Customer Reviews

Smart Mama's Green Guide: Simple Steps to Reduce Your Child's Toxic Chemical Exposure

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Length:: 2:01 Mins

I just finished inhaling Smart Mama's Green Guide and have to say there are 3 things I just didn't get out of the book. I truly expected to feel overwhelmed, helpless and inadequate to protect my children from the shocking number of environmental toxins our children are exposed to. But that just wasn't the case!

Jennifer Taggart and I are on the same page (forgive the pun) when it comes to all the toxic products around us. I worry about all the chemical risks that government tells us is minuscule. This book is a lifesaver because it evaluates all this exposure in terms parents can understand and highlights some of the bigger issues while not down playing the smaller ones. It has practical solutions for reducing the toxic chemical exposure in your life and home.

I fully support the decrease and eradication of toxic chemicals in our lives however this book is not the answer. We need real political change and corporate policing to reign in manufacture and distribution of unhealthful chemicals in our lives. We also need to clean up and contain what is already present. Keep in mind the BPA industry is spending billions to fight negative press and Congress will give them years to phase out toxic chemicals at a profit. So it is up to the concerned individual to educate themselves and take action. 3rd party testing results available online at [...] is a start. However this book offers a very fuzzy focus on what is toxic in our daily lives and the best method to avoid or eradicate it. Many passages gloss over a single studies that may no longer be relevant or recent. This book would benefit hugely by summary bullet points at the end of every chapter specifying type of toxin, source of exposure, method of eradication. Then follow up by providing a summary of safe products corresponding to a toxic one. Currently this is not a read for a sleep deprived or busy parent.

Environmental engineer turned environmental lawyer Jennifer Taggart makes a hearty attempt to educate and assist Moms (and dads) with small children be Greener, be more aware of the environmental dangers in the typical household and live healthier and less toxic lives. She tackles all the usual suspects: Radon, Abestos, Mold, Lead, and the lesser known by products or derivative elements that make up some common toxins or contribute to toxic environments. For advice and tips for the PREGNANT mom, she goes beyond the typical mercury warnings and delves deeper into dangerous foods and household chemicals that could impact the mom or her unborn baby.

I must say while I pride myself on living a "Green" life, I shamedly admit that really amounts to using mesh grocery bags, recycling, using water delivery versus purchasing multiple bottles and purchasing organic when I can afford to...um yeah.

Imagine my surprise to go through Smart Mama's GreenGuide and read about all the horrific toxins that pollute every bit of mine and my family's existence. So the author started off a bit neurotic and compulsive about being toxic free. Being an environmental engineed didn't help. I suppose her sensitiviy to toxins were also on account of the fact that she suffered early miscarriages and looking for sources was convinced that the environment must have been the cause. She had an uphill battle to learn all she could being that tragic momentous event happened in 2002. Fast forward to 2009, readers have the benefit of her research, background, education and resources in this book. The premise behind the book, especially for pregnant women, is that you are indeed what you eat and you can control what you are exposed to, once you are educated and become informed. Good try.

At times, the descriptions of the toxins and hazards caused my eyes to glaze over and I eventually skipped those sections where she tries to explain in a little too much detail about the hazard, its source, cause and potential side effects. Me=lazy reader. Also, to really live a Green life taking all the precautions outlined in this book one would need to have gotten at least a C in high school chemistry or have a small microbiology lab stashed in the den somewhere. Also, some of the stories between the covers of this book were horrifying. The worst is the case example of the woman whose breast milk became so toxic that it leaked a smelly and pungent discharge. Eeek! Smart Mama has tiny text blocks of "Scary Mama Facts" that I suppose are put there to alarm you into compliance, but in all honesty, the entire book got me cringing and ready to pack up my brood and head for a mud hut in Outer Mongolia where we can't be impacted by all the Radiation and Poisons polluting life in America.

Most helpful were the tables and side bars which give you a cut and dry listing of the toxins, tips for reducing or eliminating exposure and her expert analysis of the real life practical effects of such exposure. I especially found helpful the "Smart Mama Tips" and wish there were more of them because they were simple, easy to follow advice that most could understand and follow. The latter chapters that dish out very real practical tips for being "Greener" are also very helpful especially Chapter 5-8. I know plenty of moms who are/were very neurotic about limiting their infant and children's exposure to all things toxic and those last chapters provide a very helpful and thorough treatment to creating the perfect environment. *sigh* What a big undertaking and exhausting one, but I suppose our children are worth it. Until this book, I lived life under the "ignorance is bliss" category of apathy. Maybe I am...Ha!

If anything, this book is a very good resource book that deserves at least a pass over and a space on your library shelf.

Raising our children in a toxic environment is a VERY SCARY subject, but this book handles the topic in an engaging, "you can do this" sort of way. It's encouraging and even funny. And every time I flip through it, I get caught by a fascinating story or fact. The information and statistics in this book are staggering, and I can't IMAGINE the amount of research and work that went into writing it.

This book contains a wealth of information on avoiding toxic exposure by making informed choices for everything from flooring and paint to sunscreen and personal care products. My favorite section is the collection of fantastic recipes: did you know that you can clean your whole house with non-toxic ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen?

This book will remain in our home, as a resource we can really use. I feel better knowing that I can refer to it as needed, and my family will be healthier because of the knowledge I've gained and been encouraged to apply.