Teaching your child to be responsible when it comes to saving the environment and being eco-friendly may be one of the most rewarding lessons that they will ever learn from you. Children learn by example and therefore it is important that parents practice green tactics around the home so that their kids will do the same. If you would like to educate your child how to go green, here are a few things that you can try out.
Teach Your Green Kids to Respect the Outdoors
Getting out into nature is a great way to teach kids of all ages on the importance of going green. Visit a local park or go hiking in the mountains where you can show them how dangerous littering can be and why trash needs to stay out of our waterways to keep sea life safe. At home, you can help your child plant a tree in the backyard for Earth Day or set up bird feeders.
Another fun activity would be to plan a family vacation to an area that would focus on the importance of the great outdoors and why we need to preserve our Earth. Plan to go to a national park such as Yellowstone or the Grand Canyon and explain to your child why it’s so important that we protect these natural habitats. If we fail to do so, we may not have the plant life or abundance of wild animals to see in nature.
Make Recycling a Family Affair
You may already be aware of how important it is to recycle, but if you don’t practice it at home, then your children may never learn how beneficial it can be to our environment. Recycling is a simple and easy process that only involves placing your trash in the correct container. Set up different colored trash cans in the kitchen and teach your child which items go where. This is a process that even toddlers and preschoolers can catch onto and do their part to help make the Earth a better place
You may want to take a trip to a recycling plant if your trash service doesn’t pick up the recycling and let your children see first-hand how old trash is transformed into new materials. To make recycling for kids even more fun, save aluminum cans and take them to a recycling center or scrap metal facility that pays for cans. If your child helped collect them, let them have a portion of the money as a reward so that they can see how recycling literally pays off.
Ditch Bottled Water
Bottled water can be very expensive and the countless plastic bottles can do years of damage to our landfills. Tap water is typically just as clean and safe as bottled water, it’s less expensive, and you don’t have to deal with all the plastic waste. Let your child pick out their own water bottle so that they can fill it up and enjoy a refreshing drink that is eco-friendlier than the bottled alternative. And if feel that your water from the tap is not safe to drink, you can always purchase a filter that will remove all contaminates leaving you with crisp and refreshing water for your family to drink each day.
Purchase Green Cleaning Products
There are many cleaning products available for the home that can do a number on the environment. They contain harsh chemicals that may be useful in cleaning up stubborn messes, but are not very useful when it comes to protecting our land and waterways. These days, you can find natural products that can be a great alternative to commercialized brands. Show your children these products as you shop and ask them which they believe would be best. If you have already started instructing them on the benefits of being a green kid, then they are very likely to choose the products that do not contain any harsh chemicals, perfumes, or dyes.
Lend a Helping Hand
Many places will host green activities for Earth Day or any time of year. Volunteers may choose to clean up litter, install eco-friendly light bulbs, or plant trees at a local park. Getting your child involved in these activities or taking part in them as a family can be a great way to teach them about the importance of being green and help them receive the reward of doing something worthwhile. You can check out your community website to learn more about what green activities are taking place in your area.
We can all benefit from being eco-friendlier. By doing so we are not simply helping ourselves, but also everyone else on the planet at the same time. Children of all ages can learn how to go green and adapt to this environmentally friendly lifestyle by watching their parents and older siblings take part in these and other green activities.
