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For my kids. For my home. For my planet.
Product Reviews
Vinegar of the Four Thieves (an all-natural alternative to antibacterial disinfectants)
Vinegar of the Four Thieves is a natural alternative to antibacterial disinfectants. It is based on a well-known formula of vinegar and organic herbs that has been used for centuries to prevent contagious disease. Although they do not, (likely because they cannot) claim For My Kids Vinegar of the Four Thieves is an antiseptic, antimicrobial, antibacterial, or antifungal, the ingredients are commonly known to have these properties. Does it work? We really have no idea. We believe it does, but we’d need a lab and a bunch of scientists to check out the efficacy of a disinfectant. The recipe is good and the idea is sound. No chemicals. Nothing we wouldn’t put on our skin. And think about it; if you’re one of those people cleaning your counter tops, your cutting boards, and your doorknobs with Lysol handy wipes or some other chemically derived, superbug creating disinfectant, it’s getting on your skin and in the air you breathe. If you do feel the need to disinfect, either once in a blue moon or 117 times a day, this is the product for you. -- organic lifestyleRead the write-up about us ("All-natural cleanser has roots in medieval legend") in The Dallas Morning News (July 25, 2008).
The timing was so good I could hardly believe it. Mere hours after my son awakened one morning and barfed all over the floor, the box of sample For My Kids products arrived. A full-blown tummy bug soon developed. It felt so nice to be able to clean and disinfect with the Vinegar of the Four Thieves ($9/4 oz.) and know that I wasn't spraying icky chemicals into the air while doing so. And it was wonderful to have the All-Natural Hand Wash ($10/4 oz.) around for quick opportunities to keep the germs off me and, as a result, away from my baby, too. I'm pleased to report that only half of our household succumbed to the illness. My husband got sick soon after my son, but I credit the For My Kids products with helping keep my daughter and I in the clear. -- Celebrity Baby Blog
When I found out that the chemicals used in conventional disinfectants can be toxic, I was compelled to start searching for safer alternatives. At least one mom out there has taken it a step further and has created and bottled her own non-toxic disinfectant! Mompreneur Christine Stewart developed her All-Natural Alternative to Antibacterial Disinfectants after finding out about the health hazards of using chemical cleaners. Modeled after the well-known Vinegar of the Four Thieves formula, Christine’s disinfectant is made from white distilled vinegar and certified-organic herbs and spices grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers. That means you can spray it all over your house to kill germs and never have to worry about what kind of chemicals you (and your kids) are breathing in or getting on your skin. I’m actually considering sending a case of this stuff to my sister — she’s just completed a twelve step program for Lysol abuse and needs a good alternative. -- Green Mom Finds
Every Sunday is cleaning day. We scrub, vaccuum, scent and dance for two hours until our house looks normal again. After everyone relaxes, I go around and spray down the keyboard, phone, door knobs, cabinets, toilet, etc. This is a wonderful way to keep your house healthy without spraying more toxins into the air. -- Crunchy Green Mom
Find us in the article entitled "Our Favorite Greener Cleaners" (page 62) in the July 2008 issue of The Herb Companion.
Here's how hand sanitizing usually goes, in my experience: You squirt some on your child's hands, only to have half of it slide off and onto his pants. He manages to mush the other half around on at least a couple of his fingers, and then we do the shaking-and-waiting game, trying to get the stuff to dry. And most of the time, he just goes ahead and eats without waiting until his hands are fully dry - meaning he's probably ingesting hand sanitizer with many of his meals. While it's convenient and better than nothing, Purell and its posse aren't exactly harmless. Most hand sanitizers are made primarily of alcohol - 60 to 90 percent alcohol - which is whole lot more than what's in your martini. And for smaller kids, it can be deadly if it's consumed in large quantities, not to mention the fire hazard. So I was happy to find an alternative: For My Kids All-Natural Hand Wash. It comes in a great little spray bottle that provides a fine mist of witch hazel and essential oils, and it dries almost immediately - without a goopy mess. It does contain a little alcohol (14 percent) so you don't want to leave it sitting around for little hands to grab, but it has much less than the mainstream sanitizers. And its scent is nice: fresh and natural with a hint of lavender. All my friends now ask if I have "that spray" with me. I can see I'm going to need to order more quickly. The company also offers a great supply of other all-natural, vegan, eco-friendly products, including a great lip balm. -- Betty Confidential
The “All-Natural Hand Wash” makes no claims about being antibacterial, but it smells nice and my hands “feel” clean after using, and they definitely looked clean. -- Green Guys Global
Seriously with all the toxins we are finding in every day products today wouldn't you want to find the all-natural alternative? You wouldn't want to put your child in any type of harm's way would you, by simply using a toxic hand soap or cancer causing The All-Natural Hand Wash is very convenient, I was able to use this for myself and my son. It was very easy to just spray and rub our hands together until dry. Just a few ways it came in handy was when we were out in public after touching shopping carts, books at the library, getting ready to eat a snack, etc. It has a light fragrance to it but not overly potent like some hand sanitizers, its not sticky after spraying it onto your hands and rubbing them together, I was very satisfied with this product! *Gabriel especially got a kick out of it cause he has learned how to use lotion too and loves the fact that Mommy let him use something new. -- Loving Heart Mommy
Double-distilled Witch Hazel extract, distilled water, organic tamanu oil, and a proprietary blend of organic essential oils like lavender, eucalyptus, and sweet orange are what make up this final product. I use some products when I am out with my kids to keep them from touching too many things. However, this I love. I was always anxious putting those highly alcoholic products on my girls hands just to sanitize them. I knew there had to be a better way. Christine figured it out! This product is a wonderful hand sanitizer, and is now a staple in my diaper bag for all my kids. -- Crunchy Green Mom
For My Kids also sent along an All-Natural Vegan Lip Balm ($3-4) that is hands-down the best lip balm I've ever tried. Packaged in a little silver tin, it goes on smoothly and leaves my lips incredibly soft and shiny. And, like all the For My Kids products, the ingredients are almost entirely organic. -- Celebrity Baby Blog
We tested the All-Natural Vegan Lip Balm which keeps nice n' solid in the tin, yet once you put it on your lips, melts into moist, yumminess and gives your lips a glossy shine. You feel safe applying it and licking your lips knowing the ingredients are totally natural ... organic sweet almond oil, organic coconut oil, carnauba wax, organic tamanu oil and organic vanilla beans. -- Organic Baby
All-Natural Vegan Lip Balm: I love lip balm and if its all-natural, it works for me! I loved testing this out cause like I said I simply "love" lip balm! Gabriel was a bit too young for this.. kept wanting to eat it.. but he's only 17 months.. figures. The vanilla scented is extra yummy and very soothing! I highly recommend it for your lips, for my lips, for everyone's lips.. why am I thinking Veggie Tales... oh yeah "I Love My Lips!" -- Loving Heart Mommy
My mother was addicted to chapstick when I was growing up. She had a tube in every room, and two in each purse. Is she ever forgot it, her lips would chap up, mainly because when you use chapstick or things like that, you deny your bodies ability to create the moisture on it's own. I have swore it off, except for medicated products, until For My Kids came out with this. It's perfect, simple and natural enough for me to use on the slopes this year for my snowboarding return! I can't wait!! -- Crunchy Green Mom
The vegan lip balm certainly works well, being vanilla it smelt nice and the only part that wasn’t listed as organic was the candelilla wax, which comes from a small shrub in Mexico and southwest USA, so at the very least is natural. -- Green Guys Global
Lastly, and the favorite of my own boys, the 100% Vegan vanilla lip balm! I have struggled all winter to get any kind of lip salve onto my older son. He loved the silver tin the lip balm came in, and happily applied the vanilla scented balm to his own lips. I liked knowing there were no animal or petroleum products touching his lips! -- VegFamily (The Magazine for Vegan Family Living)
Not even 24 hours after the good timing of the For My Kids delivery, I cut my thumb badly while trying to clean glue off my son’s scissors. It was the kind of cut you know is going to be bugging you for days. I suddenly remembered that For My Kids sent along some All-Natural Comfrey Salve ($6/1 oz.) and put a bit on my cut -- a little goes a long way -- and put on a bandage. And then I promptly forgot that I had ever hurt myself because the cut healed ridiculously fast. Once I got that Salve onto it, the pain went away almost immediately and over the course of the day it healed incredibly quickly. I’ve since used it a couple times with the same astounding effect. -- Celebrity Baby Blog
For My Kids Comfrey Salve came in handy right when Christine had sent me the samples for review I ended up having some "boo-boos" of my own! These products aren't just for your kids they are also great for the parents, LOL! I mean I wasn't about to get hurt to review this.. or was I? I had a few mosquito bites, since Virginia is notorious for the pesky lil' blood suckers and this salve instantly helped to cool the sting, so if it worked for me, it will definately help your child! -- Loving Heart Mommy
Issa-boo is clumsy like me. We are tall, lanky, and crash into everything. So, the other day, she was opening the front door at her Daddy's house, and put a pretty decent gouge in the top of her pretty foot. After washing her feet, putting this wonderful salve on with a pink bandaid, she was back to her happy self once again. This salve is made from organic extra-virgin olive oil, candelilla wax, organic tamanu oil, organic comfrey, organic calendula, and organic lavender. A little goes a long way with this, keep it in the diaper bag and it will make those boo-boos feel better! -- Crunchy Green Mom
We have discovered the most amazing bug repellent! And I am not kidding!!! :) Let me tell you...every mom needs some of this stuff (and no, I am not usually THAT quick to recommend to someone that you NEED some of a certain product...but this stuff really REALLY works!) Sooo, I know you are all falling off the edge of your seats wondering what exactly I'm talking about, right? haha. :) Well, I won't keep you in suspense any longer...it's an all natural herbal insect repellent from For My Kids. And it is AMAZING! (I know, I said that already, but I just can't believe how well it works!) I was quite thrilled to find my sample of Insect Repellent in the mail when we came back for our quick break between our 2 weeks of camping we just did - and for the whole second week I used the insect repellent from For My Kids on Tate (especially since we didn't want any more mosquito incidents like this one!) And he did not get ONE SINGLE bite, even though the mosquito's were biting Daddy (who had Tate riding on his back), then totally ignored Tate. It was SOOO nice not to have to be watching him every second to make sure that no bugs were landing on his little hands/face/neck, etc. And Daddy even decided to try out the insect repellent to see how well it worked. He put some on his ankles where he said he was always getting bitten - and a while later when I asked him if he'd gotten any more bites, he said Yep, but NONE on his ankles! So now he's sold on the bug repellent too. :) (Plus it smells yummy...like some nice, fresh lemons!) Oh...and do you want to know what's in this stuff that make it work so well? For my Kids uses 100 percent pure organic catnip essential oil. Nepetalactone, which gives catnip its odor, was found to be 10 times more effective than the popular insect repellent DEET without the harmful side effects! So like I said...every mom needs some of this. :) -- The Laughs Will Go On
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