Sustainable Families Blog

My current thinking which seems to be serving me well so far is that something is better than nothing:

If I can only get one set of my at home workout done, something is better than nothing.
If I washed but couldn’t hang the washing out, something is better than nothing.
If we didn’t have all of my vegetables for dinner because I forgot about the roasties which burnt while I was getting Lottie ready for bed, some vegetables are better than no vegetables.

Downloadable, printable milestone cards from Little & Brave Eco Nappies.

Naturally sweetened and made from fruits and veggies, vitamins and a big dose of natural fruit and vege colour are added to make these ice blocks taste and look amazing.

Coming into summer is the best time to experiment with ice and water play.  Sensory ice activities provides opportunities for fun, cooling, hands-on learning for your child in the summer heat.  There are endless possibilities of materials to use within the ice, limited by your imagination.

During the heat of summer babies skin can burn super easily due to too little melanin, the pigment that provides some protection from the sun. Keep out of direct sunlight and use sunhats and light weight clothing to protect babies and toddlers from the summer sun.

#summerofsustainability is about sharing our eco tips, sharing our changes. It is about being positive and knowing that baby steps still move us forward.

One way you can teach your Little about composting is to give your compost bin a name, and to talk about all the things they like to eat. We call our compost bin Myrtle, and say things like “Myrtle likes banana skins, but she doesn’t like the stickers on them” or “Myrtle likes to eat dried leaves, but she doesn’t like to eat chippie packets.” This can introduce the complex process of composting in a fun and easy to understand way.

Being able start your Little off on a low waste journey from the moment they are born is an amazing achievement. Don’t forget to bring a reusable wet bag if you are using cloth. Or a compostable bag if you are using the Little & Brave Eco Nappies.

Supporting local helps more people than just a shop, it supports all that supply it, it supports customers, it supports the staff that work there. Items that are supplied by hard working people who create products that are not mass produced, they often have meaning, thought and love in them that you will not find at any chain store.

Our first year has both exceeded our expectations, surprised and humbled us. We are so proud to have been recently nominated in the 2019 NZI Sustainable Business Network Awards as a finalist in the “Going Circular” category.

A circular economy is one where products are made from renewable resources, used and then returned to the earth to create the renewable resources once again.

Mealtime can often be a stressful time for parents of young children. Picky eaters, dietary needs, what to serve, when to serve it and creating a nutritious meal that everyone both enjoys and builds healthy bodies is a lot of pressure.

“We find nappies all the time! They are on beaches and in the waterways. We have come across many times black rubbish sacks filled to the brim and dumped off the side of the road that lead to estuaries.”

The most beautiful decorations can be those sourced from nature. Flowers, twigs, herb pots or house plants. You could dry lavender ahead of time for a beautiful arrangement or cut magnolia leaves to place in a large vase to create a natural green decorative arrangement.

This week we asked Nikki Gardyne from Oma Rāpeti Early Learning Centre about the amazing steps to sustainability they have taken. How the children are taught respect for all animals and the earth throughout their time at the centre. 

Food waste also occurs when edible food is intentionally discarded by consumers when meals aren’t planned properly food that is stored is spoiled.  When this food waste is placed in the landfill methane is released when the food breaks down in an anaerobic environment.

Once baby has had individual first foods introduced, you can introduce some wonderful food combinations to excite and interest baby’s palate.

Say “yes to less” and help create a movement to use what we already have in existence today because if we continue our buying habits as they are today we will end up depleting our natural resources and pollute our planet.

This week we asked Nikky Tauranga from Country Bears Nature Childcare about what makes their centre unique and what ways they are able to minimize their waste in the centre. 

Fill a Reusable cup with treats such as Dark chocolate freeze dried strawberries, roasted macadamia nuts or chocolate covered Almonds from ‘Good For’, ‘Bin inn’ or ‘Huckleberrys’.

It all began with a wheelie bin, a very full wheelie bin. The decision to become a parent,…

If you’re a parent of young children the sight of an overflowing rubbish bin, broken plastic toys or plates with uneaten food is probably not an unfamiliar site. While they might be small the amount of ‘things’ a young child accumulates let alone the amount of waste they produce is mind boggling.  If you’re keen to start reducing your waste as a parent here are the five areas where you can make the biggest impact.

Even as individuals many of us are living more sustainable lives, but we also understand that more can be done and we are all very excited to make changes during the Change one Challenge in July.

Below are our individual pledges that we will be making for Change One, we hope they may give you some ideas to inspire you to make a sustainable change in your life also.

Focusing on the process of art rather than the finished product creates a fun and enjoyable activity that will hopefully keep your children occupied and entertained for hours.

Teething, let’s be honest, it can be painful for everyone in the house. Babies can become unsettled and grizzly. Any sleeping patterns they once had may be disrupted and a lack of appetite may be also apparent. 

This type of art making activity teaches children about natural materials and the important place they have in the environment.

The Change One Challenge is about buying second-hand items and using what you already have. Returning the carbon back to the soil by composting. Thinking about mending items rather than replacing, using public transport, eating mindfully, buying quality over quantity and walking your kids to school instead of taking the car.

Hyperemesis, or HG, affects around 2%-3% of women and is a life altering, and at times life shattering, form of severe nausea and vomiting in pregnancy. This is not something you fix with a dry cracker or some ginger ale. For some women hyperemesis results in hospitalisation. For many others it means months and months of medication and daily, if not hourly, vomiting sessions.

Do you say yes far too often and find yourself unable to achieve everything you had promised? Saying no doesn’t mean you are shutting people out. Saying no means you are saying Yes to yourself, you are saying “yes I will look after myself”.

Mum was talked through the delivery over the phone, a couple of pushes and Indie Jayne was born at 3.52pm on the hallway floor delivered by her Nana. 6lb 11oz of pure perfection.

Little & Brave’s fourth trimester has been fueled by the knowledge that the spark of an idea that I had over three years ago is now a business that is changing the world one nappy at a time.

Listen to the background and the origins behind the Little & Brave Eco Nappy.
Learn about the product itself, its components and how it breaks down, plus the unique circular system.

Making your own baby balm is the best way to avoid preservatives and create a more natural cream to protect your babies’ skin and combat nappy rash. Barrier creams work by placing a barrier between baby’s skin and moisture from urine and fecal matter.

As parents we are often the ones who need to answer the follow on questions about war, what they see on the news and what they learn at Kindergarten, Daycare and School.

We talked to Juliet Dale from ‘The Great Eco Challenge’ about her recent eco neighbourhood clean up. What do you need, where do you go, how to be safe when cleaning up around your local parks, streams and beaches in NZ.

In New Zealand common food to offer is kumara, carrot, apple and pear. But what do other babies around the world have as a first food?

The impact we make on the world matters to us from the creation of the product right through to its disposal at our composting facility.

In New Zealand some fabulous first foods on offer all year round are apple, banana, pear, avocado, pumpkin, kumara and carrot. Using seasonal fresh foods is an amazing and cheap way to keep baby fed and healthy.

This is an amazing way to display our Little & Brave Eco Nappies at a baby shower and is such a beautiful, practical gift. You can decorate with other products around the base or place a single item like a teddy bear or rattle on the top.

Introducing first foods can be an exciting and rewarding experience for yourself and for baby. Imagine tasting food for the first time like tasting sour or tasting sweet!

Sensory play is critical to brain development, problem solving, enhancing memory, development of language and fine and gross motor skills. Coloured Rice can be scooped and poured in an infinite number of ways, it makes great sounds as it is poured that will vary depending upon what type of containers you pour it into.

So many pressures are placed upon us individually or as a couple after birth. We need to make sure that we don’t try and compare ourselves to others when it comes to sex after childbirth.

Playing in the rain provides all the benefits that we already know outside play has, but with a new element, so next time its raining, instead of getting housebound, get out, explore and experience the rain with your child – you might just enjoy it yourself.

Hand-me-down clothing, buying second hand, buying local, buying quality that lasts and using what you have is what Slow Fashion is all about.

Baby massage is more than just making baby relaxed. It is skin stimulation improving brain development that fosters a deep connection with baby creating trust and bonding.

Make a specific Sustainable New Years resolution that you can stick to, and always remember that the changes you make today will benefit everyone in the years to come.

We want to promote a sense of community and helping others with our Rideshare Auckland Group, where you can carpool your Eco Nappies and share the load. 

Every year far too many New Zealand babies die suddenly during their sleep. Many of these deaths can be prevented.

Choosing something that is sustainable, or zero waste is amazing. There are so many great ideas that can be eco-friendly including our very own Little & Brave eco nappies.

Create an amazing sensory experience for your Little with these items to place in your very own Heuristic treasure basket.

Giving birth prematurely can be a traumatic and scary experience. Stephanie from Small Babies describes her journey with her very own small baby.

How does one deal with newborn twins? Here are 9 tips for surviving twins.

Having a stay at home date night is a great way to nurture your relationship. Below are 10 ideas to connect with your partner after the kids are in bed.

Interested in becoming a more sustainable family? Here are some simple tips from Little & Brave.

Guest Blogger, Bunny Taylor, talks about her journey to health and wellness

The School Holidays are here! We’ve put together a few fun and simple ideas to keep you and your Little busy this School Holidays.

Occasionally leaks can occur. Here are some tips and tricks that we have put together after working with parents and caregivers to get a snug fit.

I’m not going to lie, there was a time when I really did think that a landfill was a giant compost heap. But it is not. It is far from reality. Landfill is just that. It fills the land. But we can change that!

It’s Conservation Week (Kia Mahia Te Mahi) in New Zealand from the 15th – 23rd September, and what better time to start introducing conservation and nature to your Little. Try one of our engaging and fun Conservation Week activities.

Our nappies are designed to be processed in a commercial composting facility where the necessary conditions are present to ensure pasteurization and ‘recycling’ into useful soil conditioners.