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

Photographer unites nursing mothers with Mother Nature in "Breastfeeding Goddesses"

by Lori Zimmer 08/04/15 filed under: art, baby feeding

Breastfeeding is normalized in the midst of glorious outdoor settings in photographer Ivette Ivens’ gorgeous new book, Breastfeeding Goddesses. In her images, beautiful mothers breastfeed their children in nature, emphasizing the natural bonding process, and uniting motherhood with Mother Nature. Ivens hopes her book will help make viewers recognize that breastfeeding is a normal process of life that can be done anywhere.

Luke's Toy Factory makes bright & sturdy toy trucks from recycled materials here in the USA

by Beverley Mitchell 08/04/15 filed under: eco play, eco toddler, green gifts, green kids, green toys

There's so much to love about Luke's Toy Factory's line of toy trucks, we're not quite sure where to start in telling you about them. Is it the reclaimed or recycled materials that go into the toys' bodies? Is it the component parts that can be switched from one model to the other? Is it the proudly made in the USA manufacturing policy? Or is it simply the appealing, old-school design? Well, of course, there's more to the story than that, so keep on truckin' through to learn more about this inspiring company.

CedarWorks eco-friendly playhouses encourage outdoor play year-round

by Jennifer Chait 08/04/15 filed under: eco play, green design

Summer may be coming to an end soon, but there's still time to make it the best summer (and autumn!) ever with a CedarWorks outdoor playhouse. The 2015 CedarWorks playhouse line is designed for maximum safety, sustainability and fun -- and any one of their beautiful playhouses will enchant your kids, keeping them outside more often. Keep reading to learn about these year-round playhouses and all their infinite possibilities.

Forest Kindergartens: Where Mother Nature is the teacher in an outdoor classroom

by Jennifer Chait 08/03/15 filed under: education, green kids

Wouldn’t it be amazing if your youngster could spend his formative years outside exploring and learning about nature vs. being stuck inside without fresh air, exercise or a working knowledge of the environment? Depending on where you live, a nature-based school program could actually be close at hand. Forest kindergartens, also known by a slew of other terms such as nature-school, outdoor school and so forth, are schools that aim to nurture children in a healthy, often mobile environment in which little ones can experience nature firsthand for most, if not all of the day. Forest schools teach through experience. Kids are encouraged to dig in the dirt, climb trees, run wild and learn to enjoy all that nature has to offer. This is a vital learning experience for children and one that many kids are sadly missing out on. Martin Clarke, a teacher at a German forest kindergarten tells The Telegraph that kids receive more than a simple understanding of nature from these programs, but better health and coordination as well, stating, “We get four year-olds who have barely been outside and when they arrive they can hardly walk across a field, because it’s not flat, or climb a tree.’ How depressing — but hopeful as well, because once kids are enrolled in an outdoor school program, they can develop these skills quickly.

Research shows that children living in low-income homes have less developed brains than their more affluent peers

by Marni Fogelson-Teel 08/03/15 filed under: health & body, kids health, news, parenting

A child in poverty may have little access to books. Food can be hard to come by, and much of it is likely to be processed, since fresh fruits and vegetables are too expensive or often unavailable. Her neighborhood may be unsafe to play in, so she spends hours indoors, disconnected from nature and play. Her school may be underperforming for a variety of reasons, including staffing retention issues and lack of funding. Adding another layer of complexity and urgency to the issue of poverty in our country, a new study from the Journal of the American Medical Association reveals that compared to affluent children, children in poverty have less gray matter, the brain tissue that digests information.

Trending: Moms calling hairstylists & make-up artists to the maternity ward to get photo-ready after labor & delivery

by Beth Shea 08/03/15 filed under: green maternity, news

Perhaps it’s because moms want to look the way Duchess Kate looked mere hours after giving birth, with skillfully applied make-up that made her face glow and long locks perfectly styled and flowing like the mane of a goddess as she greeted the world with her newborn prince and princess. Or maybe it’s due to the fact that Instagram and Facebook have become the modern way to trumpet a birth announcement to countless friends and followers in photograph form from the post-birth hospital bed. Because more and more mothers are hiring hairstylists and make-up artists to pay them a visit in the hospital after baby’s birth to act as a post-delivery glam squad, according to a new report in The New York Times — all with a mission to make those first photographs of mother and child look effortlessly fabulous.

The Mindful Mom-to-Be guide features tips for a positive, natural, healthy pregnancy and childbirth experience

by Marni Fogelson-Teel 08/02/15 filed under: books, green maternity, green pregnancy, parenting

Doulas have become increasingly popular in recent years at birthing centers, home births, and hospital settings, but they’ve actually been around for centuries. And with good reason: the presence of these comforting female caregivers has been associated with shorter labors with fewer complications as well as a reduction in negative feelings about one’s childbirth experience. Seasoned doula Lori Bregman’s new guide The Mindful Mom-to-Be: A Modern Doula’s Guide to Building a Healthy Foundation from Pregnancy Through Birth offers reassuring advice and tried-and-true natural suggestions throughout the prenatal period and childbirth (and even after) as well as recommendations and recipes for keeping yourself and your baby healthy and thriving.

10 easy, natural ways to increase your breast milk supply

by Cat DiStasio 08/01/15 filed under: baby feeding, breastfeeding, green baby, parenting

Today marks the beginning of World Breastfeeding Week, which "calls for concerted global action to support women to combine breastfeeding and work." Breastfeeding is immensely rewarding, but it can also be incredibly difficult for some moms. It takes more time, energy, and patience than most new moms anticipate. If your milk supply is low, it can be even more stressful. Fortunately, there are a ton of options for easy, natural ways to increase your milk supply at home. Don't throw in the towel on breastfeeding your baby -- give these 10 techniques the old college try, and get in touch with a lactation consultant for professional advice as well.