Raising Eco Friendly "Green" Kids
It seems today’s society is becoming apathetic to the world around them. Many children in particular are
more concerned with playing the latest video game and don’t really
pay much attention to the environment around them. They have nature
deficit disorder and it can be hard
to get your children to show an interest in the world around them,
but you can get them to care if you start early and take small
steps. You may not make a difference overnight, but you may just
make a difference in the future of the planet.
The first step in raising your children to be eco friendly is to be
eco friendly yourself. You need to walk the walk. You can tell your children to be respect the
environment all you want, but you’re not going to get anywhere if
you don’t practice what you preach. Follow the
practices of reducing, reusing, and recycling. Use natural and
environmentally friendly products, especially
reusables. Get involved with local
organizations that help protect the environment.
Once you’re involved in eco friendly practices,
start getting your kids to help as soon as you
can. You can start out simple by having them put
their own recyclables into the bin, or even have
them ride along with you when you take your bin
to the recycling center. You can have them help
you build a compost pile, or just go shopping
with you at the organic food store. Let them
watch movies with environmental themes like
Ferngully - the Last Rainforest and
Ice Age - The Meltdown. Read them books that
have these themes as well.
The people who do the most to help the environment
are the ones who know the most about it. That’s why it’s important
to start your child learning about the world around them early.
While you should do your best to teach them on your own, you can
also get some help from the experts. Many zoos, science museums, and nature centers
offer educational classes for children as young as three years old.
These can be a valuable resource in helping small children start to
learn about the environment and to expand their
knowledge as they
get older.
Get your child involved in volunteering. If you work or volunteer
for an environmental activist group, get your children involved as
soon as they are old enough. Many areas offer volunteer
organizations for teens and young adults. The first place to look is
with the places where you found classes for young children. The most
important part is that your child gets involved on a larger scale
than just within your family. This also helps them meet other people
their age and make friends with those who also care about environmental issues.
While children will inevitably be resistant to volunteering and
doing extra work or chores at some point or another, they will still
gain an appreciation for their environment that will last their
whole lives. Who knows....they may be the solution and the change we
are all looking for.
One of the easiest ways to teach kids about being good stewards of
the earth is to teach them about recycling and heave them play an
active role in the process in our own home. Kids need to know about
why recycling is needed and how we can easily overwhelm our planet
with garbage if we don’t recycle whenever possible. Provide small
tubs or cans for your kids and label accordingly…glass, cardboard,
paperboard, aluminum cans, tin cans, etc. Make it a weekly
responsibility for them to sort the items to be recycled and take
them out to be picked up by the city. If you do not have city pickup
you can make special trips to the nearest recycling facility and as
a bonus they may get to see the recycling process in action.
Also, be sure to buy post consumer recycled products whenever
possible. Even your child’s toothbrush can be bought from a company
that used recycled materials. Preserve is a company that makes
toothbrushes from recycled yogurt cups for example.
Buy Second Hand Clothing and Toys
Buying used clothing and toys is one of the best ways to buy
recycled materials as second hand items have just been recycled by
their previous owners so that someone else can use them and give
them a new life. Instead of buying new clothes and toys why not save
money and planetary resources by shopping for previously loved
items. If your kids ask why you don’t buy new just tell them that
you are all doing your part to help reduce stress on Mother Earth.
Freecycle is a great program available in many US cities that allows
members to give away or receive recycled items, all for free.
Conservation
Teach kids from an early age that conserving resources such as
energy and water is important. Have them help you build a cistern or
a rain water collection system so that you can capture rainfall and
to use during 
droughts or for watering indoor plants. It can be game
for them to monitor how fast the water accumulates.
Stress the importance of turning on all lights and electrical
appliances when not in use. Plug TVs, DVD units, CD players, video
game systems, etc into one power strip and have them turn it off
after each use. Small reminder signs can be made and placed near
exit ways or on remote controls to help them remember to do this.
When the weather is permitting have your children help you hang
clothes outside on a clothes line to dry. You use sun power and
conserve energy in the process. Think about other ways that you can
use alternative energy in your home too.
All of these small steps can make a big impact. Of course the
biggest impact might be on our children as we teach them that living
in harmony with out planet and keeping it beautiful is important.
The
Last Child in the Woods - Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit
Disorder 
Today's kids are increasingly disconnected from
the natural world, says child advocacy expert Louv (Childhood's
Future; Fatherlove; etc.), even as research shows that
"thoughtful exposure of youngsters to nature can... be a powerful
form of therapy for attention-deficit disorder and other maladies."
Instead of passing summer months hiking, swimming and telling
stories around the campfire, children these days are more likely to
attend computer camps or weight-loss camps: as a result, Louv says,
they've come to think of nature as more of an abstraction than a
reality.
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