by Jo Ann Wentzel

Created on: July 24, 2010   Last Updated: July 25, 2010

Helping your child learn to ‘go green’

Everyone is aware of the problems with the average lifestyle and how it affects the planet. Most of us agree we should save our planet and do what we can to conserve and protect our natural surroundings and wildlife. We know also that it will take a real commitment from everyone so why not start our children on the right path.

Kids are like sponges and absorb all they see and hear, so we must make sure they see and hear the right information about our environment and what we can do to protect it. We must do this without scaring our kids and only use the proven facts to explain to them the world’s problems.

Even small children can be given some information and started on caring about their environment. Here are some simple ways:

Saving what we have:

They can be taught not to waste water by leaving it run when not in use. They can be taught not to waste power by turning lights off when none is in that room. They can be taught to save power by not letting the TV on or the cool air conditioned air get out through wide open doors for extended periods of time. Tell them they should not waste anything they get since we throw away too much and that makes more trash.

Thinking about recycling:

Show your kids how to pick up discarded cans safely that they find along the streets for recycling. If they can earn a few cents by turning them in, they may be even more interested. Show them why you use certain products instead of others since they don’t deteriorate for a long time. Like making your own cold water instead of buying the bottled kind. Explain that it also saves money as well as not ending up in the landfill. Teach them to re-use things that are still clean and good such as plastic store bags. Better yet take them to buy the cloth ones to grocery shop.

Help them to take care of nature:

Teach them to respect all living things whether it is a plant or animal. Show them how to keep areas outside clean, but disposing of trash in the correct places and not littering. Tell them to not pick flowers or destroy grass or trees in parks and places meant for all to enjoy. Explain that it takes a long time for some things to grow or to mature and when we disturb those plants, they may not grow anymore. Teach them not to throw things into lakes and streams, rivers and oceans in order to not pollute the waters and not kill any fish or other animals. Explain to them that many things humans do can pollute the air and we are trying to find better ways, but it is a hard problem. Teach them cars and smokestacks of factories can pollute the air so we must balance those things with our needs. For example- we must breathe, even though it may help to pollute our environment. We must also do things to save our air like walking instead of driving sometimes and not burning things that makes lots of bad smoke.

These are some places to start and you can pick and choose according to their age and understanding. Just tell kids that God has given this beautiful earth to us and expects us to take care of it for him.

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