Every year parents spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on toys and activities for their kids. While many of things are great for keeping young minds and bodies active, many of them are unnecessary. Sure kids need structured play, but they also need “free” plan and this is easy to do when the world’s largest playground is right outside your back door. Why not let them play outside?

Every toy, book, and TV show that comes out has been designed and redesigned several times in order to make it educational and entertaining for children. The great thing about nature is that, while being entertaining and stimulating to the imagination, it’s also educational. Nature can teach children the basics of science, economics, and creativity.

It’s cheap. Depending on where you live, exploring nature is usually pretty inexpensive, if not free. It may mean going out in your backyard, local park, or perhaps going to the local nature center or state park (which usually have low cost fees or memberships). This way, you don’t have to pay for expensive toys, jungle gyms, or memberships to expensive entertainment centers, but you still get the benefit of stimulating and educational play.

It makes them think. Lately there’s been a trend in education towards inquiry based learning. Researchers have found that if students explore and experiment to figure out answers on their own, they’re going to learn better, and retain more information. It also helps them develop skills to be able to learn things on their own later. What better environment to learn things than out in nature. There are lessons for kids of all ages to discover about the world around them.

It may help the world. Everyone these days is trying to be more green and more environmentally conscious. What better way to help do your part than to get your children interested in their own planet than right now when they’re young and impressionable? What might be a fun time for them now, might be a future hobby, career, or world saving invention.

It’s fun. While it’s easy to forget, childhood isn’t just for learning about how to be an adult, it’s also about having fun. Nature gives kids a chance to use their imagination and be free to just be kids.

While unstructured play outside is great for kids, you can also find a lot of places offering structured classes and learning sessions for kids that focus on the natural world. Check your local park, zoo, or museum. There’s a good chance they have classes you can sign up for, and since many of these places are not for profit, they’re usually affordable as well as informative.

Across the world, there are millions of dollars being spent to help promote sending your kids outside to learn from nature. That’s because spending time in the outside world is so important for developing minds. It can also be a great escape for you as well.

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1. Preserve Nature and Make a Sustainable Future for Man on Earth

More and more we see parents refer to their parenting style as natural. They take great pride in having natural family values, perhaps even calling themselves hippie, crunchy, or granola in the next breath. What exactly does this mean though? What is important to a natural family?

Since all families are comprised of unique and different individuals with different values sets and motivations there is no standard definition that will fit for every natural family. In general though, natural families are concerned with one or more of the following things:

Natural Childbirth

Natural moms feel that giving birth is a natural and beautiful process that is not meant to be painless, sterile, or treated like a medical condition. They trust in their bodies to be able to birth children as nature intended without medical interventions or drugs that just increase the chances for unwanted c-sections, infection, and an inability to be present mentally when their child is born.

Breastfeeding

Natural parents believe that breast milk is the perfect source of food and nourishment for their baby. It is a waste free, economical, and easy access solution. Breast milk is also the perfect temperature for baby and it contains vital antibodies that will help babies to develop strong immune systems and avoid illness. Perhaps one of the best benefits of breastfeeding is its ability to help mom and baby bond with each other skin to skin.

Cloth Diapers

Many natural parents want natural, chemical free fibers next to their baby’s skin. Disposable diapers are filled with chemicals and other unsavory ingredients like petroleum. Cloth diapers on the other hand are usually much more natural, gentle, and comfortable. If wearing paper and plastic underwear is not an option for them then it is not an option for their babies.

Babywearing

Natural families often practice some method of attachment parenting and wearing your baby close to you in a sling, wrap or other baby carrier is often a big part of that. In ancient days women wore their babies to keep them close and safe while they traveled, hunted, or gardened. Natural moms of today also carry their babies close to them while they work and play. Even breastfeeding is made easier when your baby is cuddled against you in a sling or wrap.

Vaccinations and Homeopathic Remedies

Just as most natural parents want to avoid drugs and chemicals in childbirth they also like to keep these to a minimum in later years. Vaccines are often viewed as chemical cocktails with dangerous ingredients like Mercury and MSG and since they are not proven to be safe even within mainstream society, natural parents often avoid them or adopt an alternative vaccination schedule. Alternative medicine is also widely accepted in natural families with homeopathic and natural remedies being turned to before conventional treatments and pharmaceutical drugs.

Green Living

Natural families generally feel that what nature provides is better in the long run so they seek to protect their environment and their connection to the natural world. They often seek to reduce the amount of needless stuff in their lives, reuse whenever they can, and recycle things they can’t reuse. Taking care of our planet is important to them.

There are many more ideals and practices held my society’s more natural minded parents but these are a few of the common ones.

Most parents know the advantages of using cloth diapers rather than disposable diapers. Cloth diapers can save a ton of money, and they are far gentler on the environment. However, even knowing all this, parents continue to shell out big bucks for disposable diapers, figuring they just can’t handle the inconvenience of laundering cloth diapers.

I believe the biggest deterrent to cloth diapering is the laundering. You would think cloth diapering mamas individually hand-washed every single poopy diaper. The truth is, cleaning those cloth tush covers is as easy as handling any other kind of laundry. You throw a load in the washing machine, turn it on, and let it go. The machine does the work. Then you transfer that load to the drier and let it finish the job. Finally, you put the diapers away and reuse them.

There are a few simple changes to make sure the diapers are thoroughly clean, so laundering cloths takes a little longer. First, collect the soiled and wet diapers in an enclosed container. A kitchen trash receptacle with a lid works well. You can line the receptacle with either a plastic trash can liner, or you can purchase a reusable bag from a cloth diapering supplier. The reusable bag can be washed along with the diapers and line dried.

How To Wash Cloth Diapers

1. Once the bag is full, dump the contents into the washing machine and set it to wash a cold cycle. You can add soap if you want, but the main purpose of the cold wash is to help prevent the soiled diapers from staining. I have found plain water works really well.
2. When the cold wash cycle finishes, set the washing machine to wash with hot water. Then add a normal amount of your favorite detergent, plus 1/4 to 1/2 cup of borax, and let the cycle run.
3. At the end of the hot wash cycle, re-rinse if you like.
4. Otherwise, take the diapers out and toss them into the drier or line dry. Depending on what kind of diapers you are using, set the drier to run either a regular or cool drying cycle, and turn it on. You can also line dry, which will save you money and is better for the environment as well as gentler on the diapers. But depending on the weather this may not be a feasible option for you.
5. Reuse the diapers again and again.

Here are a few things to keep in mind to make washing cloth diapers as easy as possible and to extend the life of your diapers.

1. When the diaper is soiled, you don’t have to do anything extra for babies who are still exclusively breastfed. The washing machine will take care of it. When the baby is eating solid foods the poop will be more solid and will need to be scraped off. Gently scrape off the big chunks with a bit of cardboard. You should try to get as much off the diaper as you can, but the washing machine can still handle a surprising amount of residue, so don’t overdo it. Just get rid of the really solid stuff.
2. Do not use bleach or fabric softeners. Bleach will break down the fibers in the diapers, shortening their useful life. Fabric softeners tend to add residue to the diapers which can irritate baby’s bottom as well as cause the diapers to repel, rather than absorb water. Rely on the hot water, soap and borax to sanitize the diapers. If they smell clean, they are clean.

Washing cloth diapers may seem more complicated at first, but it’s really your washing machine that does most of the work. Once you’ve washed a few loads, it becomes second nature and you too will be wondering why more parents don’t use cloth diapers.

Where can you buy cloth diapers?