Sustainable Swaps for Children
One of the things I truly adore about kids is their ability to see magic in almost anything. Something doesn’t have to be brand new, untouched and in mint condition to be of value to a child, they will love it just as it is, warts and all. I think we often forget that society has conditioned us to believe that preloved is dirty, not as good or “for poor people”, and children do not have these thoughts or concerns.
Aside from saving your pennies, sustainable swaps can also be hugely beneficial to the planet we live on. But before we get into that; if you are after the short and sweet version and would like to jump ahead to the full list of swaps in this post you can do so by clicking here.
Nappies and baby wipes are so damaging to the Earth, with over three billion being thrown away each year in the UK alone (according to recycling charity Wrap).
Yes changing to cloth nappies will increase your laundry load, there is no doubt about that, and the initial payout will be more, but once you have them you don’t need to buy replacements as they have poppers so you can resize them with your child as they grow. You may need newborn nappies for when your littles are teeny tiny but once they’re in these they should last the duration of their nappy-wearing days. Livvy has used the same reusable nappies for both her two and they’re still in working order so to speak.
Reusable nappy bags (pictured above) are a really handy zero-waste option for holding onto used nappies before they go in the wash.
Wooden toys and second-hand items are great swaps to make. In my experience, a lot of second-hand children’s items have barely been touched and are in amazing condition, largely due to how quickly little ones grow and develop, particularly within their first year. Hand-me-downs are also a wonderful option; I know Livvy’s two are always over the moon when they get given something that used to belong to a family member or friend, they find it incredibly special that the individual has thought of them when looking to rehome the item. I have all seven Harry Potter books and whilst some of them are a little battered around the edges – they’re between 15 and 20 years old after all – I know the kids will still enjoy them when they are old enough for us to read them together.
We also try to provide homemade snacks, drinks and food where we can, to save on both money and plastic usage. Yes, the snack containers and some of the water bottles we use are plastic but we already owned them and do not want to over-consume by replacing them unnecessarily. Livvy is really consistent in providing homemade snacks; popcorn, olives and ice lollies being the current favourites, along with ensuring the littles always have a water bottle packed for any adventure. Being honest, I am pretty rubbish at remembering to take a water bottle out with me and where I don’t want to buy a drink because of the cost and plastic usage, I spend far too much of my life dehydrated and should really work on this habit!
We are also big advocates for using your local library; it is free to sign up, there are lots of different options available to both you and your children and added bonus, most libraries don’t charge late fees for children’s items – not saying you shouldn’t aim to return your books on time! We will be doing a full post about using your local library soon, so keep your eyes peeled for that over the next few weeks.
Homemade items are also a firm favourite in our family, with Livvy’s scarves being the most adored at present. They are worn regardless of the weather and the children will tell everyone they see that their Mama made it for them which is just adorable! Another example that springs to mind is birthday cakes; you can get all sorts of weird and wonderful cakes these days, but for me, one of my favourite memories from my childhood are the different birthday cakes both my Mama and my big sis made for me. There is a cracking photo of my Teddybear’s Picnic cake from my 13th birthday which I’ll have to dig out, Livvy made it for me and my appreciation for it has only grown with age now I realise how much time and effort it took!
Sustainable swaps for children
- Cloth nappies
- Cloth wipes
- Nappy wet bag
- Second-hand clothing
- Library books
- Wooden toys
- Second-hand toys
- Hand-me-downs
- Homemade items
- Homemade snacks and baby food
- Zero-waste snack containers
- Water bottles
Please share any of your sustainable swaps that we have missed below so that we can all be educated on this worthwhile topic. I hope this has been somewhat helpful to you in identifying ways that your family can make a few positive changes.
Happy swapping,
Summer and Livvy
