When I first described this book to my mother, she said, "Oh, it's about how much you love your children." I can't put it better.
All parents want to keep their children safe and healthy, and sometimes it can feel overwhelming, especially when you factor in a lot of information many people are just learning about - the overwhelming abundance of chemicals we encounter in every day living, increasing rates of diseases, and so on. Cleaning up after germs doesn't cut it anymore - now you have to be careful what you clean them up with. Putting down carpet so your children don't hurt themselves on a hard floor isn't necessarily "safe" either, with the chemicals in the carpet. Keeping track of everything that can harm us more than help us can feel like a burden, but it doesn't have to be.
Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home by Christopher Gavigan is one of those books that every parent should have. I had only made it to page six of the book when I decided I needed to rethink how I would write this review. Up to that page, all of the information I had been given and thoughts I was mentally storing away for the review would have made this post a book in itself - that's how much of a wealth of knowledge is shared in the book.
Protecting your child and keeping him or her healthy starts right at the beginning - in the womb. The chemicals you encounter as a pregnant woman also affect the developing fetus inside of you, so it is a very important time to take a look at what you are exposing yourself to. Healthy Child Healthy World, after the foreword and introduction, begins the first of its ten chapters - Doing the Bump: Preparing for Baby.
Detailed in five steps, this chapter includes information about eating and drinking right, avoiding chemicals in beauty products, keeping the air you breathe clean, and how to safely renovate to get ready for baby. It shares DIY tips, including a recipe for body butter and how to put together a green baby shower. There are also basic safety tips for pregnant women, as well as input from famous and not-so-famous parents.
Each chapter of Healthy Child Healthy World is set up in this manner - full of useful information and facts. The sidebar on many pages shares some scary statistics, such as "11: percentage of 10,000+ chemical ingredients found in cosmetics that have been assessed for health and safety by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, and industry-funded panel of scientists." Personal stories from many parents, famous and not, are scattered throughout the book. Recipes for everything from food to cleaning products to finger paint are available. There is even a chapter for raising your pets green! In the back of the book there is a list of "Five East Steps for a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home," as well as an extensive list of resources.
While you may think that you know everything there is to know about staying healthy and green, you'd be surprised. If you don't learn something from this book, you're not reading it!
For an idea of what information can be found in the book, here is a list of the chapters:
Chapter 1 Doing the Bump: Preparing for Baby
Chapter 2 Cleanup Time: Safe Suds and a Greener Clean
Chapter 3 A Clean Plate: Choosing, Eating, and Storing Healthier Food
Chapter 4 The Beauty Part: Natural Body Care
Chapter 5 Child's Play: Safer Toys, Gear, and Clothing
Chapter 6 Splendor in the Grass: Greener Gardens, Yards, and Outdoor Spaces
Chapter 7 Every Sip - and Breath - You Take: Clean Water and Air Solutions
Chapter 8 BFF: Raising a Green Pet
Chapter 9 Safe House: Healthy Home Improvement
Chapter 10 It's All Good: How to Grow Your Impact
For more information, where to purchase, and reviews on Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home, visit HealthyChild.org.
July 1st, 2009 at 5:38 am
Hi Stefanie, thanks for the great review about the book and sharing your own concerns about child rearing. We in http://climatarians.org do know a lot more now than our parents did just a few decades ago. But I can’t help but think how their lack of knowledge was not a major influence in the way we grew up. Just a thought though.
Nice review!
Joost Hoogstrate
July 1st, 2009 at 6:19 am
I am going to be parent in the upcoming month so i would like to buy that amazing book so that i can make my child healthy and safe.
July 1st, 2009 at 9:34 pm
Wow! Never knew such a book existed. I have added it to my "list". However, will I be tempted to read the first chapter, only to second guess every toxic item I came in contact with while pregnant??!! Seriously, this book puts a lot of information I usually have to search for in one place. Sounds like a great reference book.
July 3rd, 2009 at 2:27 am
Nice and well-written article about the healthy child healthy world, Stefanie. I liked the slogan very much!
We should act fast, if we don't want our next generation to be victims of the heavily polluted environment.
July 4th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Great review of this book. It's especially important that while women are pregnant that they are exposed to as little toxins and chemicals as possible. Cleaners that are supposed to "protect" our children from germs only cause them more harm and who knows the effects of our kids playing with plastic toys.
July 5th, 2009 at 2:34 am
that is a very good ebook, i have a two years old daughter right now, i think that book will be useful. thanks for the review
July 10th, 2009 at 1:54 am
Cleaners that are supposed to "protect" our children from germs only cause them more harm
July 12th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
Carpet is very safe in terms of how hard the surface is, but carpet can hold on to a lot of germs. Be sure to keep your carpets clean by using a non toxic cleanser and you will be able to live safely and germ free.
July 16th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
organic sheets and mattresses for your baby are an amazing way to keep them healthy and happy. check out any organic bedding website, like coyuchi, that explains the process of making organic wool and the benefits. it's pretty amazing.
July 22nd, 2009 at 12:16 pm
I always wanted to move onto 'The Farm' (or a similar situation) and have our third child with Ina May Gaskin. Partly for the birthing experience, but also because i feel our children would be that much more healthy being in the womb in a stress-free, non-toxic, country-living environment
I really want that to be the case, and I feel like that is one of my most affirmed financial goals, is to become independent of having to work in the City (Chicago), and raise children in a communal country family life.
August 12th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
I loved the review stephanie. Great job. Any ebook genuinely interested in our children's well being in wonderful.