If we don’t protect the environment then who will? That is a question that most people ask yet really don’t strive to answer it themselves. They instead look to those around them wondering when someone will come up with a solution to the problem.
Well, newsflash, in order to preserve and protect this planet that we live on it, starts with us. And then it moves from us to our children and everything we have learned gets passed on to them.
It is our duty as parents to help our children learn habits that are not only beneficial health-wise but are also great for the environment. Now that the seasons are changing it is a great time to reevaluate what you and your family can do collectively to sustain and improve the environment.
We provide four tips that will help you teach your children about helpful and healthy habits that will make the environment a better place.
Go Outside
The first step to helping your child get more involved in the environment is taking them outside. This will allow them in a sense to become one with the environment and really understand and spend time out in nature themselves.
You should make sure that your children spend time outside with you as a family spending time in nature. Whether this means that you’re going for a walk or going fishing. This will not only allow you to spend valuable time with your children, but it will also allow them to really appreciate all that nature has to offer to them.
Another beneficial factor when it comes to going outside is allowing your child to choose an activity that you all do outside. This will enable them to have a hand in what aspect of nature that they get to participate in.
Start a garden
There is no better way to truly appreciate what the earth has to offer than to start your own garden. This is a direct way of teaching your child the ways to be eco-friendly and discerning the fruits of the earth.
Meaning in simple terms that your child can work hard as far as tilling the ground and pulling out roots in order to prepare their garden. Then after doing all of that they will be able to choose what they want to plant, whether that be a pepper, collard greens, sunflowers, apples, or anything else.
Planting a garden will teach your children that through hard work and upkeep they can create something beautiful. This is because the work doesn’t stop once you and your child plant the seeds.
After you do that you will have to teach your child to pull the weeds so it doesn’t destroy your growing stalks. You will also have to teach them to water their plants and when not to water them.
And how much water is too much water when it comes to plants. They will also need to be shown how to report certain plants like tomato plants that have grown too big for the beginner pit you planted them in and are now ready to be placed into the ground.
They will also need to be shown how to keep the bugs and different insects from ruining their plants. After all the hard work has been done they will get to relish in seeing the end result of all of their hard work. And what better way to appreciate earth’s beauty than a garden.
Reduce, reuse, and recycle
One of the biggest problems that are plaguing the earth today is the fact that people do not properly discard their trash. Instead of disposing of plastic and trash the appropriate way people choose to throw trash on the street any and everywhere.
And it goes further than just teaching your child which bin to appropriately throw their trash into it comes down to teaching them to conserve water and electricity. Teach your children to turn off the lights when they leave a room.
This surprisingly can be difficult to do because children especially get sidetracked and will leave a light on in a room and forget to go back and turn the light off. Also, teach them to turn the water off when they aren’t using it.
Some people like to brush their teeth and leave the water ok the whole time instead of turning the water off. Teach your children to turn the water off until they need to use the water again.
Teach them to take shorter showers. This will help you to conserve water as well. You can also teach your child about reusing or repurposing items that aren’t ready to be thrown away quite yet.
By reusing items it allows you to prolong and get the most out of items that you have within your household. You can also teach your children about composting things and the best way to teach them these things can be done through a tasty treat like worm dirt pudding cups.
Have a conversation
The basic thing to do that may not even cross your mind is to simply talk to your children about it. Sit down and have an informed conversation with your children about all of the causes and effects when it comes to taking care of the environment and the earth around them.
You can educate your children about endangered animal species and how what they do today can help preserve those species tomorrow. Teach and talk to them about how taking action to preserve these endangered species will slowly help them to eventually not be on the endangered species list at all.
If your children are children that enjoy playing outside and doing things like going to the beach to teach them how to keep those places of relaxation clean. And show them that by picking up and disposing of trash the proper way you can keep these places beautiful and ready for them to spend time at.
Teaching your children early about preserving the environment around them will instill in them a lifelong appreciation for the environment around them.
Conclusion
As we started earlier in the article, the best way to teach your child things is by first being the example that they need. If you exhibit these habits in your everyday life as an adult then your children will be able to grow and learn and naturally begin to exhibit these behaviors and habits as well.
It takes approximately 66 days which is equivalent to two months to make a behavior a habit. And being that children learn the most when they are young are both things that can work together for the best.
By using both of these things habit building and your child’s young impressionable age teaching them beneficial habits will set the tone for the rest of their lives. And it will help them to use this same way of character building in all things that they decide to do.
Tiffany Simmons is a Georgia mom, wife, and aspiring children’s book writer. Acquiring a BS in Mass Communications & Marketing from the University of West Ga. Leaving a job in the healthcare profession to become a writer for childmode.com.
Image courtesy of Gabby Orcutt.
