So you’ve gone through all the troubles of making your home a clean and safe environment for you and your family.  Maybe you’ve switched to green cleaning products and eliminated the checmicals in your home and you’ve probably started buying products made with sustainable materials.  Now, it’s Monday morning and you take your children to daycare.  Is this place where your child spends a great majority of the day as clean and safe as your home?  Here are a few things you should think about when choosing a green day care provider.

Does the Day Care facitily use non toxic techniques both inside and outside the facility to prevent and control pests ( both insects and weeds).

Does the center avoid conditions that lead to excess moisture, which contributes to the growth of mold and mildew.

The Day Care should not use and scented Candles or air fresheners, and there should not any smoking allowed anywhere on the premisis.

Your Child Care provider should use onlty biodegradeable, non-toxic cleaning products.  It is also a good idea to make sure that only low VOC latex paints are used for maintenance and repairs.

The center should not use and mercury containnig thermometers.  Instead, they should use digital thermometers.  They should also securley store and recycle all used batteries and flourescent and compact light bulbs.

Only Non-Toxic art supplies approved by the Art & Creative Materials Institute (ACMI)

The Child Care staff should avoid purchasing toys made out of soft plastic vinyl ( they should be labeled “PVC” free) and they should never microwave foods in plastic containers, plastic wrap, or plastic bags.

The playground equipment should not be made from treated wood

The Eco-Healthy Child Care Progam’s (EHCC) program wsa created by the Oregon Environmental Council (OEC)  to ensure that child care settings are as healty , safe, and green as possible by reducing childrens exposure to toxins.  For more information on the program or OEC visit www.oeconline.org/ehcc or comment below