They say we pick up the habits we have as children into our adulthood. If that’s the case, why not teach children to be good to the environment at an early age? This will not just do nature good but humanity as well. Imagine, if you could demonstrate to your child how to treat everything with kindness and respect, the world would be a much, much better place.
Let’s go ahead and take a look at the ways that you can teach your kids to protect the environment.
1. Take your kids on a trip
Take them on a vacation –but not just an ordinary vacation. You want to make it an educational one. It can be a nature walk, a visit to the zoo, or snorkeling at the beach. Point out the creatures you see along the way and emphasize the importance of protecting their habitats.
2. Plant a garden
Invite over your friends and neighbors to create a community garden. Nothing complicated. Start with the easy basics of herbs, fruits, and vegetables. Assign a task to each child and make them responsible for at least one plant. They’ll want to learn more on how to care for it.
3. Bring your own water
Make it a family rule to bring your own water when going outside. This teaches your child that single use plastic is bad and that as much as possible, you should only own items that can be reused again.
4. Turn off the lights
Remind your kids to turn off or unplug any device or appliance that is not in use. Don’t let the TV play in the living room when no one is watching or leave the fridge door open for too long. Too much energy use not only impacts the environment but your wallet as well.
5. Don’t throw away old toys
When your kids have outgrown their toys, don’t just throw it away. Together, pack them in a box and bring them to a donation center. This teaches kids that if something is not broken, someone else can still benefit from it.
6. Segregate your trash
Your kids probably segregate their trash in school when they see those separate bins but can they practice it at home? Make sure that they do. Have separate bins for reusable and non-reusable trash.
7. Eat only what you need
Food is one of the top wastes we have today. So much so that we now have a movement called dumpster diving. This is an extreme way of environmentalism where people eat food from dumpsters, not because they’re disgusting but because some food thrown away are actually still good as new. Teach your child the value of food and explain the effort that goes into growing and preparing their food. This’ll teach them to waste food less.
8. Don’t hurt the insects
Teach your child to stop squishing all the little creatures they come across. Explain to them that these creatures need to survive as they play an important function in our natural environment.
9. Join a beach cleanup
Participate in a beach cleanup in your local area. This shows kids that it’s important to pick up after your own trash and that if you don’t, the beautiful creatures in the ocean get affected. Worse, the beach gets gross and no one wants to swim in it. Who wants that?
10. Practice what you preach
There’s no use teaching kids how to protect the environment if you’re not doing it yourself. Be aware of your actions and see to it that you are being environmentally conscious as well. Lead by example and your kids will follow.
These are simple things you can teach your child. The more you teach them, the more curious they’ll be of other ways they can protect the environment.
Which of these have you already implemented in your home? Let’s continue the discussion in the comments below.
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