Articles

After much research and a thought out decision to co-sleep with our baby we decided on the Bednest. It seems to be the best option currently available on the market, which will provide baby with his own space, but attached to our bed so that he will be right there beside us. The Bednest is also endorsed by the NCT as a safe way of co-sleeping with your baby. Read more...

At around 4-8 month of age a baby's first teeth, known as their milk teeth, start to come through. While some babies can get through teething with next to no discomfort at all, for other babies there can be a lot of pain. A baby's milk teeth do not cut through the gum, in fact special chemicals are released within the baby's body, which cause the cells in the gum around the tooth to die and separate, allowing the new tooth to emerge.

The first teeth to come through are usually the bottom two front teeth, followed closely by the top two front teeth - though for some babies the central incisors (on either side of the top front teeth) can cut through before the front top teeth - this is known as cross cutting. Usually the next to come through are the bottom incisors. By a child's first birthday they will typically have anywhere between 4-8 teeth, but do not be concerned if you child has more or less, as all babies teeth at different rates.

After their 1st Birthday the first molars start to come through, followed by the canines at around 18 months, with the back molars (also know as '2year old molars') coming through any time between 18-30 months. By the time a child is 2 1/2 - 3 years old they will have their full set of milk teeth. Read more...

Why avoid toxic chemical cleaners

Many of the cleaning products available to the consumer from your local supermarket shelf contain toxic chemicals which are a cocktail of VOC's, known respiratory irritants, hormone disruptor's, neurotoxins and known Carcinogenics. As parents we are warned of the dangers of these cleaners and told by the manufacturers to keep them in locked cupboards away from small children, but what happens when we use these chemicals to clean our houses? When these toxic chemicals are used VOC are released into the air, and a small amount of these cleaning products are left behind on surfaces every time they are used to clean. These are then absorb into the body through the air and the skin. Young babies and children who's brain, internal organs, respiratory systems and immune systems are all developing are especially vulnerable to this kind of exposure because they spend so much on the floor, and put objects in their mouths. Another danger with toxic chemical cleaners is that by unknowingly or accidentally combining different cleaning products causes chemical reactions that cause potentially lethal gases to be formed e.g combining ammonia or vinegar with bleach. Read more...

The majority of popular brands of mainstream toiletries and personal care products that we use on ourselves and our families are full of toxic chemicals, even products which claim to be 'natural' and 'pure' contain many of these toxic ingredients. The biggest organ on our bodies is our skin, anything which comes into contact with it is rapidly absorbed into our bloodstream - with babies skin being three times thinner than a grow adults and the vanurable state of babies and young children to toxic exposure due to their developing organs and repoductive system, it is even more important to avoid these chemicals. By reading labels and seeking fragrance free products derived from natural sources you can help protect your family from these toxic chemicals.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or Sodium Laureth Sulfate

What is it? Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate is used as a detergent, that will cause a product to foam and bubble.

Why is it bad for us? SLS/SLES's are a possible carcinogenic, which have been shown to irritate the scalp eyes and skin, and cause hair loss and damage to the teeth. Studies on lab animals show evidence that SLS's damage the reproductive system, liver, lungs and immune system and may mimic estrogen. SLS's can be stored in the brain, liver, heart and lungs.

What is it used in? SLS/SLES's are found in most commercial shampoos (including 'baby' shampoos), bubble bath, shower gel, cleansers, mouthwash and toothpaste (where the body gets its biggest dose of SLS/SLES's due to the mucus membranes in the mouth) Read more...

In Heuristic play Part I we looked at the Treasure Basket and how babies interacted and explored objects, we learned that for babies the question involved in their play was 'What is it?' In Heuristic play part II we will look at how toddlers interact with and explore objects during heuristic play, and ways in which we can enrich these play opportunities for them, engaging their curiosity to enhance their cognitive development.

As babies grow they develop further curiosity about the world around them, and as the question of 'What is it?', is fulfilled with the exploration of the treasure basket, they are no longer content to simply hold, feel and mouth objects, they want to know what they can do with them! For toddlers, the question posed when participating in heuristic play is 'What can I do with this object?'. Toddlers have a natural curiosity to explore, and experiment with the different ways that objects interact with each other, a toddler will investigate with all the physical possibilities of an object, by rolling, filling, stacking, dumping, fitting things inside each other, balancing and manipulating an object in every possible way. Toddlers who are able to freely explore in this way can make satisfying discoveries about how the world works, by exploring area's such as gravity, spacial awareness, density, and simple physics, which builds their cognitive development, hand/eye co-ordination and fine and gross motor skills. Read more...

Heuristic play was a term coined by a child psychologist Elinor Goldschmeid in the early 1980's. Heuristic play describes the activity of babies and children as they play with and explore the properties of 'objects'. These 'objects' are things from the real world. For babies and toddlers heuristic play is very different, In this article we will focus on heuristic play with babies which revolves around the treasure basket, and later in 'part II' we will revisit heuristic play in regards to toddlers.

We live in a world where plastic toys dominate the shelves of toy shops, but plastic is dull and disappointing for babies, and while each rattle may look different each one smells, tastes and feels the same - it is unstimulating to a babies senses. Using heuristic play with babies stimulates all the senses, creating a rich learning experience. Heuristic play with babies revolves around the use of the Treasure Basket - the Treasure Basket can be used with babies from the time that they can sit unaided to around 16-18 months, during this phase the primary question a baby would ask if they could talk would be 'What is the object like?'. The Treasure Basket is a ridged low sided round basket filled with 'objects' from the 'real world' these 'objects' are made from any material but plastic, and come from a variety of sources in nature and the around the house. It is through handling and exploring these objects that a baby develops contact with the outside world, and begins to make their own choices and decisions. Read more...

Step One - Eat a healthy and varied diet while pregnant and breastfeeding
Pregnant women can take advantage of the most wonderful window of opportunity, by eating a varied diet, as babies born to mothers who ate a varied and healthy diet during pregnancy will have a tendency to be drawn to the same healthy foods that the mother ate during her pregnancy, the same applies for breastfeeding mothers.

Step Two - Move away from the puree
The World Health Organization recommend introducing solids at 6 months of age, when it comes to weaning, you can either use the 'Rapley' Weaning method (where by a child self feeds from 'whole foods') or you can introduce solids by pureeing and spoon feeding your baby. If you choose the later method of introducing solids to your baby, there are some important steps that you can take to help ensure your baby will happily accept a large variety of foods. The first is that it is important to quiet rapidly move from smooth pureed foods to mashed foods, aim for your baby to be eating mashed rather than pureed foods by about 7 1/2 months, and and include wholegrains like couscous, amaranth and quinoa with soft mashed vegetables to add textures to your babies food. Even if your baby does not have any teeth, he should be able to manage soft mashed foods quiet efficiently Read more...

The good news for us living in the European Union, is that some specific phthalates are prohibited in the use of certain PVC products. Three phthalates; DEHP - di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, DBP - dibutyl phthalate and BBP - benzyl butyl phthalate have been banned in all toys and child care products. Three others; DINP - diisononyl phthalate, DIDP - diisodecyl phthalate, and DNOP - di-n-octyl phthalate have been banned from use in toys and childcare products that are intended to be put in the mouth by children under the age of 3 years.

This is great news for our children in terms of phthalate exposure, but because these bans only concern products directly related to children's toys and child care products, PVC in other household products still contain these dangerous phthalates. Phthalates are released into the air from PVC, they are then easily inhaled and are absorbed into household dust. Because young children, especially crawling babies spend so much time on the ground they are likely to ingest this dust. Phthalates are also ingested any time a child mouths a PVC product which contains phthalates. Phthalates are considered a Probable Carcinogen by the World Health Organization, they are also an endocrine disruptor, that interferes with hormones Read more...

Making your own natural food dyes to use in messy play is not only safe for little ones who like to explore the world by putting everything in their mouth, but is also lots of fun! With older children, it can be a great activity to do together - experimenting with different spices, fruits and vegetables to see what colours you can create.

Making the dyes

To make the natural food dyes cut vegetables or fruit into small pieces, cover with water, then bring to the boil and simmer for approx an hour, then drain off the fluid and leave to cool, discarding the fruit or vegetables.

In the photo I have used: Tumeric (Yellow), spinach and brocolli (Green), red cabbage(Purple) and red pepper and paprika (Orange).

Now the fun part - using the dyes, with any of the following recipies: Read more...

So you have probably heard in the media about BPA and its presence in # 7 plastic - a plastic frequently used to make baby bottles and sippy cups, the thing is, BPA is only the most recent toxic chemical to be found in plastic, and sadly will probably not be the last. Because of this many families are choosing to avoid plastics altogether, which unfortunately in todays society is near impossible. This article will cover information on the toxic chemicals that have been found in plastics - which plastics they are in and the long term effects they can have on our bodies. It will also cover why it is so important to avoid these toxins during pregnancy and childhood, and useful ideas on the ways that the most harmful plastics can be avoided and substituted with safe alternative materials.

There are several reasons that it is so important to avoid the harmful toxins in plastics during pregnancy and with babies and small children. During pregnancy every chemical and toxin that a mother is exposed to, her developing baby is exposed to as well. From conception through early childhood, children's bodies and brains are developing and growing laying down the foundations for life, this rapid growth and development is what makes babies and small children more vulnerable, as any toxic interference during this period of development can disrupt normal growth patterns. Babies and children's bodies can not process chemicals and toxins in the same way as an adults, and because of the small size of their bodies, a toxic dose which is considered 'safe' for an adult, is potentially much more dangerous to a small child . Ounce for ounce children consume more food, drink more water and breathe more air than adults, because of their rapid growth and higher metabolic rate they take in proportionately greater amounts of environmental toxins than adults. Read more...

It is a scary thing when you start to read about toxins, you read names of toxic chemicals left right and center, but never really know exactly what they are or what products they are in. This glossary will empower you with the information you need to know about which toxic chemicals to protect your family from. It is by no means a complete list of every toxin known to man, but it is a list of the 12 toxins which we are most likely to be exposed to on a daily basis, and which we can have the greatest amount of control over in limiting our exposure.

Volatile Organic Compounds

Don't be fooled by the word 'Organic' - Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC's) are carbon based chemicals which evaporate easily at room temperature (known as off gassing).
Not all VOC's are considered dangerous, but those that are toxic have been linked to cancer and organ & neurological damage. Common toxic VOC's include formaldehyde, perchloroethylene, toulene and benzene.

Benzene

What is it? Benzene is a natural part of crude oil, it is also known as benzol, and is a clear pungent liquid. Benzene is a major industrial solvent and is used in the production process of plastic, oil, synthetic rubber and many dyes. Read more...