Need a good article about no-poo for kids

[mamasee]

I am a foster mom and for years now I have not used any shampoo in my daughter's hair. We have had a 6yo girl living with us in foster care since March and I just found out she will be transitioning home. I have not used shampoo in her hair since March. We just rinse it in the shower or bath. Some days their hair looks great some days not so great, but overall I have seen no need for any shampoo at all or alternatives for them (baking soda, etc.).

I need help now. She is going back to her mom and I think her mom won't be too thrilled that we haven't been using shampoo. There are several areas where our family practices differ from her mom's and a good friend of mine suggested that if I can find some articles explaining the things we do (no-poo, nutrition, sleep routines, etc) and then pass those along to her mom saying "these are some articles that helped me when I was making parenting decisions" then her mom will feel less like I am telling her what to do and more like I am passing along some information she can use if she chooses.

So, I learned so much from this thread about no-poo, but I don't think her mom will join the MDC community. I am looking for an article that explains why no-poo is a good choice for kids and even one that avoids the whole piece of using baking soda/vinegar as an alternative. Just no-poo for kids.

Anyone know of such an article or website? I want to print it for her.

Thanks!

[hram]

I honestly dont know of any articles or facts that have been published that would help you, sorry. But to me, giving her articles on things like that would kind of seem like a way of telling her, this is how you shoudl be doing xyz....and she may be a bit deffensive especially considering the circumstances. Even though that isnt your intention at all, think of how she would feel about you giving her parenting advice. She may be thankful or she may be resentful.

Maybe if you told her what an improvement you have seen with her daughters skin and hair since not using shampoo and then add the benefits of not having those kind of chemicals on her daughter. Then she can think about it and really feel like she was making the decision for herself.

I dont know if that would help you. But I do agree that keeping those chemicals off her woudl really benefit her in the long run.

[mamasee]

Yes, it is tricky territory and I might just not even address it and let them figure out on their own what works. I think that talking to her would come across more directly and make her more defensive. When we were at the school parent-teacher conference, the issue of watching TV came up and the teacher pulled out an article that talked about it simply and clearly. Her mom accepted that with enthusiasm. I think that if I can provide her with objective articles about the topics then she will not feel like I am telling her what to do but that there are "experts" who advise this kind of thing.

Also, I would not hand them to her and put any pressure on her to read them, just give them to her in a very casual way and say I am passing along some resources that helped me in caring for her daughter and leave it at that.

Anyway, if I can't find an article I will likely just not pursue it with her. I just thought somebody might know of one that relates specifically to kids and to not even using the baking soda / vinegar, just the rinsing of hair is enough.

Still open to an article or resource if anyone knows of one!

[swd12422]

I wouldn't hand her articles. Just think if it were the other way around, and you were telling her to use shampoo on her daughter. What is the implication there, that she doesn't know how to care for her kids? I think that's already been implied by her having lost them to foster care for awhile. She doesn't need more of that.

If it is something the caseworkers think will help the transition, you could make a list of the products you use on her, and maybe make up a little basket. That's what DS's foster mom did for us when we adopted him, but he was a baby, so smells were a huge part of keeping things "normal" for him. Then you can show her what you do use (laundry detergent, soap, lotion) and point out that there is no shampoo for the reason that you noticed it helped your own DD's skin and hair. But I would definitely not try to convince her to do what you did, just show her what you did as a way to help keep things familiar for her daughter as she transitions home.

[hram]

Originally Posted by swd12422

I wouldn't hand her articles. Just think if it were the other way around, and you were telling her to use shampoo on her daughter. What is the implication there, that she doesn't know how to care for her kids? I think that's already been implied by her having lost them to foster care for awhile. She doesn't need more of that.

If it is something the caseworkers think will help the transition, you could make a list of the products you use on her, and maybe make up a little basket. That's what DS's foster mom did for us when we adopted him, but he was a baby, so smells were a huge part of keeping things "normal" for him. Then you can show her what you do use (laundry detergent, soap, lotion) and point out that there is no shampoo for the reason that you noticed it helped your own DD's skin and hair. But I would definitely not try to convince her to do what you did, just show her what you did as a way to help keep things familiar for her daughter as she transitions home.

Thats a great idea...giving her a gift basket would be like a present. Maybe let your FD pick out lotions she likes, brushes or combs that work best for her hair and some pretty hair bows if she likes to fix her hair. Then it would be like a gift and also be an opportunity to explain the shampoo issue. Maybe it coudl be a starting point for her mother to realize the negative effect of chemicals in body products and then she can learn about it more on her own.