How toxic are the kids??

Well I watched the channel 4 installment of toxic kids and am happy to see that my kids aren't that toxic.. yet. I will have to worry a bit as they get to be teenagers but hopefully they will take my lead with natural products. It was pretty shocking to see how many cosmetic products one of the girls on the show used. And she did look better when she wore less makeup, and she reached that same conclusion at the end of the experiment, so kudos to her.

I also couldn't believe that some people have a plug-in or some other sort of artificial air freshener in every room of their house. I've never liked the overly perfumey smell of these so I'm glad I missed out on that toxic concoction. I was surprised to learn though that the ingredient *parfum* isn't one thing as in perfume, it can be up to 200 different unidentified chemicals! The main things to watch out for are the same as in any product and one has to seek out more natural alternatives.

Toothpaste without flouride for kids is a necessity. Its not true that you need flouride, and with many water supplies already flouridated it is not necessary. Not every region of Britain is flouridated and there is a lot of controversy about it anyway. But if you simply must have flouride then wait until your kids adult teeth come in. At least by that point they will understand not to eat it and to use as small a portion as possible. We don't use it and my son who is now seven has no problems whatsoever with his teeth. I suppose watching a programme like this one reignited my interest in reviewing everything we use from washing powder to toothpaste. I'm looking into purchasing ecoballs for the washing, and can't wait to little daughter is out of nappies, which will cut our washing in half!!

Buying organic and natural can cost more certainly, but there are ways of stretching it and I've just found Akamuti's Black African soap which can be used for hand washing, hair washing (including baby), bath soap, so it goes a long way, and its pure and natural. Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap is another jack-of-all trades and one we used frequently in America. They can be found in some health stores here in Britain, or online even from Amazon.co.uk!

I have however, discovered another new online shop for everything alternative and natural in the skin/body/home care dept. LoveLula.com, the organic apothecary has a fabulous selection of brands, including Dr. Bronner's plus they offer reward points everytime you shop, adding up to free items, delivery is free over £40 and 3 free samples can be had with each order. Now I am a loyal sort, so I will still be using Olive Organic, but for those other brands, Love Lula is awesome also!!