7 Ways For Teaching Kids To Care For The Environment

We are all more conscious about the damage that we are doing to the environment these days. This is an issue that has become an increasing concern over recent years. Environmental damage is caused by all sorts of things that we use on a day to day basis, from the emissions that emanate from the vehicles we drive through to the chemicals in a vast range of products that we use.

Many adults tend to try and be more eco-friendly these days, trying to take steps to reduce their carbon footprint and help improve the environment. However, it is also important that your children are aware of the importance of an eco-friendly lifestyle, as otherwise they could end up being the ones that suffer as a result of continued pollution and damage.

Tips to help your kids learn about the green cause

You may think that teaching young kids how to care for the environment will be too challenging – after all, kids just want to have fun. However, you will be surprised at how many simple habits you can get your children into in order to have a positive impact on the environment. Depending on the age of your kids, they may not fully understand why you are teaching them these habits just yet, but simply making sure that they do get used to certain habits will set them up on the right footing for the future. Some simple eco-friendly habits that you can get your kids into include:

●  Get them involved in gardening: Kids love to spend time outdoors and one way in which you can teach them to care for the environment while having fun is to get them involved in gardening. Teach them about the health and environmental benefits of growing your own vegetables at home without the use of pesticides. Let them help out when you are planting in the garden. This will teach them important values and enable them to have some fun while learning.

● Get them used to recycling: We now have separate wheelie bins for recycling and household waste, and it is important that you use the right ones. Make sure your kids are aware of which bin they need to use and why. This will get them used to recycling and enable them to learn why it is important to put certain waste into recycling. You can even put a list up detailing the type of waste that needs to go into the recycling bin to help them get used to it.

● Shutting doors behind them: We lose a lot of energy by leaving doors open, which not only has an impact on the environment but also on our energy usage and bills. Kids have a habit of running out of rooms and simply leaving the doors open without a second thought. Teach your kids to shut doors behind them and explain why this is important. It may take a while but they will get into the habit.

● Getting around: While your kids cannot drive, they may expect you to give them a lift in the car when they are going to friends’ houses or going out. Rather than agreeing to this, teach them the importance of walking or using a bicycle to get around. This will help to boost their health and fitness levels as well as saving you petrol, avoiding more environmental damage, and enabling them to learn about the damage vehicles can do to the planet.

● Let them learn about it at their own pace: It is important not only for your kids to learn good habits that will have a positive effect on the environment but also to learn why these habits are important. Of course, you can explain in some detail but you can also help them to learn by investing in colorful and informative books designed for kids. This includes books such as the Little Green Books range, which you can buy from Amazon. You can even go to HotUKSavings.co.uk to get money saving vouchers to reduce the cost of teaching your kids these valuable lessons.

● Turning off the light: How many times have you been to your kids’ rooms and found the light still on even though they may be downstairs or outside playing? Kids don’t realize the environment and financial impact of leaving lights on unnecessarily but you can teach them this by getting them into the habit of switching the light off behind them if they are leaving the room.

● Water wastage: You may have noticed your kids leaving the tap running when they are brushing their teeth – something that many adults are also guilty of. Make sure you take the time to teach them to turn the tap off when it is not being used and explain that this water wastage can have a negative impact on the environment.

All of these are simple yet effective tips that can help your kids to learn how to care for the environment and teach them good habits for the future.