Bookshelf: A list of books for new moms & families

Though I have read upwards of 20 books in preparation for my son, some seemed to be just abbreviated versions of the ones below.   Here is my “must have” list of books representative and fluent in those subjects critical to a green mum.

If you were to read only one book before your child arrives – THIS is it. Without being preachy or too “hippy”, this book will set you on your journey, that once begun, will never end. Consider it your first passport to a healthier life….

From HealthyChild.org:

Product Description

Leading medical experts and scientists team up with celebrity activists to help parents detoxify and green their households.

Nothing makes one more keenly aware of health risks lurking in the everyday world than becoming a parent. Most know the importance of using cabinet locks and child gates, but research is showing many more ways we need to be childproofing our homes. Tens of millions of American children now face chronic diseases and illnesses including cancer, autism, asthma, birth defects, ADD/ADHD, allergies, learning and developmental disabilities, as well as a host of lesser but disruptive ailments. And the growing research points to much of the increases on unseen threats wrought by exposure to chemicals in everyday products like cleaning supplies, beauty care and cosmetics, home furnishings, plastics, some foods and toys as contributing to these ailments. With that in mind, the non-profit organization Healthy Child Healthy World offers parents a definitive guide to creating a healthy, nontoxic, and environmentally sound home.

Filled with easy steps and simple solutions to improve family living without wreaking havoc on schedules or budgets, this book includes inspiring ideas for safe, eco-friendly cleaning methods, choosing healthier food, pet and garden care, nursery and home building materials, plus extensive tips for energy saving and family fun. With contributions from environmental science and public-health experts such as Dr. Phil Landrigan, Dr. Harvey Karp and Dr. Alan Greene, as well as many celebrity supporters (including Gwyneth Paltrow, Brooke Shields, Tobey Maguire, Sheryl Crow, Vanessa Williams, and Tom Hanks), Healthy Child Healthy World is the essential guidebook for parents wanting to go green.

I think that this book is better for parents of pre-school aged children but I read it anyway.  Warning!  This book is one of the reasons that I am NOT taking my child to the park playgrounds – (though he will be able to run around on the grass).  You’ll faint when you learn about the tire rubber, toxic sand and wood chemicals that saturate playgrounds.

This is another “Bible”.  I heart Dr. Sears and sometimes wonder if I shouldn’t send him a Thank You note.  With this book by my side – I feel ready for anything!  Any and all of his books should be in your mama library.

Natural Baby is the PDR for natural mums.  It’s what your grandmother knew – in a book.

I read 6 books on vaccines (yes, I’m that crazy), and this was my fave.  You may want to read this next book right after….

From Amazon:

This groundbreaking book is the first to be published internationally that examines the link between the milk we drink and a range of serious illnesses, including heart disease, Type 1 diabetes, autism and schizophrenia. These health problems are linked to a tiny protein fragment that is formed when we digest A1 beta-casein, a milk protein produced by most cows in New Zealand and Australia. Milk that contains this protein fragment is commonly known as A1 milk, whereas milk that does not is known as A2. Some milk is naturally A2, especially from cows of Asian or African origin, and is now being marketed in many supermarkets throughout New Zealand and Australia. In Devil in the Milk Keith Woodford, Professor of Farm Management and Agribusiness at Lincoln University, for the first time brings together all of the published scientific evidence surrounding A1 milk. He examines the population studies that look at the link between the consumption of A1 milk and the incidence of heart disease and Type 1 diabetes; he explains the science that underpins the A1 hypothesis; and examines the different research that has been undertaken around this issue. His conclusion is sobering – the evidence is compelling that, for the sake of our health, we should not be drinking A1 milk, and switching to A2. This an amazing story, one that is not just about the health issues surrounding A1 milk, but also about how science knowledge can be moulded and withheld by vested interests, and how consumer choices are influenced by the interests of corporate business. Devil in the Milk is a serious and important book, compulsory reading for those concerned with health issues. It also demands to be taken extremely seriously by anyone interested in the future viability of our dairy industry.

This is the book you buy in bulk, to pass out to eye rolling relatives and friends who believe that companies such as Procter & Gamble and Johnson & Johnson just couldn’t POSSIBLY be as evil as you are suggesting, as you chuck every one of their products out of your house.  It explains the financials behind the poisoning of America.  I can’t tell you how angry this book will make you.  Hide the knives….

UPDATE: March 2010

Just as you may need to watch Food, Inc. with a martini – you may want to read Poisoned Profits on holiday- so that when your blood pressure goes through the roof, you have a chance….

You need to read this book. You need to buy several copies, and give them to anyone who may watch your child – as well as your pediatrician. It’s more of a tearjerker than The Notebook – so you have been warned.

Basically, your children are being poisoned because it’s the cheapest, most profitable way to do business. BILLIONS go to buy the lawyers, lobbyists, politicians and public relations to confuse and deceive you. Remember how the tobacco industry was able to get by without admitting how dangerous ciggs were until THIS decade? Okay. It’s like that. But bigger. Much, much bigger. And at least with ciggs, we all “knew” that they were cancerous – even before it was plastered on the side of the packs.

You are eating freakish genetically modified ingredients, neuro toxins and carcinogens (usually in the form of pesticides and petro chemical products), without knowing it. Why don’t you know? It’s not on the damn label. Why? ’cause the companies pay zillions to make sure that it isn’t.

Read this book.

Please.

Please send any “green” or “natural” book recos to Claire at Douglass dot com.

Happy Reading!