Seventh Generation "Back to School" Disinfecting Kit *Review + Giveaway*

'Back to School' brings more than just the return of pencils and books, unfortunately it also marks the return of all things icky. Schools are a hub for runny noses, cough, sneezes, and germs up the wazoo. Help your child pick up only the ABC's this year and hand your child's teacher some disinfecting wipes from Seventh Generation during orientation.

From Seventh Generation:

With nearly 22 million school days lost each year due to the common cold and flu (CDC) and as many as 2.7 million bacterial found per square inch on common school surfaces (NSF International), it´s no wonder that 82 percent of parents with kids in grades K-5 fret about the germs in their children´s classrooms (according to a survey conducted by Seventh Generation).

This school year, Seventh Generation is sharing tips from best-selling author and pediatrician, Dr. Alan Greene, to help parents protect their child´s health during back-to-school season. Dr. Greene suggests taking the following precautions:

Optimize the immune system:
Reap the benefits of probiotics like those found in yogurt. A recent study showed that children who received enough probiotics daily throughout the cold and flu season had a significant reduction in the number of illnesses they had and, when they did get sick, the symptoms were both milder and didn't last as long.

Be sure your child is getting plenty of vitamin D from the sun, from food, or from a supplement.

Build a strong foundation. Good food, good sleep, and good physical activity all help the immune system to flourish.

Be wise about reducing unnecessary exposure to harmful germs
Teach children the key times to clean their hands in the classroom. The most important times include after sneezing, coughing or using the restroom, upon leaving "high-risk" places (recess, naptime, play stations) and before meals or snacks.

Sixty percent of teachers surveyed said that they request that parents donate disinfecting wipes to the classroom. Seventh Generation´s disinfecting wipes kill 99.99% of germs* naturally using the active ingredient thyme, a component of thyme oil which is derived from the herb thyme.


Stress the importance of not touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.

Demonstrate to your children how to cover their mouth and nose for every cough and sneeze. This simple maneuver has spectacular results in decreasing the spread of viruses and bacteria floating about the room, waiting to be inhaled.
*Refer to disinfecting product labels for full details

Thanks to MyBlogSpark and Seventh Generation, I was able to review a "Back to School Kit" that included a Seventh Generation backpack, two canisters of Seventh Generation disinfecting wipes (one for home and one to donate to your child´s classroom), disinfecting multi-surface spray cleaner, facial tissue and paper towels. The arrival of these products came at the most opportune time- right after I was starting to get over a horrible case of strep throat! I put the disinfecting products to great use, going over any surface I could think of where germs are easily spread.

I love the fact that Seventh Generation products are natural cleaning products, and that it's safe for me to have the kids help me disinfect, without exposing them to harsh chemicals. The both of the kids didn't particularly care for the scent, but they both have learned that when they smell Seventh Generation cleaners, mommy's 'killing bad germs'.

According to the label, the disinfecting wipes and multi-surface cleaner kills over 99.9% of household germs, specifically Salmonella enterica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Influenza A on hard, nonporous surfaces.

Teachers could really benefit from having the disinfecting line of products from Seventh Generation in the classroom to help kill the flu dead in it's tracks. Along with the tissues and baby wipes, pencils and crayons, this year we'll be including some Seventh Generation disinfecting products in our 'Back to School' supplies.

Our friends at Seventh Generation have offered one lucky reader their chance to win the same Back to School Disinfecting kit for their home or school!

This giveaway is open to residents of the US. This giveaway will end on August 22, 2010 at 11:59pm EST. The winner will be chosen using Random.org, and all winner information will be posted on our WINNERS PAGE and on this post. Any unclaimed prizes will be redrawn accordingly and at the discretion of 4BabyAndMom. Special thanks to Seventh Generation and MyBlogSpark for allowing us to write about this promotion. The prize pack above was given to me at no cost to evaluate and to thank me for posting this review. As always, what you have read is strictly the opinion of 4BabyAndMom. Your opinions may differ.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNER!

Please refer to our WINNERS PAGE for more information on how to claim your prize.