Exposing your children to ideas about how to protect the environment in their childhood can have a great impact. During childhood, they hone not only their physical, mental and intellectual capabilities, but also their values.
This is why parents should take these years as an opportunity to teach their children to protect the environment, especially now that the planet is nearing critical condition. This way, they can take part in saving the earth which will benefit themselves and future generations.
If you want to start teaching your kids about eco-friendly practices, you need to make sure that you do it in a way they will understand and enjoy. Here are some of the best ways to teach them.
Introduce Them to the Concept
Children may be young but they are certainly smart and they easily pick up on things. So, instead of treating and talking to them in an infantile manner, why not explain the concept to them the same way you would to an adult, but using easily understandable terms?
Make sure to tell them about the risks faced by the planet and the things that can help alleviate such concerns. Be careful, though. While they are smart, they can be impressionable and can be easily terrorized by end-of-the-world ideas.
Introduce Them to the Great Outdoors
To expound on the idea, you want to expose them to nature. This will give them a more grounded understanding of the concept, while experiencing how the ecosystem is composed of all organisms in it, including humans.
The best way to talk to them is to start on a positive note and show them the beauty of nature, then explain the cycle of climate change and what they can do as an individual and as part of a community.
Have Them Join Youth Clubs and Camps
You should also tell your children that community action can have more impact on the environment. To demonstrate this, you can have them participate in youth clubs and camps that focus on eco-friendly matters.
This will give them an idea of how to act as a community and what a group can do. Moreover, this can ignite a more cooperative and proactive attitude in them. This can also teach them about leadership and teamwork.
Let Them Play Games That Teach About the Environment
Children love playing games, so why not take their playtime as an opportunity to teach? You can purchase games such as Race to Recycle: An Earth Day Game. This board game was developed to show the value minimizing waste by recycling.
You can also find digital games that teach about eco-conservation such as NOAA Games, Windfall and Recycle City.
Teach By Example
As mentioned, children are quick learners, yet can be impressionable. They tend to look up to their parents. Moreover, they tend to mimic behaviors, reactions and attitudes shown by adults around them.
So, make it a point to be a good role model for them. Show them that even adults follow waste segregation rules. Teach them to keep trash in their pockets or bags until they find a garbage bin practicing this yourself.
The Bottom Line
It is important to teach children to protect the environment at an early age. This way, they will grow up appreciating nature and taking the right steps to take care of it. And in the future there will be more jobs dedicated to that endeavor too.
