3 Tips to Encourage Environmental Awareness in Children
Jan 19, 2021
If one of your New Year's resolutions involves raising your children's environmental awareness and adopting consistent behaviors at home, know from the outset that the most important thing is for these behaviors to quickly transform into healthy routines and habits.
The fight to protect our environment is increasingly urgent, and it is crucial to involve children in environmental prevention actions from a very young age and include basic concepts of sustainable ecology in their education. Tips for doing this with children:
Water conservation
Young children have no idea where the water that runs from the taps comes from, nor do they understand that it is not an infinite resource. All they know is what they see: that they turn on the tap and an endless stream of water flows! It is therefore important to explain from an early age that by keeping the tap open for too long, we are consuming water that is "running out" on the other side.
You can make your explanation more visual for the child, for example, by saying that if too much water is used, the fish will run out of water to swim in the rivers and seas. This way, they understand that this resource is finite in a very basic and illustrative way. Encourage them to turn off the tap as soon as they finish washing their hands or brushing their teeth, and ensure that the concept of water conservation is fundamental to their environmental education.
Recycling and Reuse
You've probably already noticed that children's creativity knows no bounds! Take advantage of the phase where everything can be used as a toy to show your child how they can reuse an empty toilet paper roll or a plastic bag that's no longer needed. By doing this regularly, your child, even unconsciously, will stop viewing all resources as trash.
On the contrary, you will get into the habit of noticing the various uses of materials and reusing them. Creativity has its limits, so don't hesitate to turn a water jug into a spaceship, a roll of paper into binoculars or a microphone, or even a plastic bag into an apron. You will be working on the most basic notions of recycling in a fun and educational way.
Contact with nature
Whether visiting an animal farm, camping, or simply taking a stroll in the park or on the beach, contact with the environment is always the most impactful and useful way to explain to your children the consequences of human behavior on the environment.
Books also play a fundamental role in this type of education, but there's nothing like seeing it with your own eyes. During family outings, draw attention to the shame of seeing litter on the ground (and whenever possible, pick it up safely), or to the mistreatment of animals, trees, flowers, etc. At the beach, in particular, it's possible to see the litter coming and going with the tides, and this provides a great learning opportunity about the impact it has on the marine environment, what it does to animals and, consequently, to humans through food.
Camping is always a good idea for children to understand how to live with (and respect!) the resources that nature gives us. Visiting an educational farm, although less impactful, also helps children understand how we should respect animals as living beings essential to human survival for various reasons.
So, you know, this year make the most of every moment with your family and give special emphasis to special days like World Environment Day to introduce and apply concepts of environmental protection and sustainability that will certainly be a crucial contribution to the future of our planet!
