Guest post by Natalie Wilson

As helping the environment has become an essential part of everyone's day, it’s important to also encourage children to be more sustainable. While it might take a little longer to help your children understand the environmental benefits, repetition is key, and naturally over time they will start to copy your actions and understand your reasoning. If you’re looking for new ways to encourage your children to be more sustainable, here are 5 ways they can make a difference.

Recycling

While your younger children won’t be using the recycling bins outside the home, buying a sectioned recycling bin for the house can help teach them the meaning behind recycling. Having a place for paper, plastic and food waste and teaching your children the differences and why we are recycling can help with their day to day actions in the future. There are plenty of people who don’t care about recycling and your child could be the one to set an example. Take advantage of the many visual aids to help teach them the values of recycling too!

Clothing

More and more brands are offering clothing collections that are ethically sourced. Teaching your children about the clothes they are wearing and why can help them make the right choices when they are older. Buying boys’ organic clothing and ethically sourced girls designer dresses that advertise as sustainable is a great way to get started. Teaching your children about how organic cotton is made and how big brands reduce their waste might be more suitable for older children, but it’s important to learn about these practices early on. Buying gently used second -hand clothing is also a great way to cut down on waste products from the production of new garments; if you buy clothes online from e-commerce sites like eBay, VInted, or Poshmark, you can let your kids help you fill the cart with the items they like.

Reduce Waste

This may well be the hardest thing to teach your children when they are young, but helping them to reduce their general waste is a great way to become more sustainable. Water, plastic and energy are all prime examples of resources in the house that you can easily change your consumption of to be more sustainable. Buy your child a reusable water bottle, teach them to switch off the TV and lights when they leave a room, and make sure they don’t let the water run when brushing their teeth. There are plenty of ways to reduce their waste at home, and it’s just a case of teaching them about the environmental impacts of their use – and waste – of these crucial resources.

Grow Plants

While the previous ideas are essential, they aren’t going to be fun for your children. Growing plants and educating your children on the environmental benefits of plants is a great way to have some fun in the garden. It creates a sustainable hobby that gets the kids in the outdoors and away from the TV and video games. If you grow an edible garden, your children will also learn to appreciate where their food comes from and how it grows.

Fun Trips

If you don’t think your suggestions are working as well as you’d hoped for, then a couple of fun trips to the zoo, aquarium, or nature center will make a big difference. Explaining how recycling and reducing waste helps wildlife might need a visual aid, and exploring a nature park while talking about all the points you’ve made before will help them understand. Zoos, aquariums, and nature centers also frequently offer presentations by experts who can share information about the ways in which waste affects the natural habitat that animals live in. Aside from these places, local farms offer many opportunities to learn more about reducing waste and using the resources of the land wisely. They also have lots of fun activities in the holiday season that the whole family can enjoy. In addition to visiting places like these, there are also plenty of educational TV shows aimed at children to look out for that will help show them what it means to be more sustainable.

 So, try out some new ideas, let them learn and have fun at the same time. Rewarding their sustainable choices can also help encourage their behaviour in the future while helping them to continue to learn and do their part to help the planet.

 Natalie Wilson is a freelance writer with a particular focus on sustainability and eco-friendly living. Whether you’re looking for a new meditation method or some facts on plastic pollution, she’s your girl! When not writing, Natalie can be found heading to the gym or walking her dog. You can connect with her on Twitter @NatWilson976.

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