How To Encourage Kids To Become Environmentally Conscious
The best way to get kids to care for our environment is by teaching them about it. Check out these great ways to get your child to become more eco-conscious.
Children are our future, and as parents, it’s our responsibility to show them the importance of respecting the planet. Teaching kids about environmental consciousness can help ensure our planet’s health and sustainability for generations. By engaging in simple activities such as recycling and spending more time outside, you can get your child to become more eco-conscious.
Reuse and Recycle More
Teach your child to recycle by using different colored containers and labels to help sort items. Have them learn which plastics they can recycle and which go into the trash. For example, while a cardboard box can be recycled, a coated plastic milk container cannot. Additionally, evaluate ways you can reuse items, such as by upcycling glass jars rather than tossing them into the recycle bin. You could turn the jar into a candy jar or container for spare change.
Donate Unwanted Items
Sorting through your children’s old toys, books, and clothing can be a great opportunity to help them become more environmentally conscious. Not only will this help you decide what items to keep, donate, or recycle, but it also helps you get rid of things that are creating clutter in your home, such as old toys your child no longer cares to play with.
Donating these types of items helps another family save money on certain purchases and reduces the demand for the manufacturing of new things, which helps reduce the consumption of natural resources.
Pro Tip
If you have old DVD players or tablets at home and no longer want them, declutter your space by donating them. This is a sustainable way to recycle small electronics that harm the environment if disposed of incorrectly.
Get Outside More
Going on walks, hikes, and bike rides with your child can be an incredibly enriching experience. Not only are these activities great for physical health, but they also provide exciting opportunities to explore nature!
These explorations can spark curiosity in your child as they learn and ask questions about the various plants and animals they come across. Use this as an opportunity to help your child understand why protecting our environment is so important. Talk about the interconnectedness and fragility of our earth’s ecosystems. Encouraging your child to engage with the natural world gives them a sense of appreciation for our planet and a better understanding of it.
Start a Garden
Educating your child about gardening is another great way to encourage kids to become environmentally conscious. Getting hands-on with nature also teaches valuable lessons in resourcefulness. Gardening helps kids understand where our fruits and vegetables come from; they can plant their own crops and watch them grow from seeds to ripe fruit or vegetables. This helps them comprehend the importance of caring for our earth.
Showing your child how the planet supplies us with the food we need to survive can foster within them a deeper respect for nature, thus promoting sustainability practices down the line.
