When I decide to do something I tend to put all of myself into it. I research it, make a decision and then throw myself 100% into it until I am finished. When Grace was about 4 I began looking more and more into the connection between autism, developmental and behavioral disorders in children, and chemicals in plastics and cleaning supplies.
While I didn't find any real scientific studies to prove anything at that time, I felt from what I did read that there was enough evidence to convince me that the chemical in plastics (Bisphenol A (BPA)), and the many, many chemicals in cleaning supplies (these I don't know), couldn't possibly be good for child development. It might even be possible that they cause some damage and thus have a role in causing some of these disorders. Of course this hasn't been proven at all, but it hasn't been proven to not be true either.
If you know me at all, you can laugh a little while you picture this in your mind. As I said before, when I decide to do something I do it all the way. One day I suddenly decided that I couldn't go another day with poison cleaning supplies in my house. So I grabbed a huge garbage bag and proceeded to stomp through the house grabbing every single bottle of cleaning agent I could find, throwing them all into the bag. I am one of those funny people who likes to clean her house - I have a lot of cleaning supplies. This process took a very long time.
In the end I had a very large bag filled with garbage (or poison as I now called it). I then went and bought two bottles of Seventh Generation all purpose cleaner. I made a mixture of vinegar and water to use for mopping and I started using a baking soda and water mixture to clean out my oven. It all worked just fine and I felt wonderful. When I had my carpets cleaned I used an Eco friendly carpet cleaner and I still wouldn't let him spray the carpets with anything. I switched all my laundry detergent to phosphate free, fragrance free detergent, and my dish washing detergent as well. I also threw away all my plastic cups and bottles that weren't considered "safe" at that time.
We had previously made a huge change in Graces diet when we switched her to gluten free food. By doing this, not only did we eliminate gluten, but we eliminated many, many additives, preservatives as well as hydrogenated oils. In addition we eliminated many chemicals. I think there is MUCH to this. As a society we are feeding our children chemicals and compounds that didn't even exist 100, 50 or even 25 years ago. How can we possibly know the effects that these chemicals will have on them? How do we know that we are not poisoning our children simply by what we are feeding them?
I am not a perfect mother anymore. I now use bleach (gasp...) to wash my white sheets. Due to the economy, I have my carpets cleaned by the least expensive company. I don't buy organic milk that comes in a glass bottle, but I do buy milk that doesn't contain any growth hormones. I don't buy fresh eggs from the local farm down the road, but buy my eggs from Trader Joes. And I don't even buy organic fruit every time I go to the store, just as often as I can afford it. Sometimes I just don't have the money for the best breads, or the best cheeses, or even the best meats. But I do the best I can, and I think that is what all of us can do. After all, aren't our kids worth it?
No comments:
Post a Comment