As many parents have discovered, introducing children to green living can be challenging.
Some topics might sound boring to young ears, but there are fun and easy ways to teach kids an earth-friendly lifestyle that can make it much easier.
The best part about the following activities, other than being great for the whole family, is that you can see a real difference being made within a relatively short time. Follow a few, or all, of the tips below, and your children will be ready to rush out and save the planet before you know it.
A Shopping Treasure Hunt
On the way the supermarket, point out how much discarded food and product packaging ends up as litter. Once you’re in the aisles, do a treasure hunt with your children. Encourage them to find items on the list that have the least amount of packaging, or that are green in other ways. When you no longer have need for the product’s packaging, recycle it.
Start Food Composting
If you have a garden, a compost heap is a fantastic way to introduce children to various eco-friendly principles and practices. Help your kids develop a deeper appreciation of the circle of life and the importance of recycling by collecting food scraps and other organic kitchen waste for the compost heap. The easiest way to do it is to keep a sealed container, and to encourage your children to identify what is and is not suitable for composting.
When you have compost ready for use, get the kids to help you add it to the vegetable garden. Once the children are in bed, you can settle down on the sofa to appreciate the wheel of online Roulette Australia games on your mobile.
Clean Up the Neighbourhood
Cleaning up your neighbourhood can be a fun way to make a difference to the world around you. Give your children gloves and a bag, go walking with them, and pick up trash along the way.
You could do it on a weekend and invite neighbouring families to join in. You could offer rewards to the kids who pick up the most litter, or soft drink cans or crisp packets.
Be Water-Wise
Many children cannot resist playing with the garden hose or running through sprinklers. Some also are notorious for leaving water running while brushing teeth or rinsing off lunch dishes. Encourage them to use water wisely.
Explain why it is one of our most important resources, and together come up with different ways you can use water in your daily lives. See how creative you can get. One fun way is to make a pot of soup using the water in which you boiled last night’s vegetables.
Charity Store Shopping
Charity shops can be treasure troves in more ways than one. Teach your children that buying brand-new is not always necessary, and that shopping at second-hand stores is a form of recycling.
They are sure to be surprised at the cool stuff they uncover. You also could take along things you no longer need.