Our kids count on us every day. Sometimes it seems like an overwhelming directive- make all the decisions about everything every day- what to eat, when to sleep, what to wear, when the diaper needs changing, what to play with, when to bathe. In the constant flow of decisions, some as big as health care, others as small as socks or no socks, we turn to trusted sources to help. I don’t know how my mom possibly raised me without google. There are almost infinite choices out there- and one area I didn’t give any thought to was what shampoos and lotions to use. My husband knows the farmers at Little Seed Farm so we ended up with some great soaps and balms from them. We were given cute bath sets that included soaps and lotions. I figured “great- I don’t need to buy shampoo” and didn’t give it another thought.

Then I found Beautycounter through a friend and learned about the ingredients in said cute shampoo sets. If you look on the EWG Skin Deep data base for Baby Magic the 2012 version of the shampoo I used on my baby is listed as a 7- high hazard.  Current formulations aren’t listed (I wonder why?). It’s my job as her mom to choose what’s best for her and protect her from hazards. What has me infuriated is I had no idea this was even a risk until I was almost at the end of the bottle. I knew letting her play in the street is dangerous. She probably shouldn’t eat rocks. But use baby soap in the bath? Not even on my radar.

Decision fatigue is a real thing. Sometimes I cherish the opportunity to not decide. What’s for dinner? Anything as long as I don’t have to choose. As a new mom, narrowing my choices is a relief. I don’t need to pick from 100 shampoos and read the ingredients until my eyes glaze over, I need to know what I bring into my home is effective and safe. Eating food in season does the same thing- eating the rainbow and what’s fresh is best is a good guideline to follow.

We don’t need more choices, we need better choices. As a parent charged with protecting and growing a child, all the steps I take to #switchtosafer are steps in the right direction.

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