• Created on 8/7/10 by emilyfrischmann

By Annie Berthold-Bond Dioxin in paper and chemicals in plastics can migrate into food. For example, everyone knows the taste of water from a plastic bottle that has been left in the sun. One should go to extremes to eliminate these circumstances and others that can cause such migrations of chemicals because some plastics can disrupt hormones. The following guidelines should help give you ideas for how to avoid food contamination from packaging. 1. Plastic tends to migrate into fatty foods, especially hot fatty foods. Don't leave cheese wrapped in its plastic... read more

• Created on 5/4/11 by Mothering Editorial

Baby on Board: Bicycling with Your Child By Paul B. Cooley Issue 111, March - April 2002 When I finally worked up the courage to bicycle with my infant daughter, I discovered that drivers treated me with more politeness than I had been accustomed to, either as a bicyclist or a motorist. This new courtesy was a relief. Although bicycling in traffic with Sadie terrified me, the degradation of our environment and community caused by motor vehicle use, and the ease with which I fall into the habit of jumping into the car whenever I need to go somewhere, terrified me... read more

• Created on 11/4/10 by Mothering Editorial

By Elizabeth ThomanIssue 127, November/December 2004Media literacy is an overall term that incorporates three stages of a continuum leading to the media empowerment of citizens of all ages.The first stage is simply becoming aware of the importance of balancing or managing one’s media “diet”; that is, making choices and managing the amount of time spent with television, videos, electronic games, films, and various forms of print media.The second stage is learning specific skills of crucial viewing: learning to analyze and question what is in the frame, how it is... read more

• Created on 6/5/13 by Keya Chatterjee

As fellow parents all over the world will relate, my husband and I are constantly thinking about our baby’s well-being and future. We brought him into this world, and we feel a lot of responsibility to make sure he’s able to thrive.   The baby-raising years (everything from the baby shower to the minivan) are deeply connected to consumption and waste – all contributing to the degradation of our Mother Earth. With Mother's day just behind us, Father's day ahead, and the regular drum beat of birthdays and anniversaries, I've been thinking a lot about gifts--... read more

• Created on 7/24/12 by AdinaL

Last week over 4 million people in the US experienced the joy, the fear, and the weight of responsibility of becoming a parent.  And last week a new organization was born to serve the needs of those parents.  It is called climateparents, and it is an organization for people with children, or who plan to have children, and are worried about the future their children will inherit in an era of climate change. So far the response has been amazing.  Parents from around the country are signing up.  Together, we are asking all elected officials to tell us two... read more

• Created on 3/10/11 by Cynthia Mosher

1. Take a five minute shower. Set a timer and get out when it rings. You can click here to watch yours truly (yep, that’s me in a towel) talking on French TV about the importance of water conservation. 2. Skip the shower. Then you can go on European TV in a towel too. Americans bathe too often and for too long. It’s better for your skin and the planet if you don’t take a shower every day. More in this New York Times article “The Great Unwashed.” 3. Don’t bathe your kids. Children don’t need baths every day. Sponge off the places that are dirty and have... read more

• Created on 7/3/12 by Mothering Editorial

By Jennie Englund, M.S. Ed.Web Exclusive, November 20, 2006 As I join other Americans pouring out thanks over mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, I consider this question: does money buy happiness? My answer, based on experience, is a resounding "no." In fact, I treasure my little family's state of less-than-desirable money matters—it is a unique and absolute blessing, for which I am truly grateful. In the wake of my resignation from teaching to be a stay-home mom, there has, of course, been a great sacrifice—the illustrious financial one. But our family has reaped more... read more

• Created on 1/16/10 by Mothering Editorial

Why should advertising and marketing to children be a priority concern for mothers and fathers?We live in a nation in which the values of what sociologist Robert Bellah calls the money world are steadily crowding out the values of what I call the motherworld. The dominant values of our culture are radical individualism, excessive materialism, and bottom-line thinking-- and they leave little room for values such as connectedness, interdependence, commitment, and other qualities necessary for raising healthy, caring, and ethical children. This profound imbalance lies at... read more

• Created on 12/17/10 by Melanie Mayo

By Laura Schmitt As I look over the marvelous pile of handmade gifts that lay in front of me, I think to myself "Look out Martha, there is a new crafter in town and she doesn’t even own a glue gun!" I am giddy with excitement over my crafty-ness and I’m further thrilled that I can say our family crafting has not only saved us money, but helped us to cut back on consumerism, recycle, and even better still, it has helped me to re-create meaningful family traditions in my life, as well as create a meaningful set of values to pass on to my children. In this text you... read more

• Created on 8/7/10 by mamazee

My single motherhood came to me as the biggest, most shocking, life-altering, amazing, unfathomable surprise I have ever been dealt. I am a single mother, but not in the way that some women are– I wasn’t married with a career, then divorced & now sharing custody, nor did I choose the way that some women do to be single mothers by using donors, nor have I suffered the pain of losing a truly committed partner that forces some women into single motherhood.  I am a single mother in the sense that I was working an $8-an-hour job at a library, spending time with a... read more