20 Best Brands for Mindful Parents
Mindful parents realize that the best thing for our children is our loving, stable presence. We don’t need a lot of stuff and in fact we want to reduce our impact on the planet. Mindful parents embrace simplicity and nature, but at the same time we are grounded in the world, walking the middle path between extremes of any kind.
As a mindful parent, I look for companies that reflect my values: creativity, curiosity, and respect and reverence for the natural world. As a parent living in our modern world, I want to give a shout-out to the brands that make living these values easier.
#1 For Small Hands
I am constantly recommending For Small Hands! It offers a wide range of real, useful tools that are made for kids. Created for Montessori educators, it’s a great place for parents to enable kids to really participate at home.
#2 Blueland
I love using Blueland soap tablets for hand soap. They even come in super-sustainable packaging that I can use for kindling in my woodstove! I also use their dishwasher tablets. A great company for reducing plastic use!
#3 Kiwico
I love their original, hands-on creative STEM projects, but more importantly, my children loved them. They would get so excited when the box arrived at their door and would end up in their rooms for hours working excitedly on them. Now as teens, they are super problem solvers and my 14 year old just got 1st place in the ping-pong parachute contest in the state Science Olympiad!
#4 REI
A great place to support all your outdoor endeavors including hiking, camping, biking, and more. Great kids and adults outdoor shoes! Plus, REI is a member-owned cooperative with a great culture. They actually close their doors on Black Friday to encourage members to take a day outside!
#5 Ruggable
Washable, easy rugs for your high-traffic house—need I say more! Great for kids and pets. But they’re also a company that gives back to the community with Chicago furniture bank and more.
#6 StoryPod
What a great option for screen-free kids! Stories and music in a fun, interactive, and kid-friendly format. Ditch the iPad, get the StoryPod.
#7 Lego
Lego is iconic for a reason. The toy that my best friend and I got wildly creative with when we were little is still the thing that my girls played with for years and years and years. They called the mixed up tub of Lego the “doom of things!”
#8 Magnatiles
I love toys that let children lead through their imagination, and Magnatiles does this. They are so easy-to-use that they don’t even need instructions!
#9 Bella Luna Toys
Head here for toys that you will want to keep for your grandchildren! You will find nothing battery-operated at Bella Luna. Instead, the most beautiful wooden toys available that will be the catalyst for your child’s imagination.
#10 Melissa & Doug
I love these accessible wooden toys! I could easily say to family members, “Anything by Melissa & Doug is a great gift.” They are committed to forest sustainability and work with nonprofits to plant trees.
#11 Strider Bikes
A balance bike is an amazing way to help your child get the balance of biking before messing with pedals. My girls loved theirs! Strider is a family-friendly company that puts out a great bike.
#12 Ergo Baby
This was my #1 most useful baby and toddler item hands down. The Ergo soft structured carrier was so comfortable for both me and my child, so sturdy, so useful…it made baby and toddlerhood SO MUCH EASIER. Love, love, love the Ergobaby company.
#13 Bark.us
Thank goodness for the Bark Phone! Designed with feedback from parents, the Bark Phone comes with Bark parental monitoring and parental controls built into a Samsung A14. I highly recommend this as a first phone for an adolescent.
#14 Grove CoLLABORATIVE
Every month, Grove delivers tree-free bamboo toilet paper, paper towels, and other eco-friendly household products to our home. They are a certified B-Corp and their packaging is endorsed by the Nature Conservancy!
#15 Athleta
Great clothes for active bodies and a B-Corp too! That means they voluntarily meet the high B-Corp standards on areas of Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers.
#16 Thrive Causemetics
Great products (I swear by their eye-brightener) with a great mission too! Every time you buy, they give with their Bigger Than Beauty Mission - supporting people impacted by cancer, domestic abuse, homelessness, and more.
#17 Robeez
Barefoot is best for babies and toddlers, and Robeez allow your new walker to have a barefoot experience—and they actually stay on! Well-crafted products for every stage, they also use environmentally friendly packaging.
#18 Hatch Company
Sleep the way nature intended with a gentle sunrise alarm and soothing sleep sounds, all rolled into one beautiful dream machine. I ditched my phone as an alarm and I’m addicted to waking up with light now.
#19 The Humble Company
Switch from plastic toothbrushes to the most renewable resources on earth, bamboo! The packaging is made from recyclable material too. This company helps us reduce those bits of plastic.
#20 Etsy
Find a treasure trove of homemade kids clothes and toys here on Etsy. As well as, of course, artisan crafts and jewelry—all while supporting individual families. Plus they offset 100% of carbon emissions from shipping and packaging on every delivery!
In Module 8, the final piece of Mindful Parenting, we teach families how to create a home environment that is conducive to more peace and cooperation in the family. If you are curious about Mindful Parenting and want more information, click here for more information.
Thanks for reading and I hope this sharing promotes more conscious consumption in your family.