Book Review: Growing Up Green!

I don't normally review things, especially books. I'm not sure when the last time I actually sat down and read an entire book. I've started many, but finished them? I'm not sure.

I recently read "Growing Up Green!" by Deirdre Imus.

My first initial thought before reading this book was that I hoped it would teach me a few tricks on how to make my life greener, especially for McCoy. Maybe it would help me save some money in the long run, and give me ideas on how to change the things that I'm doing already that are no so green.

My first initial thought after reading the book, was "oh man, I feel bad." This book not only made me feel bad about the world that we've become, but it really made me feel bad for things that I already do. After making me feel bad a bit, I turned upset. There is no way I can change everything that was mentioned in the book. It was almost like the author was accusing me of being a bad mother! I know that was not the intent, but the writing and wording made me feel like I was.

The author discussed a lot about the chemical gasses and population in our atmosphere, both inside and out. And she talked about how to eat ALL organic food, use natural cleaning solutions and even that we should not buy plastic toys-- especially toys that have been made outside the USA. Now, I'm all for buying wholesome foods, but come on-- I can't afford to buy ALL organic. I just can't. Am I a bad mother because I eat regular bananas? Am I a bad mother because I like the "occasional" (hahaha) chocolate chip cookie? I'd like to think that I'm not a bad mother for those things. But this book made me feel like I'm horrible!

The book talked about school lunches-- how the school lunches in America's schools are filled with horrible, fattening choices. We should pack our child's lunch everyday (which I probably will anyways, BUT), don't forget to use PVC-free plastic wrappings, like the healthy cellophane wrap made from cottonwood trees (WTF?) and don't use brown paper sacks-- use cotton canvas lunch bags to reuse. (Okay, I can do that, but what about little lunch pails?) "Avoid vinyl lunch boxes and bags, which may contain lead-- look for the 'lead safe' label if you choose a vinyl product. And instead of high-sugar boxed drinks, send your kids off to school with water in a reusable bottle. Stainless steel bottle are the safest, as reusable bottles made out of hard plastic #7 might leach bisphenol A." (pg. 172). Oh my.

Then it talks about vaccinations. Let me just say, I have to take McCoy to daycare. Daycare INSISTS on having vaccinations. No argument there. But you can imagine what the author states about vaccinations.

Now before this sounds all too bad, there was one section that I liked. The book listed a lot of wonderful resources with websites (I just love that now-a-days. Books, magazines, etc. doing the dirty work by looking up cool websites that we can all benefit from). This particular section was on toys. It listed websites like Willow Tree Toys, Magic Cabin, and Hazelnut Toys. These are toys that are handmade, not plastic, and doesn't require battieries! Now, I do agree with that. I want McCoy to use his imagination, and not let the toys do the thinking for him.

The book also contained an entire section of resources which included healthy recipes, foods that should be substituted, recommended further reading, buying green products (for hair, cleaning, building, clothing, etc). It also has a section on medical stories about chemicals and children's health and doctor's biographies.

Okay, so the book talked a lot about the stuff that is bad in the environment, but it sure did make me feel bad. I want to change the things we do in this household, but come on-- I would have to order EVERYTHING online. And I'm simply not ready to change my lifestyle to that extreme. Slowly but surely I might get there.

Yikes!