School’s almost out and, for many of us, that means getting our kids ready for summer camp. I started to collect what my daughter needs—towel, swimsuit, goggles and a water bottle. As I put her Sigg bottle in the camp pile, I thought this would be a good time talk about water bottle safety.

Parents should be aware that because of safety concerns about many plastics, environmental groups generally recommend stainless steel and glass containers over those made from plastic. To determine if the plastic bottles you and your family drink from are suspect, look for the number on the bottom. This number reveals the type of plastic used to make that container. Here are two common types to watch out for:

• #1 (also called PET or PETE) is most commonly used for clear plastic bottles. These are believed to be safe for one-time use but not for refilling.
• #7 is a hard plastic often used for multiuse bottles. While sturdy, it’s made with polycarbonate resin, which leaches a chemical called bisphenol-A (BPA) into the liquid it contains. BPA, which mimics estrogen and disrupts normal hormone function, may impair reproductive organs and could lead to miscarriages and developmental abnormalities, among other difficulties.

Try these safer options:

• Bottles made from #5 plastic: This type of plastic is sometimes used for refillable kids’ drink bottles. Unlike #1 and #7, it hasn’t been found to leach harmful chemicals into its contents.

• Sigg bottles: They’re lightweight, portable, recyclable and available in many fun designs for kids and adults. The company asserts that its solvent-free liner is resistant to fruit acids and isotonic drinks ($15.95 to $19.95). They keep water nice and cold.

• Thermos FUNtainer Beverage Bottle: This has an unbreakable, stainless-steel interior and exterior and stands up to daily wear. Its hygienic, push-button lid with pop-up straw makes it a good bet for young ones ($12.99 to $17.50). It’s available in styles your kids will love including Barbie, Bratz, Scooby-Doo and Hotwheels.

One of our KIWI staff members asked me today if I had any advice for how to get a picky toddler to eat.  Sound familiar? It did to me, I’ve had 8 years with a picky eater!

Susan Lamontagne, the founder of Eat Smart, Grow Strong, a campaign to encourage children and parents to eat better, recommends sprinkling mealtime with a little creativity. “After being a terrific eater for his first couple of years, my son suddenly went cold turkey. Dinnertime became miserable. My husband and I consulted childcare books, feeding experts and our son’s pediatrician. The advice was always the same: ‘Ignore it’; ‘It’s just a phase’ and ‘Don’t let it become a battle.’ Do these people actually have children?”

In a desperate effort to heed their advice, Susan and her husband unwittingly invented a game that their son couldn’t resist and—surprise—got him eating again. Their scheme? “We told him that we had invited dinosaurs to dinner. He smiled and ran to the table”.

They began by talking about all the different types of dinosaurs and their foods of choice. “We imagined and physically reenacted how they ate. For the leaf-eating Apatosaurus, with his long neck, we held our food up high and raised our mouths. The Apatosaurus loved his greens, so we dropped our heads and chewed as if we were grazing on grass. And what about the infamous Tyrannosaurus rex? When my son asked why the T. rex was always grumpy, I replied, ‘Because he didn’t eat his greens.’”

So, try thinking out of the box when it comes to our kids. Making mealtime fun sounds like it could be the answer! —Maxine W.

Meet Kiwi in Jamaica for our first ever Mommy & Me Retreat (Dads welcome too!). It’s November 6 - 10, 2007 at the beautiful Beaches Boscobel Resort & Golf Club in Ochos Rios, Jamaica.

Beaches offers:
• Luxurious accommodations, gourmet meals, premium brand wine and spirits
• An array of land and water sports
• Outrageous water theme parks
• State-of-the-art XBOX® Game Oasis Center
• Supervised kids and teens programs
• Childcare provided by expertly trained Ultra Nannies
• The Beaches Resorts’ Caribbean Adventure with Sesame Street, with kids’ favorite friends from the Sesame Street gang

Combine all of this fun with Kiwi Magazine’s own line-up of special activities including parenting seminars, games, eco-crafts, eco-fashion shows, cooking demonstrations, and more!

And we just found out that Beaches has made our Retreat even better by lowering their prices and offering our guests upgraded rooms! So, come along with us, have fun and learn about raising healthy kids Kiwi-style!

With a new baby or toddler in the family, most parents babyproof the home, putting locks on the cabinets and bumpers on the tables. But what about the dangers we can’t see—the environmental toxins that can affect our children’s health, growth and development? To help guard against these dangers, there’s Healthy Child Healthy World, the nation’s leading non-profit organization dedicated to protecting children’s environmental health.

Founded by Jim and Nancy Chuda in 1992 after their daughter Colette died from a rare form of non-hereditary brain cancer that has been linked to pesticides, Healthy Child Healthy World has since become a resource for millions of parents and caregivers worldwide. Check out their HealtheHouse, an interactive virtual house helps make it easy for you to identify environmental health hazards in the home.

Announcing the Kiwi Crusaders Award for Excellence in School Meals. We’re celebrating the schools and school systems that have made a commitment to serving students healthy foods (yes, believe it or not, there are lots of schools who do care about good nutrition for our kids). If this sounds like your school, we invite you to nominate it for our prestigious annual award. We’ll be recognizing healthy school food programs in three categories:

• Preschool
• Public School/School System K-12
• Private School/School System K-12

The three Grand Prize winners will receive $3,500 each and a feature story in KIWI Magazine about the school and its meal program.

To enter and for official rules, click here and fill out an online application or download a printable PDF to mail to us. Entries must be received by September 30, 2007.

Don’t miss the chance to earn some money for your school and get them the recognition they deserve for helping to keep our kids healthy!

Welcome to the Kiwi Blog! I thought a great way to kick our blog off is to write about the LOHAS Forum. Sara (Kiwi’s editorial director) and I attended this business conference last week with all the latest in what’s happening with the LOHAS lifestyle.

LOHAS stands for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability. This influential consumer accounts for about 16% of the U.S. population and accounts for about $200 million in annual sales of sustainable products. This consumer, according to the National Marketing Institute, is an early adopter of new products and consequently are the trendsetters in the sustainable product world. Does that sound like you?

There was lots of interesting news and exciting new products featured at the forum. I was particularly excited about Naturework’s innovation in bio-plastics. This new polymer derived from 100% renewal resources like corn is used make everything from packaging and consumer goods to fibers for clothes and furnishing. Companies already using it are:

-Sony, for electronic casings
-Green Mountain for coffee cups
-Fox River for biofiber socks
-College Farm Organic NaturePop lollipops use this plastic in their wrapping

The fiber brand name is Ingeo. So, keep your eyes out for more and more use of these bio-plastics in products. They’re safer for our families and for the planet. —Maxine W.

Exploring the world of natural and organic foods…one podcast at a time.

Whole Foods invites you to explore the world of natural, organic foods, one podcast at a time. Every few weeks, we’ll update you on seasonal foods, teach you something, and offer up a few new recipes.

Listen to “Whole Foods Market Podcasts”

A cooking show for people who are big on taste and short on time.

Add a pinch of culinary zing to your weeknight dinners with our Secret Ingredient Video Blog. Each week we’ll post a new episode featuring simple, tasty recipes made using “secret” ingredients that can change a dish from good to great.

Listen to “Secret Ingredient Video Blog”

The podcast that’s all about natural body care and supplements.

We invite you to come explore the world of natural body care and supplements one podcast at a time. Check back with us each month to hear from leading experts on everything from great herbs that heal, to why natural personal care is a better choice. Join us and learn how to Be Good To Your Whole Body.

Listen to “Be Good To Your Whole Body Podcast Blog”