It’s back to school season and I always find it a bit stressful. I feel like I’m sending my child off to a place where very few people understand our nontoxic lifestyle. Call me crazy, but I don’t like to give my kid poison. If it’s toxic, I’d rather she didn’t have it.

Here’s a simple example. When you and I were kids hand sanitizer ran hot and cold from the sinks and we called it water. Now because of convenience they glob out the chemical goo onto each kid’s hands as they pass into the lunch room. The chemical companies love this generation of kids because they don’t even question this practice. Neither do their parents.

From my experience the last thing an over worked, stressed out parent wants to do is spend time thinking, and trying to reach them using science or sense rarely gets their attention. It’s sad. The FDA even agrees that washing with water is more effective, and are presently testing hand sanitizers to see if they are safe to use on a daily basis. But why wait an eon for the FDA to tell you that you were poisoning your kid their entire childhood? Simply wash with water. You know water is the safest way. There is no disputing it. The CDC agrees.

Sure you could read all the studies done on the ingredients in most hand sanitizers showing how toxic solvents, petroleum, and antibacterial stuff like triclosan and preservatives like parabens are poisonous, may cause cancer, and help create super bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics. But why wear yourself out? Make things easy on yourself, and do the simple and right thing.

If you have a kid you care about, ask your school to allow your child to wash her hands with water instead of toxic chemical hand sanitizer. My rule is, if I wouldn’t let my child eat it, I don’t want it on her skin (which is her largest organ). Anything on her skin must be detoxed by her liver, and her immune system doesn’t need the extra burden. Immune systems are designed to kill living germs, not modern chemicals. If the bathroom is too far away, fill a small spray bottle with water and put it in her backpack or lunchbox along with a paper towel or cotton hand towel. You’ll feel like a better parent, and when you do, watch how many others will start to do the same.