Most children spend a few years in child care before they progress on to school. The younger they are, the more vulnerable their developing bodies are to pollution and chemicals in the environment. Also, the younger you begin teaching children about appreciating the Earth, the firmer their desire to protect it becomes as they grow.

Eco-Healthy Child Care

Schools across the country are going green to protect the planet and to protect children's health. Child care centers are slowly following suit. Using many of the same criteria and steps that schools are implementing, your child care center can go green, too. A good way to begin is to go to www.healthychild.org. In addition to information on toxic health risks in children's environments, you can order the Creating Healthy Environments for Children DVD. This DVD details five easy ways you can clean up your day care environment and includes printable resource materials for more in-depth details and assistance.

The nonprofit organization Oregon Environmental Council (OEC) has also developed the Eco-Healthy Childcare program. It has developed a checklist of twenty-five environmental-health criteria. If participating centers meet at least twenty, they are certified and listed on the OEC website. Some of the criteria include not smoking anywhere in the vicinity of children, using least-toxic pest control methods both inside and out, and using PVC-free toys, low-VOC paints, and mercury-free thermometers. Visit http://oeconline.org/our-work/kidshealth/ehcc to get started.

Go Au Naturel

Young children benefit from open-ended play like stacking blocks and simple crafts. Make yours as Earth-based as possible by using natural materials such as twigs, pinecones, feathers, stones, pieces of natural textiles, and shells. Of course, you'll have to make sure the items are age-appropriate and have no sharp edges or other hazardous attributes. You can easily and inexpensively make beautiful building blocks from the branches of fallen trees. Simply saw varying lengths from a good-size branch or small log and then sand the flat ends so they are stackable. They are beautiful and textured, and their random sizes encourage more complicated buildings.