Attachment parenting is about respect. Respect for your child and their needs, and teaching them to respect themselves and others. One excellent way to foster respect is to help your child learn to respect the planet we live on. How can we teach respect for people and other living things unless we teach that respecting our global home is important?

As Earth Day rolls around, here are some ideas for helping your family to live more lightly on the planet and teaching your children that protecting the planet makes sense.

* Make or buy cloth napkins together. Your child can help choose the colors or stencil a design on the family napkins. It is easy to make simple napkins if you have even basic sewing skills, or you can decorate ready made napkins. You'll create lasting memories and reduce waste.

* Make the switch to more natural cleaning products. You can make many natural cleaning supplies with simple, non-toxic ingredients such as baking soda, white vinegar, and essential oils. Your family will be healthier too!

* Make or decorate cloth gift bags. Your family can reuse them for holidays and birthdays or use them in giving gifts to others. Reusable gift bags can become a treasured heirloom as your children remember which favorite gifts came in those bags over the years.

* Switch to cloth diapers or training pants. Modern cloth diapers are much easier to use than old style diapers. Using cloth for one child can save your family $1500-2000 and keep thousands of diapers out of the landfill. Cloth diapers are also healthier for little skin and don't expose your child to potentially hazardous chemicals. If your child is in disposable training pants at night, you can save some cash and keep hundreds of non-biodegradable used training pants out of the landfill. Click here to learn more about easy cloth diapers and training pants can be.

Organic Cloth Diapers