Get Kids Outside with CLIF Kid’s 2nd Annual Backyard Game of the Year Contest

Kids are playing outside less and less as time goes on, as a new Kelton Research survey reveals: Kids today have eight hours less per week of outdoor playtime than their parents did. Overall kids today spend 56% more time in front of screens than they do playing outside. 96% of parents report their kids have experience playing video games, while only 61%-74% of parents say that their children have visited a national or state park or gone hiking. And most parents say 13 hours is the ideal amount of outdoor play per week but parents also admitted that their kids spend about 14 hours in front of a screen, and just nine hours engaged in outdoor play each week. CLIF Kid, maker of certified organic snacks for active kids, in collaboration with Richard Louv, best selling author of Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder, aim to change some of these sobering statistics with the launch of CLIF Kid’s 2nd Annual Backyard Game of the Year Contest. Keep reading to learn more about this creative contest, including the cool prizes your child may win, plus see the game invented by last year’s winner.

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Natural Solutions to Prevent & Treat Bug Bites & Stings this Summer

With summer on the way all sorts of creepy crawlies come out of the woodwork. The Smithsonian Institution notes that insects are the most diverse group of organisms with around 900 thousand different kinds of living insects representing about 80% of the world's species. In fact, the Smithsonian notes that at any time, it's estimated that there are some 10 quintillion (10,000,000,000,000,000,000) individual insects alive, and that's being conservative. Case in point, there's way more of them than there are of us. You and your kids can either hide in bubble wrap and develop nature deficit disorder or learn to live with insects. Keep reading to learn the best natural solutions to prevent bug bites this summer, and all year round.

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Pocket Carnival Organic Coin Purses and Pouches Are Perfectly Sized for Tots’ Treasures

Does your little one love having a special place to store trinkets, coins or arts supplies? Sold on Etsy and shipped all over the world, Pocket Carnival coin purses and pouches are the perfect thing and made out of GOTS certified organic fabrics all designed, imagined, illustrated, and created by Penny Eager. Each little pouch is absolutely adorable and they feature a variety of prints. Penny hand illustrated each pattern and has printed it onto the organic fabric using water-based inks. Pocket Carnival has been making handmade eco-treasures for the past 4 1/2 years in a 100% wind powered studio.

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Spiral Bamboo Drawing Toy Brings Us Back to Our Spirograph Days

When I was a kid I had one of those awesome Spirograph sets – but mine was totally made of plastic. Still, plastic or not, it was loads of fun. Today we’re luckier because kids have a cool Bamboo Spiral Toy available, courtesy of Rocking Frog. This sweet and crafty toy is the perfect way to expand your child’s creativity. The toy is …

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This March of the Penguins Bowling Set is Ready to be Knocked Flat

Eco-friendly bowling sets are one of the best ways to get even the youngest tots moving and active. There are a lot of adorable eco-minded kid bowling sets out there, from sweet kitties to plush organic friends, but this new creation from Smiling …

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Sweden Becomes Latest Country to Ban BPA in Children’s Food Packaging

It’s been less than a month since the FDA rejected a ban on bisphenol A (BPA) in food and beverage packaging – a massive fail in our opinion. Other countries aren’t messing around with this potentially harmful chemical though. On April 13, the government of Sweden announced the decision to ban the use of (BPA) in packaging for food intended for children under 3 years of age. For a while, there’s been a voluntary phase-out of BPA in Sweden, but these new laws will make sure the change becomes permanent. Government officials say that this new chemical ban will mostly, at this point, affect lids of baby food bottles but the new mandate also gives the Swedish Chemicals Agency a 3-month deadline to decide if BPA should also be banned from certain types of thermal paper, including receipts and tickets, and to determine how BPA is being used in drinking-water pipes, toys and children’s goods.

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Jerry the Bear Robotic Teddy Bear Helps Kids Manage Type 1 Diabetes

Managing Type 1 diabetes isn’t an easy task for children, but now Jerry the Bear is here to help them understand their condition and learn how to take better care of themselves. Designed by Northwestern University students Hannah Chung and Aaron Horowitz as a Design for America project, the soft plush teddy bear features insulin injection sites, a glucose-level display and blinking eyes. The goal is for kids to monitor Jerry’s health and keep him in good standing, and at the same time they’ll learn the importance of regular insulin injections and how to give them. Keep reading to see a video of this robotic teddy bear in action.

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Tegu Prism Pocket Pouch Equals Endless Possibilities for Designs On the Go

Just in time for summer road trips comes the Tegu Pocket Pouch Prism. While we adore the bigger Tegu magnetic block sets, we fully appreciate that this new, smaller Tegu block set is not just cute but ready to travel in its own adorable pouch. Plus, while still packed with fun, this smaller set comes with a lower price tag, making this the perfect time to kid-test Tegu. Keep reading to learn more about this great new Tegu set.

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6 Best Natural Vitamins for Kids

I think we can all agree that pill popping isn't the best way to ensure healthy kids. Real kids need real food and balanced meals that provide healthy nutrients. Still, some kids, including vegetarians, vegans and picky eaters may benefit from a daily vitamin. However, many popular vitamins for kids come in a slew of rainbow colors that are fake and icky, such as Red #40, Yellow #6 and Blue #2, plus have artificial flavors and sugar. That's not a healthy supplement. If you're looking for a smarter option, keep reading to check out our top picks for natural vitamins for kids. NOTE: Remember, the best source of advice regarding healthy natural vitamins for kids is your own pediatrician.

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Top 10 Chemicals Most Likely to Cause Autism and Other Learning Disorders

Last month, the CDC reported that autism now affects 1 of every 88 American children, which is an unusually high increase from previous years. Now, we may have some more clues as to what is causing the dramatic increases. The Mount Sinai Children’s Environmental Health Center (CEHC) has just released an informative list of the top ten toxic chemicals suspected to cause autism and learning disabilities. The toxic list, recently published in Environmental Health Perspectives was compiled by Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, director of the CEHC, Dr. Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), and Dr. Luca Lambertini, also of the CEHC. Discover the top ten chemicals thought to be associated with both autism and learning disorders in children after the jump.

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At the Farmers’ Market with Kids: Recipes and Projects for Little Hands

At the Farmers' Market with Kids by Leslie Jonath & Ethel Brennan allows parents and kids to discover the diversity and deliciousness of farmers’ markets. Filled to the brim with beautiful photographs by Sheri Giblin, this book celebrates the best that farmers' markets have to offer, in a kid-friendly manner. Read on to learn more about this wonderful new book.

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The Autism Puzzle: Is the Environment to Blame for Rising Autism Rates?

Earlier this year, the CDC released a new report stating that 1 in 88 children has diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. The data was only from 14 states and the CDC only studies children who are 8 years and older, so these statistics are for children born in the early 2000′s. So what is exactly going on for there to be a 23% increase from the last report? Brita Belli, author of The Autism Puzzle believes environmental toxins are to blame.

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Alligator and Little Bird Peg Rack from Maple Shade Kids is a Cute Way to Organize

We’re already a huge fan of Maple Shade Kids’ wonderfully useful (and adorable) handcrafted peg racks, and to be honest, we were perfectly content with these peg racks in darling owl form. Still, all owls, all the time, while cute as cute can be, isn’t for every kid. If your child is a little more …

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School Lunches Go Local and Fresh with Improved Farm to School Program

In the past year alone we’ve seen some terrible news about school lunches. From insane pink slime, to bizarre food regulations to lackluster food changes way too long in the making, it sometimes seems like there’s no good school lunch news to be had. Until now that is. The USDA will be improving their farm to school lunch programs nationwide, which means it’s much more likely that your kids will be getting tastier and more nutritious school lunches. Agriculture Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan announced this week that USDA will be investing more funds in farm to school programs across the country in order to help improve the health and wellbeing of their students, as well as support connections with local agricultural producers. The Farm to School Grant Program is one of the USDA’s most innovative food programs and part of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. Through grants and technical assistance, this program helps to implement farm to school food programs that improve access to local foods in eligible schools. The brand new investments will help schools find and purchase food from local producers, and some farm to school initiatives will also include agriculture and nutrition education efforts such as school gardens, field trips to local farms and cooking classes.

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