Teaching your children how to learn about the importance of a sustainable lifestyle at an early age is a great idea, as it spreads awareness not only to your children but through them to other kids they interact with as well. Teaching them about being eco-friendly doesn’t necessarily have to be a class-like boring experience for them; you can make it fun by adding visuals or showing them practically. We have some ideas in store for you to make it fun!
Why Teach Your Kids to Be Eco-Friendly?
You can teach your kids about sustainability and its importance by highlighting a few things. You and your family can protect the planet by making a few minor adjustments to your daily routine. These changes will help you look after your family, other people, animals, and plants. It will ultimately make your children healthier, more active, and happy.
Sustainability, Eco-Friendly Activities for Kids
These activities won’t only educate your kids about being eco-friendly, but they will also be a great bonding experience for you and your family.
Play Outdoors
Instead of spending time inside on devices playing games and watching TV, take your kids outside at least for a couple of hours to make them realize the importance of being active. Whether you’re playing a game or just taking a stroll in the park, outdoor activities will help connect your kids with nature and teach them to appreciate it. This way, when they’re asked to be mindful of their actions, they’ll be ever ready to change their practices and support the planet.
Plant Trees
Each year, billions of trees are lost by deforestation and natural disasters. They are known as the lungs of the Earth as they provide us with oxygen and remove carbon dioxide. Teach your kids about how plants are living things to form an emotional connection with them. Taking them for planting trees on a special occasion, like a birthday or family trip, is a great way to make them want to do it again in the future and be proud of it. And if you think about it, what better eco-friendly activity for children is there than planting trees?
Preserve Water
Kids should learn from an early age that consuming as little water as possible is recommended, as having clean water is a blessing. Encourage them to take showers instead of bathing, and take them to the beach or public pools to make up for it.
Local Fruits and Vegetables
Make shopping from local vendors a bonding experience with your children rather than doing it on your own. Teach your kids how buying from local vendors supports the community and cultivates healthy eating habits.
Save Electricity
Utilize sunlight in the morning instead of keeping the curtains closed and turning on lights. Sunlight is also a great source of Vitamin D and is essential for the body. Make it a routine so your kids instill this habit in their daily lifestyle as they grow up. Moreover, teach them to turn on lights only when they are needed.
Plastic Art
Try to eliminate the use of plastic in your lives. However, if it does somehow end up in your homes, for example, from bottle caps, use it for artwork. Your kids can paste them to form a photo frame or make them the center of a flower or the body of a fish on paper.
Charity
After every couple of months or so, take out a day and make your kids select what clothing items they no longer need. Make a box and then take them along to give them out for donation. As a treat, you can buy them ice cream or their favorite snacks on the way.
For more activities check out: Sustainable Activities for Kids
Children's Eco-Friendly DIY Projects
Here are some fun DIY projects for your kids to unleash their creativity while being eco-friendly:
Twig Vase: Instead of breaking and collecting flowers from the garden, ask your kids to find twigs and make a vase out of them by wrapping a bunch of them together with a ribbon.
Nature Jewelry: Wrap a tape around your child’s wrist and ask them to collect different loose leaves by pressing on them. It will get your kids closer to nature in a fun way.
Leaf Painting: Ask your kids to collect different fallen leaves and then paint on them to press on plain paper for a beautiful print. It is another way to teach your kids about different types of plants and get closer to nature.
Handmade Jewelry: You just need different-sized rocks and a string to create a rock necklace, which your child can even paint in their favorite color. It will teach your kids to avoid buying DIY plastic jewelry sets and make better jewelry in a more fun way at home.
Real Nature Painting: Go on a stroll with your kids, and collect some tiny stones, fallen leaves, and flowers to use for paintings. Your kids can add these natural elements to their nature paintings, elevate their creativity and fun, and it’s totally eco-friendly!
And you can always teach your child eco-friendly meal-planning too!