Earth-friendly child care options

There aren’t many eco-friendly child care centers around… yet. Here in my state (Oregon) we have The Eco-Healthy Child Care (EHCC) program which follows up with centers and makes sure that certified (or endorsed) centers are as environmentally healthy as possible.

Child care facilities in Oregon can qualify as “Eco-Healthy” by completing a checklist that highlights 25 simple green steps such as…

• Eliminating pesticides from lawn play areas.
• Keeping air quality clean and non-toxic.
• No smoking.
• No aerosols of any kind.
• Non-toxic art supplies used.
• Low-VOC paints used for walls and furniture.
• PVC free toys only.
• Recycling programs in place.
• And more.

Eco-Healthy providers who are endorsed must be committed to reducing children’s exposure to toxins and other environmental health hazards. Endorsed programs are listed on the  website. Oregon currently has over 1000 endorsed eco-healthy child care programs, but what about if you don’t live in Oregon?

• You can do a basic search; type in “YOUR AREA HERE eco-friendly child care” and some options may come up.
• You can use the low impact living eco child care search function.
• You can grab the Oregon checklist and make it available to child care providers in your area.

Hopefully soon, as parents demand healthy changes, more states will realize the importance of eco-friendly child care options.