Patti’s Place Family Child Care
Patti Coffill
Patti’s Place Family Child Care
Reading,
Massachusetts
Patti Coffill, of Patti’s
Place Family Child Care, began her “crusade”, as she calls it, to go green
after she went to a party for a friend who started her own eco-friendly
cleaning line. She was startled to hear cancer rates for stay-at-home moms which
were attributed to exposure to household chemicals. As a stay-at-home mother of
a young child, and a day care owner, she was inspired to make changes right
away.
Coffill sought the Eco-Healthy Child Care (EHCC) endorsement after hearing of the program from Jennifer Croce, of GreenBaby Daycare, the first endorsed daycare in Massachusetts. Coffill quickly became the second child care center to be endorsed in the state. She was pleased to find that most of the items on the checklist were things that she was doing already. Eliminating unhealthy plastics from her day care presented the steepest learning curve. Coffill found OEC’s Picking Safer Plastics wallet card immensely helpful.
Coffill also has eco-healthy practices that are not on the checklist. She uses washable changing pads instead of disposable ones, makes her own diaper wipes with eco-friendly soaps, and assigns one drinking cup for each child for the entire day. Through her example the children learn to reuse, as well. Coffill buys organic produce as much as possible; if fruits or vegetables are not organic, she uses a veggie wash on them before serving.
Like other home day care owners, Coffill finds it challenging to bring other family members on board for the changes that going Eco-Healthy can bring. She has been persistent and committed in explaining the health benefits. In addition to the reward of having an eco-friendly home for her family, parents of the day care are responding with great enthusiasm to her EHCC endorsement. One family especially appreciates that their crawling daughter has a floor to explore that was not cleaned with harsh chemicals. Families love the healthy snack and lunch choices, too.
Coffill’s advice to others wanting to be more eco-healthy: “It’s for the safety of the children…if you feel strongly about it, pursue it. Don’t give up. The internet is a great resource.”
