Waste Matters while Raising a Kid
Supriya is my mysterious friend for the reason that we only met after 10 years since we knew each other after a phone call. But there exists a strong affection between us that kept us connected always. A few months back I got good news call from her as they welcome a baby girl into their life. I was so happy to hear that and eager to see the New Mom and Newborn. Followed by that she invited me to the naming ceremony of her daughter.
I went to Supriya’s place where the naming ceremony was arranged for close ones and near family members. Due to the limited number of guests, we could have time to speak with each and share stories pending since long. One of the stories touched me when she said: “We want to become a sustainable parent, a responsible parent”. When I asked her what’s behind that, I could see a little worry and a lot of excitement together on her face. The worry was because of the changing lifestyles are affecting the environment and how the world will look when her daughter will grow up. But, she was excited to become a sustainable parent and contribute to the environment by creating less impact on it while raising her daughter. She said: “By doing so, we will raise our daughter on the right value system”.
Wow! What could be awesome than raising your kids responsibly so that they themselves become a responsible human when they are grown up. I remembered the quote from GloZell:
“Parenting is not giving your child everything they want. Parenting is not being your child's friend. Parenting is about preparing your child to be a useful and respectful person in society.”
And I was too happy to know that my friend is living this quote.
Now, as the topic was my favorite too, I already started asking how she is planning and doing about what she just said. She said her worry is about increasing waste generation and plastic usage. So during pregnancy she started looking for ways to reduce waste while raising a kid. While she was getting parenting tips and tricks, she ensured to get some old school knowledge which will help her to become a sustainable parent.
She heard from her granny that they didn’t have diapers of today back in their time. But, diapers are probably needed today due to changing lifestyles and family structures. And there she collected the alternatives to regular disposable diapers which contain plastic and other harmful chemicals. She ended up her search when she found completely cloth made diapers, which are washable and reusable. Isn’t it a brilliant idea? Indeed, it is! They are environment-friendly and not affecting to skins of babies. It saves so many disposable diapers going to landfills where millions of them have already reached waiting to decompose which will take years and years. Yes, millions of diapers reach landfills, stay untreated, pollute land, water, and air. A single disposable diaper takes up to 500 years to fully decompose and they are the third-largest consumer item in landfills worldwide. We can do a bit for the environment from our side by using reusable cloth diapers. After all, we want to give a better world for our next generations, right?
When it comes to playing, Supriya already loves playing with kids. But, that’s not always possible and she has to get some toys for her baby. She is firm on not buying plastic toys. She knows other options are maybe not as fancy as plastic, but almost environment-friendly than plastic. She plans wooden and cloth toys for her baby and other options like organic clay. she also has informed her near ones about that. And, now I get the point of writing, “We want only blessings for our baby, no plastic toys please.” on the invitation card of the naming ceremony that she sent me. She also adds while talking, “I would like to take my daughter to play in nature with other kids and people so that she starts respecting nature and human, and also for the reason that she develops healthy brain and body”. That is so keen! Small steps can also create a considerable impact, we both agreed.
Yes, waste matters while raising a kid. Parents habits will get transformed into the kids. So, to tackle waste and climate issues ahead, responsible parenting is a must thing of today.
I was so excited to hear more from Supriya, however, we got limited time. Not on that day, but later we got connected again and I got to listen to her further sustainable parenting journey and plans. I am sure you must also be excited to listen to that, let’s meet in the next Wlog.
Hello readers, I am Bharati Koot aka #BBK. I am Software Crafter at "Nelkinda Software Craft" and Environmentalist, who always strives for better Software and a better World. I dream of clean India and the clean world so that our future generations can live happily. I believe in being the change that we want to see in the world.