Unfortunately, this offer has now expired! I'll keep you abreast of any upcoming offers from CARA B!
The great folks at CARA B are sharing the love and have provided a special discount available only to Soul Mom readers! Now you can try the all-natural, chemical-free hair and body products for your kids at a steal!
Visit CARA B's website, pick your favorite all-natural, chemical-free products and enter SOULMOM20 at checkout for a 20% discount on all products!
Today I am participating in several blog hops! A blog hop is a way for fellow bloggers to get to know each other and follow each other. Feel free to visit the blogs below to get to know (and follow) some awesome bloggers.
As you’re starting this new school year with your child, take the opportunity to focus on learning, growth and don’t forget healthy eating. September is national childhood obesity awareness month and all parents need to take heed as one in three American children is overweight or obese, making childhood obesity a national crisis. So if your cutie isn’t a little overweight, you’re lucky because his best friend or classmate surely is.
The task of tackling childhood obesity may seem great, but lucky for us First Lady Michelle Obama has taken childhood obesity as her personal cause and has pulled the best, and most presidential, of resources to fight this battle. In February 2010 Michelle Obama launched “Let’s Move,” a campaign to end childhood obesity. On the same day the program launched our fair President, Barack Obama, signed a presidential memo to create the Task Force on Childhood Obesity to review current programs, develop a national action plan and at the end of it all, leave our kids with healthier eating habits and smaller waistlines.
Let’s Move will help make sure that your kids are eating healthier in school... now isn’t that a relief. The program is focusing on vending machines (making unhealthy snacks and soda less available) and school lunches (providing healthier options for kids) as well as increasing physical activity and exercise.
And if that’s not enough, several civil rights organizations have teamed up to fight childhood obesity in the African American and Hispanic communities, where the crisis had hit hardest. These organizations include the League of United Latin American Citizens, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Council of La Raza, and National Urban League. These organizations are working through their own resources to help make positive change.
These resources are and will be fabulous, but remember that habits start at home and biggest difference can be made with you. Need some tips to get healthy behavior jump-started in your family?
Here are 10 tips that have worked to encourage healthy habits in my household.
1. Have plenty of healthy snacks around. We always try to have fresh fruit on hand for snacking. Grapes, strawberries, apple slices and cherries (for older children) make great finger food that is easy to pop in the mouth while watching TV. Yogurt can make for a sweet after dinner treat, all of my kids love it!
2. Reduce the amount of unhealthy snacks in your home. If it isn’t there, they can’t eat it. We try to keep chips and other sweets to a minimum and only buy for special occasions. For big candy holidays like Easter and Halloween we allow the kids to collect all the candy they can, but they are only allowed to eat small quantities and the rest is trashed (most times they never notice that the candy mysteriously disappears).
3. Bake, don’t fry. Instead of frying fish, chicken or even fries for your family, bake it. It’s less labor intensive (just pop it in the oven) and there are endless options for marinades and seasoning. I think that I have tried nearly every salad dressing on a piece of chicken!
4. Serve veggies. Each meal should have veggies or a salad. Our kids don’t love all veggies, but I try to make the veggies that they do like and they all love a fresh garden salad... with ranch dressing. Don’t be afraid to introduce your child to new vegetables along the way. You cannot eat broccoli at every meal.
5. Drink healthy too. Sugary drinks can be just as bad for kids as sweets and junk food. We keep only 100% juice and juice boxes in our house and encourage (and often demand) water drinking at meals.
6. Lay off the fast food. Despite the efforts, most fast food restaurants still have TONs of unhealthy choices, limited healthy options and let’s face it… it’s pretty hard to resist those delicious fries. Planning and preparing meals at home can eliminate the desire and need to stop for a quick burger on the way home. No need to watch your will-power break down right before your, and your children’s, eyes.
7. Get to moving. Whenever the weather permits we let the kids go crazy outside. Whether the park, riding bikes, or just playing in a backyard, we encourage them to run and play til their hearts are content... even at that the expense of dirty clothes and rundown shoes.
8. Get them in a class. We have had our kids in swimming, gymnastics, cheerleading and more to come. Scheduled classes guarantees regular activity, teaches discipline and can also help to teach better physical form and sometime better posture.
9. Talk about it. Kids won’t know they are making poor choices unless someone tells them. My kids clearly know the difference between a bad and a healthy snack and that bad snacks are few and far between (sorry). They know that veggies are good and that they have to eat them to not catch flack at the dinner table.
10. Set a good example. Children watch us for models of how to behave. If we shovel bad food in our mouths and sit back lazily with little activity, we can’t be mad if they follow in our footsteps.
This was actually one of three articles "From the Mouths of Moms," but I thought the first part was warm and fuzzy... exactly the feelings you get when you breastfeed your child (well... after the first week or two).
This title was one of my favorites, but I eventually changed it to be more search engine friendly (Princess Tiana Birthday Love and Party Ideas). The original was cute (I thought) but I did realize that missing "Tiana" may be an issue, so alas, I changed it.
Today is Day 2 in the SITSGirls Back to Blogging event. Today I am sharing posts that I wish more readers had read, which would be the Soulful Stories... Profiles of Motherhood.
I launched the Soulful Stories series for Mother's Day as a way to highlight the wonderful women in my life, each with an inspiring and delightful story to share.
For new Soul Mom readers, please take a few moments and read their stories. Each is uniquely beautiful.
Look for more Soulful Stories on the horizon. And if you know a mom who's soulful story of motherhood needs to be shared, contact me at thesoulmom [at] gmail [dot] com and let me know about her.
I decided to take part in a Back to Blogging event sponsored by the wonderful SITSGirls, where bloggers take the opportunity to re-charge their blogging skills.
The first challenge is to revisit, and re-post our first blog post. For me, that's not even a year ago, as I started my blog in November 2010 (yes I am still a newbie).
The post was introduction to the blog and what I hope to accomplish....
For a while now, I have had a thought about creating a website for African American moms... for Soul Moms. Not that there aren't some sites already out there, because there are. But I wanted to create something of my own that addressed all the issues that I face daily as a mom of color in the ways that I wanted them addressed. From my perspective. Issues like raising our children of color to have a strong sense of culture, combing African American kids hair, ethnic authors and book reviews, women of color and breastfeeding and so on and so forth. The list is endless....!
So this blog will be a place where these topics and issues are covered. Hopefully it will be a place where people can learn and share and right off the back I am asking for participation. Send me the topics that you want covered or explored, books that your are enjoying or recommend, activities or resources that you'd like to share. And become a follower, become a Soul Mom.
Thanks and here's to soulful motherhood!
Fast-forward to today and I still have the same focus... on African American parenting and mommyhood, but I do have to say that I enjoy having readers and interacting with moms from all cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Any mom can be a Soul Mom and I hope that all moms find something wonderful on this blog. I have enjoyed growing my readership and look forward to many more soul moms... of all cultural backgrounds.
I am a little (one day) late, but still wanted to take the time to write about National Grandparents Day. In 1978 President Jimmy Carter signed the proclamation designating the first Sunday after Labor Day as National Grandparent’s Day and kids have been making hand-painted coffee mugs for grandma and grandpa every since.
Now, other than the fantastic art projects made in my grade school youth, I don’t celebrate National Grandparents Day. But I have, and do, celebrate the grandparents in my life every day and want to take this opportunity to share a little of the joy that they bring to me and to my children.
As African Americans, extended family plays a large role in family life and the Grandmas, Grannys, Big Mommas, M’dears, Grandpas, Papas and Paw Paws are sometimes critical resources in raising and rearing our children. My husband and I depend on our parents, grandparents, great grandparents and even god parents to not only shower our children with love, hugs and kisses but with knowledge and direction as well. They tell stories and teach lessons. They love and cherish our children. And for us parents, even provide a little break so we can reconnect as adults without tiny feet, laughs and sippy cups filling the air.
I didn’t have the chance to ask, but if I asked my three girlies the top 10 reasons why they love their grandparents (and great grand, and great great grand, and great god parents) so much… this is what I think they’d say:
1. They love us soooo much (I mean to the moon and stars and back and then again)
2. They give the best hugs and kisses (the best “sugar”!)
3. They tell the best stories (especially about my parents)
4. They are the best babysitters (so much fun!)
5. They throw the best tea parties (more tea please)
6. They have the most water guns (supersoakers and all)
7. They always have treats (chocolate and cake and…)
8. They help us blow out birthday candles (you need a little help sometime)
9. They are the best cheerleaders (support me no matter what I do… or how I do it)
10. Did I say that they love us soooo much?!
Enjoy the grandparents in your family. Help your children cherish their hugs, kisses, wisdom and love today and every day.
Having 3 little girls means that in addition to playing the role of cook, house cleaner, driver and launderer, I will also play the role of hair dresser and personal stylist for many years to come. I spend my evenings and mornings trying to determine not just the cutest hair style, but the healthiest hair style for my girls.
I am also always on the search for the best products for their hair. I feel like everything is full of chemicals, good for hardened adult scalps, but possibly harmful to their little scalps. So I was very excited when I got the opportunity to try out CARA B Naturally's natural and chemical-free hair products for African American children. Yay.
You never get a decond chance to make a first impression and my first impression of CARA B was... classy. The packaging was so beautiful and you could tell that love and care went into packaging these products. I loved the natural paper shreds and simple green ribbon. I didn't want to unwrap it! But I did.
I could not wait to use the products. I shampooed the girls' hair with the shampoo/body wash and used the baby bar soap for washing. Note, I never use bar soap on the kids, but I wanted to try it and I am glad it did. While in the tub I decided to add the leave-in conditioner to their hair. After bath, I followed up with the body lotion and added the moisturizing mist for during my daily nighttime hair-styling.
I have to say that I just love the products. The shampoo lathered up well without the need for a lot of product. The baby bar did not leave any film like I expected. The lotion keep their knees and elbows ash-free all day. The leave-in conditioner de-tangled their hair... even my baby's tiny tangles, which usually make for lots of tears during styling. Lastly, the mositurzing mist has become my styling best friend. All of the products smell so good! I took my girls to visit their great-grandma after using the products and she kept saying how great the kids smelled.
I was concerned about the products working as well as the usual ones I used, especially for my preschooler since I use products with "hold" for her curls and ringlettes, but it worked wonderfully. Her curls and ringletts were perfect and held their shape just as good as any gel that I might use... and with lots of shine. In fact, my husband commented that he thought her hair looked better.
For my baby, I really don't put anything on her hair so I was so glad to find something chemical-free- no more wild and free hair. It kept her curls shiny and well-formed... perfect!
As you can see, I really loved the products. They worked beautifully, smelled amazing and were chemical-free. You really can't ask for much more.
Do you want to try out CARA B Naturally's products for little cutie? Here's your chance.
The Soul Mom is giving away a CARA B Naturally gift set of the complete product line (value $65) to one lucky Soul Mom. Go natural with your child’s hair!
To enter, visit http://www.mycarab.com/, pick your favorite product and leave your comment below. Comments close on Sunday, September 12th at 11:59 EST. US only. Winners must respond within 48 hours of being contacted or winner announcement or another winner will be selected.
Want extra entries? Do any or all of the following and receive extra entries for each one. Be sure to leave additional separate comments for each additional entry. Thanks and good luck!
SUBSCRIBE to TheSoulMom blog and confirm the subscription (1 entry)
TWEET about this giveaway. Tweet: “Win natural and chemical-free hair and body products for your child from @thesoulmom & @carabnaturally #soulfulgiveaway http://bit.ly/9tqb6S” You can also RT TheSoulMom’s giveaway tweet. (1 entry) You can tweet OR RT once a day, but remember to leave the URL to each tweet as a separate comment. You must have at least 50 followers for this entry.
ADD TheSoulMom button to your sidebar. Make sure to include your blog link and let me know where to find the button. (3 entries). Please post the comment 3 times.
FOR 5 EXTRA ENTRIES - BLOG about this giveaway (it can simply be a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways), with a link to my blog and come back and leave the link to your blog post. Please post the comment 5 times.
CARA B Naturally provided a free gift set for review and is providing the prize for this promotion at no cost to me, but this does not influence my opinion of this product on impact my review.
Styling African American hair has, and will continue to be, a rich and seemingly never-ending source of conversation, tips and advice. When it comes to our children, there is no difference. We are always on the hunt for something new and better for our hair and our children's hair to make it beautiful, to keep it healthy. I have recently been on a mission to increase the hair health of my daughters, so when I ran across CARA B Naturally products, I was not only excited, I knew that I had to share this wonderful find. CARA B Naturally is a new chemical-free andall-natural skin and hair care line developed specifically for African American children.
I reached out to the founders of CARA B Naturally, Landra Booker Johnson and Kristi Booker, to learn all I could about CARA B products.
Who are the founders of CARA B Naturally? CARA B Naturally was founded by sisters Landra Booker Johnson and Kristi Booker.
In addition to serving as the Company’s CEO, Landra plays an active role in several youth-focused organizations. She also has 10 years of broadcast television news experience and is a former Capitol Hill Correspondent. Her two children are the inspiration behind CARA B Naturally.
Kristi serves as the Company’s Chief Marketing Officer. A marketer by trade, Kristi has excelled in multicultural marketing for some of the country’s biggest brands including Colgate Palmolive, The American Cancer Society, Volkswagen and Lowe’s Home Improvement.
When was CARA B Naturally founded? The inspiration for CARA B Naturally came in 2006 when Landra’s son was about a year old. The Company was officially formed in 2009 and launched in July of 2010.
What are CARA B Naturally products? The CARA B Naturally product line addresses the skin and hair care needs of ethnically diverse babies and children. The line includes a Shampoo/Body Wash that is clinically tested and tear-free, a Leave-In Conditioner that also serves as a Daily Moisturizer, a Moisturizing Hair Mist that’s perfect for improving manageability and quick styling on the go, an allergen-free Body Lotion, and a Baby Bar Soap.
What makes CARA B Naturally special? CARA B Naturally is the first and only Certified Natural skin and hair care line formulated especially with ethnically diverse children in mind. Unlike other companies that have primarily sold adult product lines and then have branched out into products for kids, our company has a singular focus on ethnic children. We devote 100% of our resources to making sure that our products will meet the needs of this special segment.
Another very important characteristic unique to CARA B Naturally is our certification from the Natural Products Association (NPA), the standard bearer for all-natural products. Our products earned the NPA Seal of Approval following a rigorous evaluation process that verified our ingredients and our promise that CARA B Naturally is, indeed, truly chemical free. When our customers see the NPA Certification, they know that they can trust our products. We are so proud to be the only personal care product line specifically formulated for ethnic children to earn such a distinction.
Why/how was CARA B founded? Landra- I was inspired after having my first child. Aware of the potentially harmful chemicals that are found in a lot of personal care products, I wanted to make sure that I was using only all-natural products on my infant. I turned to what was available at the time and quickly discovered that those products simply did not meet the specific needs of my son’s skin and hair. My sister and I then began researching available products and discovered that what we were looking for, a truly all-natural line of skin and hair products designed specifically for ethnic children, simply did not exist. It was then that we decided to create one; on our journey we discovered that there were a lot of other moms out there who were looking for the same thing. That’s how CARA B Naturally was born.
Does "CARA B" have a special meaning? “CARA B” is a loose acronym for our tagline: “Children Are Always Beautiful, Naturally.” This statement speaks to our Company’s overall philosophy. It is very important to us to make sure that our products honor and celebrate the natural beauty of children; we wanted that sentiment to be reflected in our brand as a whole. At the heart of our company is a desire and goal to promote positive images and messages for and about ethnically diverse children that will, in turn, foster healthier attitudes about how they view themselves and others.
Why are natural products important to use? At CARA B Naturally, we truly believe our children’s skin and hair is naturally beautiful and should be treated as such; it does not need to be chemically altered or weighed down with synthetic products and ingredients. Of greatest concern, however, is the potential negative impact of harsh chemicals on children’s overall health. Emerging scientific studies point to possible links between synthetic and chemical ingredients commonly found in personal care products and serious illnesses and/or chronic diseases and conditions such as early on-set puberty. The interest in chemical free all-natural products is quickly becoming more of a movement within the African-American community, which is very exciting to see! At the same time, the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Congress is now taking steps to research the effects of toxins in personal care products, regulate the ingredients, and advise the public of the potential harm.
While some studies remain inconclusive, and more analysis of the potential harm caused by these chemicals is needed, CARA B Naturally is determined to simply avoid chemicals altogether, and offer only the best all-natural products for your children.
Our Certified Natural products DO NOT CONTAIN: parabens, petrolatum, phthalates, sulfates, phenoxyethanol, mineral oil, sulfates, artificial colors, artificial fragrances, or artificial preservatives.
What is your point of view on commonly used products for African American children? In our view, unfortunately, most commonly used children’s products that are currently available for, and marketed to, African American families contain potentially harmful synthetic ingredients like parabens, petrolatum, and artificial fragrances. Many products require African American families to choose between products that are safe and natural, but ineffective; or products that may be effective, but are full of chemicals and synthetic ingredients. We don’t think that our families should have to make that choice.
We believe our children deserve something better in regards to premium all-natural ingredients, quality packaging, and positive messaging. This is what we strive for everyday, in everything we do at CARA B Naturally.
What advice do you have for back to school hair styling for African American children? Do anything you can to save time and be efficient! Some strategies that work well for me begin in the evenings before bedtime: I always make sure I thoroughly brush and comb through my daughter’s hair at night, completely detangling, while applying a light conditioning moisturizer like CARA B Naturally Leave-In Conditioner and Daily Moisturizer. I then part and braid her hair into sections – the same sections that will dictate her hair style for the next day. (Before bedtime, I generally recommend removing all pony-tail holders, bands, or any other hair accessories that can pull your child’s hair as she’s sleeping at night. Leaving accessories in the hair all night can cause unnecessary stress on delicate strands and also make sleeping uncomfortable.) Following that night-time routine, brushing and combing out the hair in the morning is a breeze! I find that using a light misting spray, like CARA B Naturally Hair Mist, is perfect for freshening up a style. Sometimes, when I’m really in a hurry, I don’t even unbraid from the previous night’s style - I simply mist my daughter’s hair, brush over it, add barrettes, and she’s ready to go. And, in the name of saving time, I find the fewer the braids, the better – I generally limit hairstyles to no more than three braids, plaits, puffs, or twists.
We should also be sure not to overlook our boys! We are so happy to have developed a Hair Mist that also works really well for our boys’ close cuts – the aloe in CARA B Naturally Hair Mist is soothing to the scalp and the almond oil provides the perfect amount of shine without any greasy residue.
In general, I also find that streamlining the number of products I use is helpful, and that’s exactly what we had in mind when we created CARA B Naturally. With our combo Shampoo/Body Wash, one product can cleanse your child from head to toe. Our Leave-In Conditioner eliminates the need to rinse out, just when the kids are growing restless in the tub and, because the Conditioner is lightweight and non-greasy, it can also be used as an everyday Hair Moisturizer. The CARA B Naturally Hair Mist can be used as a detangler right after shampooing, and it can also be used everyday to moisturize and provide a light shine. Finally, our Body Lotion is mild enough to use on all your kids – from infants to teenagers (we hear that moms AND dads also love it for themselves too!).
Where can people find CARA B Naturally products? How can we purchase? CARA B Naturally is now available for purchase exclusively via our website: http://www.mycarab.com/. Customers who place orders of $25 or more qualify for complimentary shipping. We are currently in talks with national retailers and plan to be on store shelves in various cities in the near future.
What are the future plans for CARA B, what can we expect? In addition to our plans to have CARA B Naturally available in stores across the country, we also have new product development underway. Customers can look forward to seeing an exciting expansion of our premium quality all-natural product offerings as we ultimately strive to provide ethnically diverse families all the products they could possibly need to care for their children’s skin and hair.
As we grow, we will always keep in mind that our “Children Are Always Beautiful, Naturally”.
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