Raising a child who is conscious of the effects of his or her actions on the environment is a win for any parent. If you want to do this for your child, read on to see five things you should teach your child about the environment starting with their activities right at home.
1. Recycling Is Important
Let your child know about the importance of recycling and how to do it from an early age. When they realize the importance of recycling and reusing, it may be easier for them to get invested in doing it. Share with them some of the repercussions of not recycling and tell them about the problems that an ever-growing landfill poses if they’re old enough. When you do this, they can get motivated to make more sustainable decisions as they will be aware of the different results of different actions. Also, share facts with them, such as that every day, the average person generates more than four pounds of trash. With some effort, this is an amount that can be reduced and, in this way, the environment will be improved.
2. They Can Do Sustainable Crafting
If your child loves arts and crafts as many other children do, you can teach them some sustainable crafting activities. Remember to use materials that are safe for the environment and that won’t leave a lasting negative effect. When you do this, it may present opportunities to teach your child about the environment and how to take care of it. Keep this in mind and make it fun and doable for your child to remember and act in a positive way as far as the environment is concerned.
3. Food Waste Is Unwarranted
Remember to tell your child that food is important for both people and animals, and as such, they should work hard to minimize the wastage of food. Tell them to only put what they can eat on their plates and this is a positive habit that they may carry with them for the rest of their lives. Set a feeding schedule for any pets that you may have, keeping in mind that you can split the amount of food you need to feed your dog, for instance, between two to three meals each day. Find a schedule that works for your family and have your child take part in it as well so that they get some hands-on experience in taking care of the family pet. This is information that may stay with them for a long time to come and keep them from wasting food on many levels.
4. Animals Are Friends
Whenever possible, take your child to the local zoo or animal orphanage so they can see animals and interact with them. This will give them a solid feel of nature in action, and it may be easier to impart positive lessons to them afterward. Let them understand that people share the environment with animals and so they need to take steps to ensure that they don’t leave the environment in a worse state than they found it.
5. There Are Sustainable Materials for Different Uses
Finally, take every possible opportunity to show your child that there are sustainable materials that can be used on a daily basis. These won’t pollute the environment and may even be better for their health, such as is the case for using glass bottles instead of plastic ones for drinking water. As they get older, share with them more complex facts such as that in 2019, the consumption of steel scrape worldwide came to roughly 491 million metric tons, making it one of the world’s most recycled materials.
Use these methods to teach your child about sustainability and remember that they will become more invested in upholding the lessons if they see you leading by example.
