Book Review: Growing Up Green

I've just finished reading GROWING UP GREEN: Baby and Child Care by Deirdre Imus. And I must say, it is a real eye opener for me.

What is the book about?
Basically, it is a practical guide to raising a healthy child in our increasingly toxic environment. The book highlights the many ways we are being exposed to this environmental toxins and it's effects on our children. Some of the issues mentioned are:

• unhealthy diets and contaminated food such as fast food diets, mercury in fish and pesticides on vegetables
• toxic household cleaners
• toxic personal care products such as cosmetics
• dangerous substances in dairy products
• how to choose environmentally safe toys and baby products
• Debate on vaccination - life saver or cause for other problems such as autism
• Alternatives to prescription drugs for children
• How a school environment can be toxic too

As the book takes you through specific issues faced by children during different age groups, they also list out the specific toxic ingredients you need to look out for. At the end of the book are suggestions on what kind of healthy foods to store as well as healthy meal recipes. There's also a collection of recommended reading, web product guide and studies on children's health.

My Review
This book is not just for people who are already parents, but also for those who are planning to be parents one day. Working towards raising a healthy child starts even before conception. We cannot deny that our toxic environment has something to do with the rise in the number of children having asthma, premature birth, birth defects, heart disease, leukemia, diabetes, autism, dyslexia, mental retardation, ADHD and obesity.

Reading this book, you can hear Dierdre's urgency for us to play a bigger role in detoxifying our lives. She cites many statistics, research reports and doctor's opinions. You can see she has done her homework on this matter.

The book is not about treating childhood illnesses but rather about prevention.

What I like about the book is how she specifically tells what options you have. So, the message is not just "stay away from this stuff" but also "use this instead." She specifically tells you what product you can use and where to find them. Plus, many of the recommendation stems from her own personal use. Unfortunately some of the online references provided are not working.

So, what impact did this book have on me?
Well, the next time I washed my hair I quickly scanned through the ingredients of my shampoo and conditioner. ACK! My Sunsilk conditioner actually has formaldehyde. It's a carcinogen in humans. Some of the things written in the book I already knew or heard before such as don't reuse water mineral bottles and don't use plastic containers and plastic wrap when microwaving food. However, this book just made me aware that there's a whole lot more to consider. Okay, let's see what I can do to go a little greener :)

This book is priced at USD15.95

WANT TO GET A FREE COPY?
I have 3 copies to give away for FREE. But only open to Malaysians okay because it's too expensive to ship overseas.

If you want a free copy, start collecting points. I will give the books to the top 3 scorers.

HOW TO COLLECT POINTS:

1. Email to your friends and tell them about my online children's bookshop at http://www.valuebookshop.com. CC or BCC your emails to contest@valuebookshop.com. Every friend you tell earns you 1 point. Make sure they are people you know. Don't spam. Don't cheat.
2. Link your blog(s) to my bookshop (http://www.valuebookshop.com) and/or my bookshop's blog (http://blog.valuebookshop.com). Email your URL to contest@valuebookshop.com. Every link earns you 5 points.
3. Make a blog post about "Going Green" (at least 200 words long). You could write whatever on the topic e.g. natural ways you clean your house, where you buy organic food, how you detoxify yourself, why you think this organic craze is going overboard, why you are going to feed your MIL mercury fish etc.... Good or bad, let's hear it. Email your URL to contest@valuebookshop.com. A blog post earns you 5 points.
4. Write a blog post about my bookshop (http://www.valuebookshop.com). Email your URL to contest@valuebookshop.com. This blog post earns you 10 points.

CLOSING DATE: 30 APRIL 2008