Inhabitots | Your guide to green parenting, eco baby & green kids

"Strong is the New Pretty:" A mother captures her daughters' strength in compelling snapshots

by Lori Zimmer 04/10/15 filed under: art, parenting

Photographer Kate T. Parker has created a refreshing series of photographs of her young daughters that celebrate the girls’ strength and confidence. Aptly entitled “Strong is the New Pretty,” Parker’s series shirks beauty ideals, instead portraying her girls as active and impressive young women. The black and white images beckon viewers to place personal value on strength and determination, rather than superficial norms that society attempts to assign.

Wool felted honey bee mobile will make quite a buzz in the nursery

by Jennifer Chait 04/09/15 filed under: eco decor, green baby, green design

While this sweet mobile may be a little unnerving if you’ve got a bumblebee phobia, it’s so cute that you may not want it to buzz off. Perfectly adorable hanging above a baby crib, this mobile would also look charming in your home as a wall hanger or kitchen accent. Handmade by SewnNatural, the airborne art is needle felted with 100% wool attached to a real birch branch using cotton embroidery floss. It includes 6 busy bees, a cozy hive, three apple blossoms and leaves. Each mobile is one-of-a-kind so design may vary. Available with pink or blue flower accents.

RELATED | Petit Collage’s New Deluxe Mobiles Feature Unique Wool Felt Accents

+ Felted Honey Bee Mobile $115.00

+ SewnNatural

13 idyllic, organic family farm stay vacations around the world

by Beverley Mitchell 04/09/15 filed under: education, food, gardening, green holiday ideas for kids

You may have never considered vacationing on a farm, but did you know farm stays are available the world over? If you love the great outdoors, basing yourself at a farm stay whether you holiday in the U.S. or overseas could be the perfect holiday option for the whole family. You'll gain great insight into the life and culture of your host region or country, it will be less disruptive than hotel hopping, and there's the added bonus that your children will gain a deeper understanding of where their food comes from. Farm stays can range from the most basic of self-catering accommodation to quite luxurious bed and breakfasts. Here's our round-up of 13 organic farm stays in the U.S. and across the globe, to start you dreaming of your next family escape –- and there are even vegan options on the list.

Two moms slow down & refocus their lives as parents with photo series "Stop Here. This is the Place."

by Lori Zimmer 04/09/15 filed under: art, parenting

Photographer Winky Lewis and writer Susan Conley’s new book proposal , Stop Here. This is the Place., celebrates the joyful moments of parenting by asking viewers to slow down for a minute to enjoy the ride. The project features Lewis’ timeless photographs of the two families’ children, paired with thoughtful, meditative prose by Conley. In making the series themselves, Lewis and Conley were forced to slow down their own lives, and allow themselves to appreciate and savor the tiny, individual moments that make parenthood and the daily life of a child so meaningful.

ro.sham.bo. Baby makes stylish sunglasses for green families

by Marni Fogelson-Teel 04/08/15 filed under: eco toddler, green family, green kids, health & body, kids health

Like many businesses, ro.sham.bo Baby began in search of a simple solution for a common problem: finding stylish, sturdy sunglasses for babies. Julia and Scott created their Italian-made sunglasses (also available for older kids and adults if you want to go matchy-matchy as a family) with everyone's health in mind: the lenses block 100% of uva/uvb rays and are shatter resistant, the shades and case are BPA-free for babies who put everything into their mouths, and they even limit the amount of paint on their sunglasses by molding their logo onto the sides.

Pop-Up Adventure Playgrounds are free, public celebrations of child-directed play

by Jennifer Chait 04/08/15 filed under: eco play, green family, green kids, parenting

Pop-Up Adventure Play is an organization with many goals, but their number one mission is to support children’s play. Founded in 2010, Pop-Up Adventure Play aims to help make children’s right to play as they please a reality in every neighborhood by spreading information about “playwork” principles to a wide range of audiences. The organization also operates various UK-based Pop-Up Adventure Playgrounds, which are free, public celebrations of child-directed play, stocked with kid-friendly attributes that encourage imaginative play, such as cardboard boxes, fabric, tape and string. These playgrounds are staffed by playworkers who not only introduce themes of risk and freedom to visitors but also welcome people of all ages and abilities to play together. See a Pop-Up Adventure playground in action in the video above and keep reading to learn more about the play resources this organization offers.

Buyer beware: Study finds breast milk purchased online may be mixed with cow's milk

by Marni Fogelson-Teel 04/08/15 filed under: baby feeding, breastfeeding, green baby, kids health, news, parenting, toxins

You really can buy just about anything on the Internet these days, but parents considering purchasing breast milk online should be more than a little hesitant: there’s a high likelihood you’ll be giving baby a heavy side of cow’s milk. A new study published in Pediatrics found that 10% of breast milk samples purchased online are mixed with cow’s milk. The samples are not just showing trace amounts of the milk either; some of the samples were found to be an almost half and half mix of breast milk with cow’s milk or infant formula. As the researchers stressed, it can be difficult from looks alone to determine whether or not online breast milk really comes from a human or cows, and well-meaning parents could be unknowingly exposing their babies to cow’s milk, a common allergen. Add this info to a 2013 study about the rampant bacterial growth and contamination in milk purchased online and to the fact that the online breast milk market is unregulated and rife for the sale of products that have been adulterated or tampered with, and most of us should become a whole lot more buyer-beware.

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Lead image via Shutterstock

Parent & child can enjoy a swing ride face to face with the Expression Swing

by Marni Fogelson-Teel 04/07/15 filed under: eco play, green family, kid friendly, kids entertainment, parenting

Raise your hand if you’ve taken a swing ride with your baby or kiddo on your lap? The Expression Swing makes it possible to now see your little one’s face light up while you enjoy a tandem swing ride face to face. Most kids go through a swing obsession phase or two. My 4 year-old daughter still makes a beeline for the swing whenever we go to a playground and would be happy with me pushing her for hours. Gametime’s soon-to-be released Expression Swing makes the whole experience more fun for both parent (or grandparent or caregiver) and child with a patented face-to-face design with a bucket seat for kids under five and an adult swing seat as well. Play expert Dr. Stuart Brown emphasizes that this type of swinging produces a sort of attunement between parent and child and serves as a type of social play. Plus, getting to swing WITH your kids makes for a more enjoyable playtime for parents, who typically just end up playing juice sherpa or checking their phones at the playground.

+ Expression Spring $995

"Underwater Babies" book captures adorable first dips underwater & urges water safety

Private lactation pods to be installed in Newark and LaGuardia airports for moms who need to breastfeed or pump on-the-go

Traveling with little ones can be more than stressful, but add in a lack of private and clean spaces to breastfeed or pump, and it’s a wonder more families don’t skip…