Talking to Kids about Toxins

“If we teach and invest time in teaching kids, good habits today, we don't have to spend years in decades on doing bad habits”

A cornerstone of what I do with low-tox living, for myself and my clients, is creating habits that become second nature to the adults 𝗮𝗻𝗱 to the entire family.  ⁣

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If you are  parent, you know that your kids are always watching. And one of the things that motivates me the most is knowing that my kids are watching everything that I do, all the changes that I make, even when they get annoyed at something or roll their eyes at something ( wait u til you have preteens and teens 😝), my  ( age appropriate) explanations are being absorbed. What results is truly amazing. A generation that is growing up using less plastic, understanding that when something smells really strong, it is probably exposing you to harmful chemicals,  understands that cotton and wool and natural fibers just feel better and are better than polyester, that grab their reusable stainless steel water bottle instead of constantly reusing plastic bottles etc. ⁣

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My goal is to make low tox living easier for you, but it's also to make it a non-issue and the go-to for our children's generation.⁣

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ps. I do not spend all day every day talking, obsessing about chemicals at home and I definitely do not teach with a message of fear! I find the message is received more effectively ( especially with older kids) when it comes up in conversation naturally and it's a dialogue not something that's forced. it's not always perfect with kids either, especially during the teen years. But trust that they are listening and absorbing. ⁣

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so- how do i do this?

After 16 years of low tox living and three kids ages ( almost) 16, 12 and 4 I can tell you with 100% certainty that the learning process for kids is also slow. At different times they will challenge your beliefs or the way you do things at home. That is ok- its actually a good thing.

For me, the key is never to teach with fear for chemicals, nor force. And always consider the age of a child ( ie a three-year-old does not need a long explanation, but a teen might need a deeper explanation). And they might not always agree with you and that's OK. Regardless, what I have noticed is that things stick. They are observing at all ages, so trust the process

Example 01: Daughter age 3

Since she was little, I would occasionally mention that "plastic is bad for the planet and our bodies". Anytime the opportunity existed where we could choose a reusable material versus plastic, I would just say that phrase. When she got a little bit older, she would ask why and I would explain that plastic doesn't go away and how sad to have a planet/beaches/oceans, etc., with plastic. But I only really shared this when she asked.

What I realized and started noticing is that when there was an occasion where we had to use plastic, or if we saw plastic litter , she would remind me " mami, plastic is back for the planet" and I would thank her for reminding me and agree with her and say we really need to use less plastic when we can ( if we were at the beach, I would often pick up the piece of plastic and throw it out). No one had to feel guilty, but it did introduce the concept.

Example 2, daughter age 4

Just this week, my daughter saw a sweater that was hanging in my husband's closet. He received it from his company and it is one of those holiday Tacky sweaters made out of 100% polyester. At some point, that I don't even remember, I must have mentioned oh that's plastic that's made out of plastic because she looked at it in the closet and said "look mommy  that sweater is made out of plastic... its not good for the planet. " To be clear, she's not scared of the sweater, but she gets that it's not something that we want to be using every day and ultimately it's not something that's good for the planet. How did we get here at age 4? Well, as I mentioned, I will often say "plastic isn't good for our planet or our bodies" when a situation arises where we can avoid plastic and use something else instead. For me, it's a win that she understands that some fabric is actually plastic. When she grows older that will help in avoiding polyester ultimately.

Example 3: ages 6 and 9