I have the pleasure of reviewing the book Healthy Child, Healthy World, a book put out by the non profit company of the same name. May I just say: What a resource! I would rarely advise someone I didn’t know to run out and buy a book, but this one really applies to us all: parents, yuppies, hippies, swingers, religious, non religious and those deep thinking people who wonder why new carpet smells so bad. This book is for you. It is about quality of life.

When most of the world considers going green or being environmentally aware, I think the first thoughts that usually come to mind are how we are using our natural resources. Did we plant a tree this year? Did that last soda can get filed in the garbage bin or was it recycled? Will we be buying a hybrid or a gas guzzler in the future? All valid, important questions and concerns, but without really asking the scary question, “What kinds of pesticides, chemicals and other toxins am I routinely subjecting my body to in the name of progress?”

This book answers all of these questions and more. Now, living in our modern, disposable society, where we’ve given up quality for the sake of mass production and the lure of the low price tag, I’m sure there are moments where we all wonder what we’ve gained. It is eye opening to really take a look at what we’ve settled for.

My eyes were opened when my daughter’s skin cracked, bistered and bled in disposable diapers.

My eyes were opened farther when my son’s behavior was radically altered when he ingested red dye, a common food additive.

My eyes opened when I made the chemical connection between a scented candle and my migraine headache.

Now, disposable diapers, attractive food and pretty smelling candles are all lovely things at first glance, but what do we have really? Have we stopped to ask why we’re putting chemicals banned in the 80s from women’s tampons onto the bums of our babies? Have we considered that everything we take into our bodies, by ingestion, breathing, or absorption will affect us, and will affect our children at even greater rates because they are smaller?

I was not a very green person until I became a parent. As I slowly noticed different environmental choices affecting my children, a light went on and I started making changes to see if I could do better. I love the Earth, but I admit my first goal is not to preserve her, it is to preserve my children and to have a happy, healthy family.

Going green can be pretty overwhelming, and I admit that on the scale of greens, I’m still a pretty light green. I am slowly making changes that make us just a little greener and cleaner every day. This is what it is all about. A little education paired with a few small goals can lead to some huge changes and improvements in your quality of life. Choose an area that you feel the most strongly about, be it buying organic food, replacing carpet with a healthier floor, or even simple changes like buying a houseplant to improve indoor air quality or changing to compact florescent light bulbs to reduce energy consumption. It is in these small triumphs that we find huge success.

I loved this book; its practical, pragmatic approach to gradual changes for the better really hit home, because that is what we have been making at my house for the past few years. It takes a little more time, a little more effort, but my kids are worth it.