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Transforming wall hides all in young family's micro-apartment (Video)

Like a nesting doll, this all-in-one wall unit functions like a multipurpose piece of furniture.




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Plastic trash from Amsterdam’s canals turned into lovely furniture

In “fishing” for plastic to create new things, Plastic Whale Circular Furniture tackles a number of problems at once.




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This voice-controlled robotic furniture assists disabled folks (Video)

Need a helping hand? This self-adjusting piece of furniture comes to you.




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Undulating Root Bench is designed with computer algorithms

Emerging out of a park in Seoul, South Korea, this dynamic piece of urban furniture offers a place to sit, walk and play.




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Is Hello Barbie the creepiest doll of all?

New eavesdropping Barbie records your child’s conversations and transmits them to a corporation that analyzes your kid’s likes and dislikes. And then things get weird.




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Listen to the voices of Thomas Edison's spooky talking dolls from 1890

Considered too fragile to ever be played again, the recordings have been newly reconstructed ... and they are wonderfully creepy.




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Toxic chemical toy settlement reminds parents to remain vigilant

Be sure to dispose of these toys if they are in the attic, and know how to stay on top of product recalls




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Lego plans to make their iconic plastic blocks … without plastic

The company will spend $1 billion and employ a team of 100 to find a sustainable alternative.




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Sustainable solutions for old toys

From reuse to recycling, there are a variety of ways for the eco-minded parent to clean the house of old and broken children's toys without ever touching the garbage bin.




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Infento: DIY construction kit lets kids build their own bikes, sleds & scooters

Fed up of shoddy plastic toys? This modular kit of sturdy parts lets parents and kids construct a wide range of awesome kid-powered vehicles.




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Lego’s refusal of bricks to artist Ai Weiwei sparks beautiful action

Art meets accidental crowd-sourced recycling.




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Creepy doll redux: 8 reasons not to buy Hello Barbie

Why Mattel's diabolical darling could be a threat to children’s privacy, wellbeing, and creativity.




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Ollies Wooden Blocks are like LEGO meets Tinkertoys meets Erector sets

These sets of precision-cut oak blocks and planks, combined with clever connectors, are intended to help spark creativity and imagination in kids, and to "make playtime more meaningful."




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Kids can 'drive' their parent with a helmet that honks, vibrates and flashes

Because the world needs yet more redundant, hard-to-recycle, battery-powered plastic toys whose novelty will wear off quickly.




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Atrocious makeup set for young girls earns Worst Toy of the Year Award

Because every preschooler needs insecurity-boosting, sexualizing, toxic cosmetics to slather on their beautiful little faces!




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Create a 'pocket playground' to keep kids entertained

It costs very little, distracts kids for longer, and minimizes clutter around the house. In other words, it's every parent's dream come true.




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Ollies Blocks encourage kids' imagination & creativity (Review)

Building with blocks and construction toys is a great unstructured activity for kids, and Ollies Wooden Blocks are a superb new addition to the category.




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12 amazing plastic-free toys for summer

These beautiful toys are creative, unusual, and eco-friendly.




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Kids need better toys, but they also need freedom to play

Toy innovation has stagnated in recent years and kids are bored. Who's at fault?




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Electronic toys impede language development in children

Often marketed as educational, electronic toys have the opposite effect, resulting in parents and children speaking less to each other.




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Parenting trends are going green for 2018

Pinterest has released its list of predicted trends for next year, and it looks like TreeHugger's eco-minded philosophies are catching on.




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Kids play better when they have fewer toys

A new study shows that there is such thing as too many toys.




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Study: Second hand toys pose risks to childrens' health

"Reuse" is usually a good motto; this study reminds parents to take care in the case of toys originally sold in yesteryears. We offer some tips for selecting safer used toys.




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Lego announces launch of bioplastic pieces

Made from sugarcane, the new sustainable play pieces will be included in Lego kits in 2018.




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4 reasons to skip battery-powered toys

The fleeting distraction they provide isn't worth the surprising costs.




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Should parents buy non-plastic toys for their kids?

It's not urgent in the big picture, but it's something we should be doing more.




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Kids ask McDonalds to ditch plastic Happy Meal toys

Their hugely successful petition has even gotten a response – and a promise – from the fast food giant.




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5 ways to make fruit cobbler without an oven

It's win-win: you don't heat up the kitchen and you still get the best dessert ever.




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How to eat a mountain of greens in a week

With an unstoppable flow of leafy veggies coming from my CSA share every week, I have to get creative in the kitchen.




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Kids suffer deeply when playtime is not prioritized

Children's lives during summer vacation have been likened to that of battery hens, confined unnaturally and cruelly for long periods of time.




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10 ways to fight the post-holiday blues

Just because summer vacation is over doesn't mean you have to stop having fun.




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New study links chemical sunscreens to birth defects

Oxybenzone may be effective at filtering UV light, but it comes at a dangerously high cost to human health.




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My kids don't want to do anything this summer

They've requested no day camps, just two empty months.




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How to get started with car camping

It's a great way to spend time outside and travel for cheap.




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Build a travel capsule wardrobe this summer

A new downloadable planner from Citizenne Style can help you create a 10-day fashion plan using minimal items.




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6 ways to help kids explore nature this summer

Kids are born explorers, but they can use a bit of parental guidance when it comes to getting outside.




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How to freeze summer vegetables

There’s no need to resort to insipid produce from across the globe once the local growing season has ended.




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'Let them roam' and other advice on free-range summer parenting

When my kids begged for an empty calendar, I was worried about the impact on my job, but a few strategies have kept everything on course.




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Police buy drinks instead of shutting down kids' lemonade stand

In a delightful departure from the norm, officers in Newburgh, NY, tell kids they're doing nothing wrong.




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5 sunscreen ingredients to avoid

These worrisome sunscreen chemicals provide potential risk to humans and are wreaking havoc on coral reefs.




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Use real sunscreen this summer, not chicken oil, diaper cream, or carrots

We love natural skincare products, but when it comes to sun safety, choose a sunscreen that's approved by the EWG.




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Gas station benzene emissions 10 times as bad as previously thought

Another very good reason to get fossil fuel powered cars out of our cities.




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Swedish study finds that living in a house with vinyl floors increases levels of phthalates in pregnant women

We previously reported that phthalates were linked to miscarriages. Now we know they are linked to flooring.




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Lead and arsenic found in almost half of fruit juices tested

For some of the juices – all from well-known brands – drinking just 4 ounces a day is enough to cause concern.




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Key West to ban sunscreen with coral-harming chemicals

The Florida legislation will go into effect in 2021 in an effort to protect the world’s third-largest barrier reef ecosystem.




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The shocking truth about organic vs conventional packaged foods

An estimated 2,000 synthetic chemicals can be used in conventional packaged foods; for organic the number is 40.




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20 ways to use vinegar when doing laundry

Need help with the laundry? Head to the pantry.




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Breakthrough could finally help doctors pinpoint a patient's cancer cause

Scientists find that tumors hold information like a 'black box' pointing to the specific cause of disease.




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Popular e-cigarettes tainted with toxic bacteria and fungus

If the harmful chemicals weren't bad enough, new research finds that many e-cigarettes also include unhealthy biological contaminants.




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Do you remove your shoes inside? (Survey)

In some countries, it is standard practice; in others, not so much.