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Green Parenting: Ways To Reduce Your Children's Carbon Footprint

As the human population increases, so does greenhouse gas, waste, habitat degradation and loss of biodiversity. However, our children do not have to have detrimental effects on the earth. We can use products that are more eco-friendly such as cloth diapers, organic clothing, greener toys, furniture, and baby food that can make having children a more positive, happy affair.

There are many companies and specific products that are making it easy to allow our children to be green. One is the Real Diaper Industry Association that educates parents about cloth diapers and helps to find a diaper service that actually picks up dirty cloth diapers, cleans them and delivers new ones to your door. Using this service costs about the same as disposable diapers and helps to reduce the 20 billion disposable diapers that would otherwise make their way to the landfill each year. Using cloth diapers also limits the amount of plastic that your child is normally exposed to. And as an added bonus, potty training usually happens faster with cloth diapers compared to disposable.

Additionally, there are multiple companies that have organic clothing that you can find in almost every baby store. This is not only better for the environment, but it is better for your baby by limiting possible exposure to pesticides, dyes and toxic chemicals that are used to make clothes. BabyEarth.com and GreenMomGuide.com are great resources where you can find merchandise and all types of baby products, such as toys, bath products and furniture. Although breastfeeding is the most eco-friendly, natural and healthy way to feed your baby, sometimes it is not possible. Luckily, bottles are also available that are BPA, phthalate and PVC free and safe for your child to use.

Earth's Best also has great organic food for infants, toddlers and kids. Purchasing eco-friendly products does not have to end with your baby; it can begin an overall sustainable lifestyle for you and your family. ChildTrek has great toys for kids up until the age of five and GreenMomGuide has products for when your child begins school, such as organic lunch and snack bags.

Start early with using sustainable, eco-friendly products for your baby. This will not only teach them how important it is to take care of the earth and minimize their impact, but it will also limit their exposure to toxic chemicals and pesticides that have shown to have negative effects on child development and growth.

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Stephanie Siemek is a freelance writer whose work can be found on Examiner.com.

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