Sustainable Green Living: Ten Things to Tell Your Kids about part 1

Aug

05

Posted by dodo, Published on 05 August 2008

Often interest in green living starts with children. They’re taught about being green in schools and pass information on to their parents. They may already know more than you! The more you discuss with each other the need for living a greener lifestyle and the more responsibility children have for leading the way at home, the more chance they’ll continue to spread the message.

It takes patience to get children to behave in the way you want. Decide from the beginning that any move towards a greener lifestyle is better than none and applaud your child for every achievement along the way. No child will turn dark green overnight so take it one small step at a time.

Starting with the 3 Rs

Eco-Friendly Green LifestyleReducing, reusing, and recycling are the basics of green living. Recycling is something most children learn about in school and is second nature to many. At home, let your children do much of the sorting out of recyclable items and make them responsible for their own rubbish. Reducing and reusing are harder ideas to get to grips with.

Children usually want what their friends have, so encouraging them to go without the latest toys and gadgets, or to go on using the ones they’ve got, can be difficult. They’re more likely to get the message if you explain to them that children just like themselves, in other parts of the world, or animals, may be negatively affected - that the carbon emissions that come from making new goods could result in floods or melting ice and children or animals could lose their homes as a result.

Paring Down Packaging

Explain when you buy anything why you think it’s the best choice out of the options available to you. Agree to buy the toy without packaging rather than the one in a box with several layers of plastic. If you do have to buy goods in packaging ask your children to look on the shelves for the brand with recyclable packaging.

If you can’t do without something and it comes in packaging that can’t be recycled or reused and has to go in the rubbish bin, explain what happens to it next and why you feel that’s a waste and bad for the environment.

Say no to the offer of bags in shops and take your own with you. Children soon get used to making sure you’ve got your reusable bags with you when you go shopping. Keep on doing what you believe in and lead by example and the messages will get through. Children learn from each other and yours will teach their friends good habits.

Finding Out About Food

Talk to your children about what goes into the foods they eat and why you buy the foods you do. Explain where the food starts its life. If you buy locally produced foods find out if you can visit one of the farms and let the children ask questions. If they can pick their own they’ll enjoy eating it too. You - or the farmer - can explain the link between the countryside, the animals, the fruits and vegetables, and the food on their plates. Help your children understand why some farming methods are better for the environment than others.

When you shop ask your children to find various items to go in your trolley. Show your children how to read food labels to discover how the food was produced and where it comes from as well as the contents. Ask them to check the labels for the lowest salt, sugar, or fat content. You need a lot of patience with younger ones but it’s not long before they pick up the idea. Ask them to let you know if new products appear on the shelves so that you can compare the ingredients together and decide if new is better or not.

When you get the food home let them help you cook it. Schools don’t teach as much about food and cooking as they used to, so children miss out on the joys of creating a mess in the kitchen. You can’t do this every day, or you’ll never have time to do anything else, but if you can do it even occasionally children will be more interested in what they’re eating.

More about: Sustainable Green Living: Ten Things to Tell Your Kids about part 1


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