There are many occasions for which we might seek to buy toys…holidays, birthdays, graduations, and other special events. These days though, walking into a big box store or shopping on Amazon to buy toys can be a dangerous thing. Foreign made toys can be downright unsafe if you don’t know the company or what they stand for and you might end up buying toys with toxic chemicals or lead paint. I am pretty sure that poisoning the children in our lives is NOT what we had in mind, so I have started compiling a list of the some of the better toy alternatives available to us. If you have any ideas to add please leave me a comment and let me know!

Wooden Toys:

Wooden Tool Set – This USA made tool set is beautiful. An oak carrying box holds a toy hammer, screwdriver, saw, a square, old-fashioned hand drill, and a 6 inch ruler. The tools are made of various solid woods including walnut, maple, and oak, with a natural oil finish. It is perfect for the little Mr. Fix-It in your life. Made in the USA.

Roy Toy Log Cabin Set – This set is very similar to Lincoln Logs (which my sons love) and it is made in the USA since the 1930s. All pieces are 100% hand cut wood. The red wooden gables and green roof planks are stained with non-toxic dyes. It is an American classic!

Wooden Doll Cradle – Little girls love their dolls and a wooden cradle is much more sturdy and safe than the a plastic one. This 1930s-style wooden cradle will be a charming addition to any play “household.” Handmade and handpainted in Morocco by Zid Zid Kids. Includes embroidered doll mattress, pillow, and blanket.

Wooden Sushi Bento Set – I got this for my kids and it is soooo cute. Although it is made in China it does come from a company in the natural toys industry that has a very trustworthy record, Melissa and Doug. It has wooden sushi, California rolls, soy sauce, wasabi, chopsticks, and cutting tools. The foods fit together with Velcro so that your little chef can cut them into pieces.

The Little Engine That Could Train Set – This train set is adorable and made in the USA so forget about that other train named Thomas, although this set can be fitted to that one. Includes the engine, three cars, and red caboose. Buy it along with the classic book and you have a great gift!

Wooden Lawnmower – Made in the USA. A unique old fashioned push lawnmower design handcrafted from hard maple with bright colorful wooden balls contained securely within a cage of matching colored dowels.

Faux Food

If you are planning on getting a wooden kitchen set or you already have one, there are many wooden food or cloth products that you might like. My daughter is getting a lovely wooden kitchen set. It is in the basement just waiting to be opened and filled with faux food. Here are some of the food options I like:

Melissa and Doug Wooden Play Food – Rice, cereal, soup, sugar…all wooden of course and built to last. I also like the Spice Rack.

German Design also has some great wooden food from milk, to eggs, to mushrooms, to onions. They are adorable! Lots of “raw” or “vegan” food options for families that eat along those lines.

Haba is another company I love and they have a soft cloth sandwich that I recently discovered. Sandwich fixings include 4 slices of deli meat, 4 slices of cheese, 2 slices of bread, 1 slice tomato and 1 lettuce leaf….all cloth.

Wool Food! This is one of my favorite faux food options and it is oh so easy to find US made and even work-at-home-mom (wahm) made selections. Hyena Cart and Etsy are my two favorite places to look.

Pick Your Own Wool Food – Pick from a carrot, pumpkin, peapod, tomato or corn on the cob made from wool. The price is awesome.

Dolls

Käthe Kruse “Nicki” Baby – These washable cloth dolls are adorable and they come in pink and blue. Dressed in a one piece velour jumper and colorful hat, these dolls are the perfect size for small hands to grasp and hold. They are made in Germany.

Mini It’s Me Waldorf Dolls – The Waldorf dolls are all individually handcrafted and not mass produced. They are warm and cuddly, tempting children to place them in their arms. The neutral features help to develop a child’s imagination to see the doll laugh, cry, sleep, be sad or happy. These dolls are also made in Germany. And don’t forget the Waldorf Doll Stroller.

Educational Toys

Classic ABC Blocks – What child doesn’t have blocks like these at some point? These are made in the USA and they are beautifully crafted and sure to last for a long time. These deluxe alphabets are patterned after classic blocks from the Golden Age of Toys. Sold worldwide since 1983, Uncle Goose ABC blocks are made in Michigan from basswood and child-safe, non-toxic ink.

Other Toys and Items

Fortamajig – The Fortamajig allows children to create anything in any space! Imagine building a fort, teepee, tunnel, canopy, out of one ingenious square of nylon material. It is extremely portable with no hard pieces to break or lose. The Fortamajig is the ultimate washable, portable, storable and durable all in one play space. Comes in 3 colors: purple, blue and green. My 7 year old is sooo getting this!

I hope this gives you some ideas for your natural child…do you have any YOU want to add? Comment below.

A couple readers have emailed me privately to ask my opinion about flu shots or to ask that I write something about the subject. Wow…what an important topic. I congratulate anyone that takes a second to inquire about the dangers and side effects of the flu shot before making a decision that almost certainly impacts health. Unlike the scenario your doctor or the media presents, getting a flu shot is a major medical decision. Since this is the flu season I thought I would share just a few of the important things you need to know.

The number one thing I think that people need to know is that 80% of the flu shots contain mercury and not just trace amounts like many other vaccines, although trace amounts are still no good in my opinion. Here are a few alarming facts regarding mercury in flu shots from the Organic Consumers Association.

FACT: A typical flu shot contains 50,000 parts per billion of mercury.
FACT: The EPA classifies a liquid with 200 parts per billion of mercury as hazardous waste.
FACT: The legal “safe” limit for mercury in drinking water is 2 parts per billion
FACT: For each flu-shot, a 22-pound baby gets more than 25 times the amount of mercury considered safe. And doctors are recommending that many babies and children get two flu shots this season.
FACT: A material safety data sheet from Eli Lilly and Co., a former producer of flu vaccines, says exposure to thimerosal may include “fetal changes, decreased offspring survival and lung tissue changes. Exposure in utero and in children may cause mild to severe mental retardation and mild to severe motor coordination impairment.”

Mercury is among the most toxic heavy metals and is known to poison the central nervous system, liver, gastrointestinal tract and other systems in the body. Does that sound like something you want in your body your children’s body? The answer for me is a resounding NO.

If you decide that you do want to get the flu shot…ask for a mercury free version. They cost about $4.00 more than the shots with mercury so most doctors will not carry them….tell YOUR doctor that you insist he order a mercury free flu shot for you and your family or find another doctor. My father is asthmatic and he gets his flu shot religiously. I can only hope that he listened to my advice about getting a mercury free shot.

And don’t forget some of the other ingredients in a flu shot like embalming fluid (formaldehyde). There is no data to available to show that the benefit of avoiding the big bad flu outweighs the potential side effects of injecting yourself with dangerous chemicals. Remember my post about the flu remedy Tamiflu inciting teenagers to commit suicide? Scary stuff…

Second, please keep in mind that a flu vaccination is based upon the strain of flu going around last year. The vaccine created for the flu is based upon guesswork using data and flu samples from the previous year. A flu shot is not guaranteed to protect you from the flu at all and MANY times it doesn’t. How many stories have you heard about someone getting the worst flu ever…right after an inoculation? ;)

Third, there are NO safety studies done before these vaccines are given to the American public. We are guinea pigs. They are treating a common illness like it is a disease. What is next…a vaccine for cold, cough, headache, upset stomach or diarrhea?

A book I recommend everyone read is  What You Must Do To Escape the Bird Flu. Of course the common flu is not pandemic influenza but it has good information about staying healthy and avoiding illness in general. The information about vitamins, health supplements, and healthy lifestyle practices is great to have. And one of my web sites is referenced in the book (shameless plug). :) I need to pull this book off the shelf and read it again….it is THAT good. Read my review here.

Another book I recommend is Never Get Another Cold by Thomas Appell. It also talks about something better than a cure…prevention.

Don’t buy into industry and media hype that you need the flu shot. And if you do decide to get the flu shot make sure to ask for a mercury free shot and give your immune suppressed system some TLC for awhile afterwards. To your health!

To close I just wanted to share one of my all time favorite YouTube videos..it is about the flu vaccine.

[tags]vaccine, flu shot, vaccination, dangers, medical, disease[/tags]

This morning a couple good friends notified me of a new development in the state of Maryland. State and County officials in Maryland have announced they will send parents to jail if they don’t submit their children to forced vaccinations. Well holy crap if this does not make me LIVID!

I think you all know my stance on vaccinations. My kids will NEVER be vaccinated and I will move to whatever state or country that respects my freedom in this regard. Vaccines contains toxic chemicals such as methyl mercury which is linked to brain damage, immune disorders, and autism. Thousands of children each year are injured due to vaccines and some die…all to provide the illusion of immunity from a disease that in all probability they would never be exposed to anyway…and if they were exposed…chances are it would not be the terrible thing that government makes it out to be.

It should be a parents choice to vaccinate their children since the risks can be great and the protection misleading. Up until now most states in the US have allowed parents to make their own decisions regarding this issue but I knew it would not be long before some government officials tried to undermine this. You see there is just too much money to be made from vaccines and since government and pharma companies are in bed together, trying to make sure we are sick, they need to work together to force us to vaccinate.

The action in Marlyland is backed by Circuit Judge William D. Missouri, Circuit Judge C. Philip Nichols Jr., and the chairman of the Prince George school board, R. Owen Johnson Jr. They are threatening parents with imprisonment and separation from their children if they do not bend to government will and inject poison into their kids. Attorney General Glenn F. Ivey said:

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way, but its got to get done.”

What is this garbage? Now corrupt politicians can tell us how to manage our health?! Well, the Health Ranger, Mike Adams, is starting a grassroots campaign to send a message to Maryland that this will not be tolerated. I am all over it Mike!

Thanks for letting me vent and I hope you will write some letters and make some phone calls too and make sure that this behavior is confronted and stopped. It is not up to the government to decide that the benefits outweigh the risks….that is OUR decision as parents and they need to keep their noses out of it! To your health!

[tags]vaccines, Maryland, forced vaccination, Mike Adams, mercury, health, government[/tags]

[tags]wordless wednesday, jogging, baby[/tags]

Thanksgiving is really the perfect time to “green” things up a bit. You might have a lot of your family all under one roof and it is a great time to show them how you are dedicated to the planet and your health.

Whole Foods is the BEST place to order a Thanksgiving feast that is healthy and planet friendly. You can get a meal for up to 12 people at $14.00 a person and it inlcudes an organic free range turkey cooked or raw and lots of sides like honey-baked mashed sweet potatoes, rosemary chestnut stuffing, squash casserole, scalloped potatoes and old-fashioned soft dinner rolls. A few desserts on the list are apple pie, Georgia pecan pie, blueberry pie, pumpkin mousse pie and Alabama sweet potato pie. Make sure to tell them you want as many local selections as possible.

For vegans they have a turkey made from apples and winter squash and lots of vegan sides and desserts to choose from.

I even found some great ideas for raw foodies too. One great resource is this book with raw thanksgiving recipes from pumpkin pie and Waldorf salad to mashed potatoes and gravy. There are also numerous Meetups going on around the country where you can join other raw food eaters for a raw Thanksgiving. Of course if Thanksgiving is a big family event you might not want to go eat a potluck meal with strangers. :) It would be a good way to meet new people though.

Once you have the food covered here are a few other Green Thanksgiving tips:

• Ditch the disposable dinnerware and use the real thing
• Use cloth napkins
• Make sure to tell everyone at the table that fruit and vegetable scraps will be set aside for composting after the meal
• Help guests to arrange carpooling
• Consider having a meatless Thanksgiving feast
• Recycle your used cooking oil and turkey fat to places that can use it for biofuel

So what are you doing to make your Thanksgiving celebration healthier and/or green?

[tags]Thanksgiving, green, eco friendly, meal, turkey, vegan, raw food[/tags]