For My Kids Products: Made from Love to be Safe.

See the free giveaway below!

Like many moms, Christine Steward, had an epiphany after reading the ingredients of her newborn’s products and decided to  switch to more environmentally friendly product. What makes Steward so different than most of us, is she decided to make her own products.  As her friends coo’ed over her products, she decide to make them for the world and For My Kids LLC was born.

Why take the time to create your own products?  Steward’s citation of the following passage bring it on home:

“‘Our kids are the canaries in a coal mine,’ says Dr. Kenneth Bock, author of Healing the New Childhood Epidemics: Autism, ADHD, Asthma, and Allergies. ‘American children are growing up in a toxic environment, a chemical soup sensitizing them to even the common foods they need to grow and thrive.’  The chemical culprits that bombard our children’s immune systems are ubiquitous in American life. Yet these same toxins are responsible for spurring many children’s immune systems into overdrive, provoking maladies from asthma, eczema and allergies to autism and ADHD. The links are pouring in.  Diabetes was even tied to environmental pollution in a report published early this year in the respected British medical journal The Lancet What’s more, research published during 2006 in Environmental Health Perspectives suggests a potential association between autism and air pollution around a baby’s home.” Toxic Tots:  Altered Lives“, Dallas Child, Lisa Poisso (Posted March 31, 2008).

All of the herbs in  For my Kids Products  are certified organic and fair trade and sourced from Mountain Rose Herbs.  The essential oil is from Aura in which most are 100% pure essential organic oils.  When I asked why she does not use oils that are 100 percent organic, she replied that the cost of some of the organic oils would drive the price up substantially.  In any event, she uses 100% PURE essential oils.

All of the following products can be purchased online or through certain retailers.

Vinegar of Four Thieves:

Vinegar of Four Thieves is the Company’s healthy alternative to commercial anti-bacterial disinfectants. (See picture above.)  Although the Company makes no claims to the product’s antiseptic, antimicrobial, antibacterial, or anti-fungal properties, its formula is based upon the famous Four Thieves Vinegar, which folklore claims it prevents contagious diseases. 

Why this product, which only contains natural products versus your typical store bought product?

According to an article on Healthy Child, Healthy World in regards to antibacterial and disinfectant products,

“There’s no doubt that disinfecting cleaners can help keep bacteria, viruses and fungi in check. But the strong ingredients of some may pose health risks, especially to children. The more than 275 different active ingredients in antimicrobial products are classified by EPA as pesticides, because they kill microbes. Some, such as phenol, are toxic and corrosive. Cresol, a suspected carcinogen, can cause abdominal pain, vomiting and bloody diarrhea, if ingested, and even respiratory, circulatory or cardiac failure, in large doses. Oxalic acid, a disinfectant used in toilet bowl cleaners, may irritate the eyes and skin and can damage the respiratory and nervous systems and the kidneys. One of the most heavily relied upon antibacterial agents, Triclosan, was recently found to trigger production of a probable carcinogen chloroform in an amount 40 percent higher than the background level in tap water treated with chlorine.”

After reading the above passage, can you understand why Steward decided to make her own products? The price of a one ounce bottle of Vinegar of Four Thieves is $4.99.  Different sizes are available.

All Natural Hand Wash

This is a great product to keep in your purse, especially for those times when soap and water is not available to wash your hands.  How many outdoor sporting events have you gone to and the bathrooms do not have soap?  The product contains Witch Hazel extract as well as other organic ingredients.  It has a very pleasant smell to it.

All-Natural Comfrey Salve

This salve can be used to take the “hurt” out of  minor scraps, bug stings, and cuts. This product was a life saver for me because I scratched the skin right near my eye trying to kill a fruit fly who was buzzing annoyingly right near my face.  It was really stupid  of me to swat it right near my eyes.  That scratch hurt like a  son of a gun.  Really raw too.  I applied it near my eye and it stopped stinging.  I tried to take a picture of my eye for you but it isn’t easy aiming the camera at the corner of your eye.  (I get credit for trying…)

I also used it on my arms since I scratched myself to death in the garden.  What relief! So, if you think this products is for your kids, think again. For klutzes like me, this is a wonderful product.

The only problem I had with the salve is that it leaked or perhaps sweated.  Steward told me that only happened to her once when she left it in a hot car.  If you worry about this, just put it inside another container.

This product is priced at  $3.99 for a 1/2 ounce tin. Different tin sizes are available.

All-Natural Vegan Lip Balm

I did not get to try this product but from the sounds of some of the ingredients (organic coconut and sweet almond oil as well my choice of either organic vanilla beans or organic peppermint oil), my lips would have been “luscioulious.” (Is that a word?)  Lips like Angelina Jolie…

Peppermint or vanilla flavored is available in 1/2 or one ounce size containers.  Priced at $2.99 for 1/2 ounce and $3.99 for 1 ounce.

My Mommy’s Face Care

I find that my own face is one of the most neglected part of my body.  I am so tried by the end of the day, that I just brush my teeth and go to bed.  This product was made for people like me in mind.  Simply rub the product on your face, wipe it off and grime disappears. (Just because the name implies that it is for “mommies,” it is great gift for both genders.) Priced at $4.99 for a 1 1/2 ounce jar and $13.99 for a 6 ounce jar.

Happy Fun Dough

Winner of Dr. Toy’s Best Classic Toys for 2009, this all natural dough is a mother’s dream. The dough is made out of water, flour, salt, cream of tartar, canola oil, citric acid, and all natural plant extracts for color. No artificial coloring to worry about.  In addition, the Company offers a gluten free alternative made with rice flour.  Prices start at $4.99 for a 4 ounce tin and $5.99 for a gluten free tin.  Other sizes and color combinations are available.

Herbal Insect Repellent

We have had a surprisingly rainy June.  Do you know what follows rains?  Yep. Mosquitoes. Nothing is more bothersome then mosquito bites and your own saliva, contrary to folklore, does not stop the itching. I have tried it!  The Company’s Herbal Insect Repellent contains catnip oil along with other essential oils rather than DEET, which is known for its harmful side effects.    In 2001, Iowa State University reported that research conducted by the University showed that ” catnip was 10 times more effective at repelling mosquitoes than the compound used in most commercial bug repellents.”

Thereafter, the Department of Agriculture reported compared DEET to the major active ingredient of Catnip oil,  nepetalactone, and concluded that “that nepetalactone is relatively ineffective against [sic yellowfever ]Aedes aegypti biting compared to deet or SS220.”

After reading the Department of Agriculture’s report, I was concerned and questioned Steward about it.  She replied,

“I haven’t had any clinical trials done on our Herbal Insect Repellent, but real-life trials using human volunteers have proven that it is effective against the mosquitoes that are found in Texas, Michigan, Florida (Everglades), Canada (Saskatchewan area), and France (in the woods around the Rosenau area).”

I also asked her when do you have to re-apply the product?

“Unless we’re going to be outside all day sweating profusely, I usually only apply once.  One of the places we tried it here in Texas was in the woods.  We had some mosquitoes come and check us out and they turned right around and left.  It was pretty cool because both of my sons are little mosquito magnets,” Steward advised.

The product contains soybean oil; however, a soy free alternative is available. Just contact the Company. Prices start at $9.99 for one ounce tin.  Additional size tins are available.  A little goes along way according to Steward.

Given what I have learned about For My Kids’ products, Steward has poured her heart and soul into this Company to make sure the products are not only safe for her kids but your as well.   To that end, The Company has graciously offered to give away a one 1 1/2 ounce tin of their Herbal Insect Repellent combat those pesky mosquitoes this summer.  Here are the rules:

• You must be over 18 and live in the US.

• Leave me a comment here telling me what your favorite summer past-time is.

• To double your chances consider joining my Feedburner email list or subscribe to my RSS feed. Both subscriptions are listed on the upper right hand column. Be sure to come back and leave a separate additional comment to tell me which one you joined. If you are already a member, just say so.

• To triple  your chances of winning, twitter about this contest and come back and leave a separate additional comment of the url (weblink) of your twitter comment.

• You must enter by Friday,  June 18, 2009  6 PM EST  to win. A winner will be chosen at random on Monday, June 21, 2009.   Good Luck everyone.

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