Review by Elaine Dong (www.angelolli.com)
HEALTHY CHILD HEALTHY WORLD
Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home
By Christopher Gavigan
Publisher: Plume
Healthy Child Healthy World is a non-profit organisation started by parents James and Nancy Chuda after their child died from Wilm’s tumour (tumour of the kidneys that typically affects children).
This book started off through sales on the organisation website, and has gained fans from the time it was published. Understandably so.
Every mother should get this book and I’ll tell you the reasons why. It is a comprehensive guide for you to create a healthy, non-toxic and environmentally sound home for your family. And the process starts right from pregnancy.
The first chapter tells you what you need to do to prepare for your bundle of joy, from eating right to preparing a safe nursery.
The second chapter is full of information that you need to clean up, in all senses of the word. It teaches you how to clean your house effectively and safely - eliminating toxic chemicals (from commercial cleaners), using reuseable cleaning material like rags and microfibre cloth rather than disposables, and making your own natural and non-toxic household cleaners.
It also teaches you natural ways to get rid of household pests. So, you clean your house and “clean” your cupboards of dangerous fumes and chemicals too.
Chapter three is all about making better food choices for baby and the whole family. It demystifies food labels and tells you what to look out for on the shelves. It talks about which seafood is safest (abalone and anchovies rank at the top of the safe list while cod and caviar are not so ideal in terms of nutrition and toxicity.)
Then there is an eye-opening section on preservatives and additives. Peppered throughout the book are guest writers/bloggers, and in the food section, Gwyneth Paltrow talks about food for her kids, Apple and Moses, while Carolyn Murphy talks about living healthfully.
Chapter four talks about the beauty products we slap on our face and body every day. Did you know that your face cream could be toxic, or that your lipstick could contain dyes that are potentially cancer causing? Like the cleaning chapter, it gives you natural alternatives for skin and body care. There is a section on preventing diaper rash for your baby. A truly informative chapter that will have you thinking twice about your daily skincare and beauty routine.
Chapter five talks about toys and clothes for your kids. It teaches you which plastics to avoid and which ones are safe. Did you know unfinished solid wood toys are best for kids? And that disposable diapers remain in the system for five hundred years? Well, read on!
And if you think your garden is already green, think again. Chapter six is all about greening your lawn. It talks about keeping soil fit and cutting out pesticides and herbicides. It then teaches you ecological friendly ways to maintain your garden - fertilising naturally, composting and more. Here, guest blogger Keri Russell writes an inspiring entry about cleaning up her act.
The next chapter talks about the air we breathe and the water we drink. Do air and water filters work? What do you do when the air quality is less than desirable? Gas stoves versus convection. There is even a natural recipe for an air purifying spritz.
Animal lovers will get a lot of insight from chapter eight, which talks about healthy living with your pets. It talks about defleaing your home in a non-toxic way and teaches you to choose healthy foods and toys for your pets.
The final two chapters are about little changes you can make to your home to create a clean healthy environment for the whole family. Things like choosing the right mattress and the correct choice of flooring, to painting and carpeting.
At the end of the book is a list of resources, but these are all in the United States. There is also a website, www.healthychild.org, where there is a lot of information about all that you’ve read in the book. You can also sign up for a newsletter.
It is all about making green a lifestyle, rather than something you do just because everyone else is doing it at the moment. Every choice that you make impacts you, your family and your environment. It boils down to change.
More and more, supermarkets here are advocating the no plastic rule, where you have to bring your own bag or pay for plastic bags. Support that initiative. Most importantly, let your kids see you doing something for the common good of all, because it all starts with you. And you can do all that while making safe and healthy choices about their food, clothes, toys and environment. Why not?