There are so many different types of products for children that it can be challenging to find the best and most natural products for our little ones. From food to laundry detergent and cosmetics, avoiding synthetic ingredients can be virtually impossible.
But the question you’re perhaps wondering is why should you be trying to find the best natural products for your children?
Here are 10 good reasons…
Safer For Sensitive Skin
While your adult skin might not have problems with synthetic substances, young children have more sensitive skin, so these chemicals could potentially cause rashes and other skin irritation. Even disposable diapers often contain chemicals that can irritate sensitive skin.
No Carcinogens
Baby powder is something that is nearly always synonymous with childhood, but traditional baby powder contains talc. On its own, talc contains asbestos, which is known to cause cancer. While talc-based products have been free of asbestos since the 1970s, it is still known to increase cancer risk — especially in women who apply talcum powder to their genital area.
No Extra Ingredients
Herbal supplements and vitamins can be a fantastic way to keep your children healthy, but they often contain a lot of extra ingredients that aren’t necessarily good for you or your little ones. Natural vitamins and supplements can offer the same benefits without the additional unhealthy ingredients.
No Chemicals
Traditionally grown produce is often coated in pesticides, herbicides and other dangerous chemicals. While washing your produce before you eat it can help you reduce the amount of these chemicals you ingest, some fruits and veggies end up so steeped in chemicals that no amount of washing can ever make it safe to eat. Switching to organic foods can reduce the number of pesticides you consume and keep your little ones safer.
More Nutrients
Buying organic produce was a fad for a long time, but science has shown that food that is grown organically actually has more nutrients in it than commercially grown foods. Many organically grown vegetables also naturally contain vitamin C, which isn’t found in commercially grown vegetables like lettuce, spinach and potatoes.
Cleaner Dishes
Having a dishwasher can make one of the most annoying chores a little bit easier — but not if your dishwasher is dirty, smelly or leaving residue on your dishes after a wash cycle. Most dishwasher cleaning products use chemicals to get rid of the residue, but if you’re trying to go a little bit greener, you can clean your dishwasher with more natural products like white vinegar or even orange Tang — the citric acid in the latter makes it an effective cleaner and stain remover.
Safer Cleaning
There’s a reason most cleaning products have a warning label that says “Keep out of reach of children.” The chemicals are dangerous — even deadly — if ingested or spilled on the skin. Switching to green or non-toxic cleaning products means there won’t be any dangerous chemicals for your little ones to get into. You can even let them help you with the cleaning!
No Hormones
This isn’t as big of a problem if you don’t consume animal products in your home, but for those who do, commercially farmed meat, fish and dairy often have hormones and antibiotics in it, due to the way the animal was cared for when it was alive. Some fish even contains heavy metals like mercury. Organic animal products help you avoid all of these contaminants. Look for hormone- and antibiotic-free meat, milk, eggs and cheese.
More Sustainable
Commercial farming techniques aren’t sustainable — period. They decimate the local ecosystem, draining nutrients from the soil and adding chemicals like pesticides that can continue to damage the local plants and wildlife. Purchasing naturally grown and sustainably farmed products can help you keep your children healthier while preserving the world they will inherit.
No Worries
Raising a child is stressful enough without worrying about whether their bubble bath or apple slices might be toxic. Switching to natural products for your children can eliminate some of those worries, so you can focus on being a better parent.
Make the Switch to Natural Products
There are plenty of natural products to choose from now since consumers as a whole have started demanding healthier alternatives to traditionally toxic products. It might take some practice, but switching to natural products can help you raise a happier, healthier child in the long run.
Author Bio
Emily is a freelance writer, covering conservation and sustainability. You can read her blog, Conservation Folks, for more of her work.
