Consumption Moms

Consumption Awareness with Moms and their Kids

As a mom of three young children, I think mothers lead the pack when it comes to excessive consumption. Just look at what we buy! Moms, I promise you, your children will not shrivel up and dehydrate if they don’t have a drink every 15 minutes– enough with the juiceboxes! In fact, drop the juice addiction altogether. Water’s what they really need. And the prepackaged snacks? Even the organic kind? Not healthy! You know what’s healthy and sustainable? An apple. From a tree.

I brought a whole new consumption awareness with me to the grocery store. I now buy very little that comes in plastic packaging. Kids need snacks for lunch?  It’s raw fruits and veggies all the way… and I put the produce in my own canvas bags, not the plastic produce bags. We didn’t produce a lot of garbage before I went hardcore on my grocery habits, but now we use one small bag and it takes two weeks to fill it. So next time you go grocery shopping, ask yourself, “Do I really need this?  Does the nutritional content of this product warrant its packaging?”

What about the toys and the clothes slick marketing schemes try to brainwash us into believing we need? What does that new baby really need? I promise you, the latest Pack and Play Portable Playard or the Fisher-Price Power Plus Swing and all the other crap that sits in a landfill six months after we bought it can’t be considered a necessity.

What about the brand new baby clothes dipped in flame retardant? Do you really want that stuff on your baby? My last child was born in June. I went to the Salvation Army and bought a bunch of onesies. It was hot. That was all she needed. The only other thing I bought was an Ergo (a baby carrier). That’s it. You don’t NEED all the plastic junk and the brand new clothes that you’re led to believe you can’t do without. All our babies need is a boob and a means to be tied to us—nothing more, nothing less.

The next time you get the impulse to buy something for your child, stop and think. Is your need just to connect? Do something with your child instead. Give your child your time, not more stuff. You’ll both feel more fulfilled.