Last weekend, parents in Chicago had the opportunity to gather and learn firsthand about dozens of ways to raise healthy kids while protecting the planet those kids will one day inherit. As just one of hundreds of parents and grandparents who attended the Naturally Healthy Children’s Expo on Saturday, I was happy that I braved the throngs of tourists on Navy Pier on cloudless fall day to attend — and I was glad I brought my two-year-old son to field test some of the goodies offered. If I venture out to this event next year, however, I may hire a sitter so I can have a chance to absorb more of the valuable information on offer without the distraction of having to chase a wily pre-schooler from pillar to post.

Part trade show, part educational seminar, and part family-themed festival, the Naturally Healthy Children’s Expo is a two-day event focused on exposing families with children to all the tools they have available for achieving a more natural, holistic, and sustainable lifestyle. Mixed in among more than 70 exhibitors at this year’s expo were five different stages featuring dozens of presentations by speakers covering topics like healthy eating, holistic medical approaches to pediatric conditions, and raising kids with a concern for the natural world. There were also a few activities geared at the kiddos themselves, including a hands-on music stage, coloring wall, and various small creatures of the household pet variety available for the petting.

As you might expect in a LOHAS-themed event, a large proportion of the booths were devoted to healthy food products and alternative medical services. But I wound up spending most of my time at booths that fell into other categories. These included book and magazine publishers, household product makers (hawking wares like truly portable nylon tote bags, safe cleaning products, and sustainable toys), and nonprofit educational institutions such the Shedd Aquarium and Chicago Wilderness. I basically focused exclusively on exhibitors with a direct focus on environmental sustainability, and I still didn’t cover everything after a couple of hours. Here’s a sample of some of my favorite discoveries:

• The Chico Bag: A really handy way to keep reusable shopping bags at the ready. The nylon is guaranteed strong and durable, and the bag can be recycled at the end of its life.
• Me Go Green: A Chicago-focused green search engine, savings/coupon book, business directory, and resource for school fundraisers.
• Leave No Child Inside: A public awareness initiative launched by the Chicago Wilderness consortium based on a national movement popularized by Richard Louv’s book, Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder.
• Naked Juice: I found out from another exhibitor that this brand is owned by Pepsi, but I’m still sold on their gross-looking Green Machine smoothie made from apple, kiwi, and other assorted nutrient-rich produce. Anything this green that can make a preschooler ask for seconds (and thirds!) without added sugar is some kind of miracle elixir.
• Zota Soda: It ain’t exactly health food, but I predict this delicious soft drink made from organic green tea will be all the rage in a couple years. After just a few samples, I’m hooked on the gently fizzy, lightly sweet, totally thirst-quenching beverage — it’s just that good. Zota comes in six flavors, and I can vouch for lemon, orange, and raspberry. I may never go back to Dr. Pepper.

The aspect of the expo that had the greatest unrealized potential, though, was the extensive series of speakers and panel discussions. These sessions were free of the commercial aspect of the trade show and offered the chance for attendees to hear from passionate experts in many fields in an intimate setting. Unfortunately, these sessions seemed sparsely attended, with just a handful of people stopping to sit and listen to most presentations. Perhaps this was because there wasn’t much in the way of drop-off activities for the younger kids, and the speaking sessions required at least a middle-school attention span.

The few speakers that I did catch seemed to have some thought-provoking things to say about the challenges facing families in the age of electronic personal media and a convenience-driven, throwaway society. More importantly, they were offering practical ideas for meeting those challenges. But without much of an audience (at least on Saturday) I think there were some missed opportunities for information sharing. Hopefully next year’s expo (already scheduled for September 20-21, 2008 — mark your calendars) will concentrate the presentations into fewer stages with better attendance. In the meantime, parents interested in getting free practical advice from the folks who put together the expo can sign up for a monthly e-newsletter that will go out in November.

In all, the Naturally Healthy Children’s Expo seems like it’s just getting started. It appears to be filling a niche for people who want to make better choices for their kids, and who want to learn from other parents or caregivers. Since most new parents enter the world of raising children woefully unprepared, and stumble along figuring it out for themselves, occasionally getting word-of-mouth advice from other parents with similar-aged kids on the playground, it was great to see some young couples expecting their first child educating themselves about their alternatives. (As veteran parents know, once the whirlwind of life with baby hits, things can quickly devolve to the path of least resistance.) Hopefully the word will spread to other mindful parents around the country, and next year some of the families of tourists on Navy Pier next fall will be able to walk away with more than a memory of ride on a Ferris wheel.

The Naturally Healthy Children’s Expo will be coming to San Francisco and Seattle in 2008. Click here for details.