious concerns about pollutants in their breastmilk are better off breastfeeding!

I don't know if I have faith in anything else in the book, but I'll read it anyway.

*****************

Deirdre knows her chemicals and environmental toxins, but I would not say she practices natural living or natural parenting. That surprised me for some reason.

Things I liked or agreed with:

wooden toys rather than plastic for babies

the difference between sunblock (zinc or titanium dioxide) and sunscreen (chemically absorbs UV rays)

natural pet care ideas

she has a website called dienviro.com which will consult for free with you about the safety of your kids' school facilities and playground

eat organically when possible

avoid household cleaners, carpeting, petroleum products when possible

always ask questions about ingredients and procedures

advocate for change in your community

What I didn't agree with:

she recommends soy milk over dairy, even organic dairy, citing that even "clean" milk may have too much estrogen in it. Soy is arguably less healthy than dairy. And she doesn't even mention raw milk.

she tells pregnant moms to choose a "green hospital" for her birth, talks about midwives and doulas, and doesn't even mention the option of home! Can't get much "greener" than a homebirth! lol

in the same vein, she talks about green cribs and baby bedding, and doesn't mention co-sleeping as a lifestyle choice.

she chose "green" disposable diapers to cloth because services tend to use "heavy duty toxins" to clean their diapers, and washing them herself was overwhelming.

she spends a lot of time talking about the ins and outs of safe vaccinating, and does not mention or give credence to the option of not vaccinating.... ?

oh, and colic is supposed to get better if you stop eating broccoli! what an old wives' tale!

NO INDEX. That's a huge thing for me. 'Nuff said.

And since you made it this far, I might as well mention something that only began to bother me after I became disillusioned with this book. Her first book, when it was first published, said on the front, "the bestselling Green This! Series." That's some confident marketing, to claim a book is part of a bestselling series when the first book is brand new!

There is a lot of good information in this book, but you have to practice what she preaches and ask yourself lots of questions to decide what you take and what you leave behind.

[Wintermote]

Seemed so promising, but some information already outdated and much of the book is just authors opinion without supporting factual info and she doesn’t have the credentials to make some of the claims she does. Particularly concerned about some of the info she has on essential oils based on new published research and her comments regarding vaccines.

[Hilary Roberts]

This book was a real eye opener! It went through various stages of life (pregnancy, newborn, teens, etc.) and talked about potential health risks in things a baby/child would be exposed to. It gave great ideas for what to use to help your family be healthier with everything from mattresses, to cleaning chemicals, to food.

I noticed the book has a low rating and have been wondering why. I decided maybe it was because it seems like everyone is doing just fine with how things are, so why change things (some of which are expensive)? If you are reading this book not sure how you stand on the need to go green, then read another book first. Although this does talk about the consequences of all the chemicals and such, it is more a book about what you can do. If you are already convinced how important it is to make changes (which I am!!!!), this book is full of great ideas!

[Erica]

I found this book in the bargain bin at the book store. Best bargain I ever received. Although at times I felt very overwhelmed with all the suggestions, it was a good book. This book is a great reference book if you are looking to clean up your life from pesticides. It mostly centers around raising children to be green and make healthy choices, but even if you don't have children it is a good book. I also liked that the author gives you websites and books for more information. I hate reading a book that tells you to get more information on the subject and doesn't give you an idea of where to begin.

[Heidi Thorsen]

The author points out a lot of "dangers" in our homes and environment that I think are ridiculous, but they were mixed in with what I consider reasonable suggestions to lower the amount of toxins and other unnatural products in our lives. She lists many useful resources for organic / non-toxic cleaning agents, children's clothes, toys, and furniture. I thought the book had enough useful information to warrant reading it, but I had to take a lot of the information presented with a grain of salt.

[Dorrie Thomas]

OK, like reading a text book, so not thrilling...but good information...definitely overwhelming and sometimes irritating (does she realize we don't all have household incomes of millions of dollars?)...had to read it in short spurts...but also felt strongly about reading it, to bring the new baby into the safest possible environment!

[Kylin Larsson]

This book has lots of useful information but you have to be careful not to let it make you paranoid. There are so many scary toxins in our environment and there is only so much we can do about them. I wanted the book to be briefer and more action-oriented, though I'm sure others appreciate the deluge of facts that show the writers did their research.

[April]

This book is very well-written. You can tell that Deirdre has done her research and is passionate about the topic. She's got a lot of great ideas that I would love to implement into my life. I also appreciate that she is aware that living healthier costs more, and so throughout the book she gives ways that you can save money while still staying healthy.

[Rose]

Zero stars. Took this back to the library a couple days after I checked it out because the advice I gathered from skimming some of it was so bad. I was particularly unhappy that much of it was an advertisement for the Imus' green household products.

[Jennifer Kyrnin]

This is a fairly comprehensive book for how small it is. If you're already practicing green living, then a lot of the suggestions are not huge surprises. I found nothing particularly earth shattering in this book, but it was a good reassurance for a new mom wanting to raise a green child.

[Jen]

I'd really only give this 1-1/2 stars, but I rounded up. I felt the book was extremely preachy, and that the author was over-the-top in some of her recommendations and advice. That said, I did pick up a few tips and products I intend to try.

[Anna West]

Mom gave it to me, thought it was all pretty obvious and not helpful. Might be helpful to people who don't live in ultra liberal progressive communities.

[Jessica]

less than 1 star. Formula better than "contaminated breastmilk"? no fish, ever? give me a break. most of what she recommends is not feasible nor is it presented with evidence.

[Faye]

good, practical advice

[Sarah]

Great book - really makes me want to 'go green' with the baby on the way!

[Jessica Daly]

I needed more time with this book. I would buy it rather than borrow from the library. To make a lifestyle change, I need to reference the book often.

[Lizelle]

pretty generic if you've already changed your lifestyle, but good for refrences.

[Plant Hero]

Lots and lots of advice

[Amanda]

Most of this was common sense but taken to the extreme in terms of practice, which was a turn off.