In the past few weeks our youngest (16 months) has gone from being a happy little traveler to being a rolling whiner.  From the moment she realizes that the car ride is coming she stiffens up and fusses.  After fifteen minutes in the car she starts to really get mad (the twice-daily rountrip to school [...]

A couple of months ago I shared a list of some of my favorite activities for keeping toddlers occupied for a bit when you need to cook dinner, check your email, or (goodness me!) take a break on the couch for a few minutes.  Well, it was such a hit that I thought I’d better [...]

I somehow made it through life not understanding how to keep things tidy. I’m pretty good at the actual act of cleaning (vacuuming, cleaning the toilet, dusting–however rarely that might happen), but in spite of having an compulsively tidy, uncluttering type of mother (love you mom!) I had no idea until fairly recently that [...]

After a bit of looking over the weekend we realized that although the liquid-holding body of our sippy cups were phthalate and Bisphenol-A (BPA)-free, the lids weren’t. Further, our daughter’s pacifiers have BPA in the shield that holds the nipple and that…basically everything in our house has something bad in it. After throwing [...]

We keep reading about how bad the stuff in our house is, but I’m still confused about what it all is and why I should be worried about it. So here is the Cliff’s Notes version:

Bisphenol-A (BPA) is a component in plastics (mainly polycarbonate [recycling #7], which is clear and shatter-resistant) and the epoxy [...]

Just in time, Toys ‘R’ Us, the one store I avoid at all costs if I’ve got children in tow, has come up with their own line of wooden toys. They’re constructed of replenishable materials and are chemical-free. As I said earlier, I really do think that mainstream toy manufacturers are starting to [...]

I got a great question from Susannah, mother of a little teether:
i do have question for you…whats your best recs for teething toys? is there a particular website or brand of toys i should look for?

Great question! If you haven’t noticed, I love to give advice (as my close friends will attest [...]

Oompa Toys is one of my very favorite online choices for fun, safe kids’ toys and art supplies. They’ve got a great selection of toys from HABA and other European manufacturers (and if you’ve read earlier rants, er, posts you already know that the EU imposes strict standards on their toys). Also, they [...]

So yesterday I was freaked out about the lead, the phthalates, the cheap plastic toys that seem to overflow our shelves…. but I think I’ve gotcha covered. By being just a tiny bit selective, it’s really quite simple to buy better stuff. You’ll be happier too, since it seems like these playthings are [...]

The whole toy recall thing really hit me last summer. With our organic, fair-trade, shade-grown coffee, our organic strawberries (okay, sometimes), throwing out the polycarbonate sippy cups, no pesticides, blah blah blah, one would assume that toys were safe. They’re toys! For children! I’d love to have a house full [...]