Are your children sabotaging your efforts to live greener?
If you have young children at home you may be finding it hard to live greener. Children tend to run the water too long, flush the toilet too much, use too much toilet paper, waste food and generate way too much laundry. If you're a parent trying to live greener, here are a few tips to help you teach your children to be more eco-friendly.
Start at an early age:
As toddlers and preschools, your children learn by watching and mimicking you. So if you use small amounts of toilet paper and turn off the water when you're brushing your teeth or washing your hands, they are more likely to as well. And as you begin potty training, teach your child from the beginning not to waste toilet paper and water.
When serving meals, let your children serve themselves:
Parents tend to dish out much larger portions then children need, thus creating a lot of extra waste. If you let your child dish out their own food, they are more likely to only take what they need. Also, if you have picky eater, let them help prepare the meal. If they've had a hand in preparing it, they are more likely to eat the food on their plate. As you prepare the meal with your child, you can talk to them about ingredients and teach them about where food comes from and the importance of locally grown foods and organic foods.
Have your kids take showers instead of baths:
Once your child is a steady walker and can stand without regularly falling down, making the switch to a shower is a great way to save time and water. If you're worried about tub safety, you can get a non-slip mat and safety handles for your child to hold on to. Teach your child that is really important to take quick showers and not use too much water. If it's warm enough, turn the water off while lathering your child and turn it back on for rinsing. If you have older kids who can wash themselves properly, think about challenging them to a race to see who can take the fastest shower. Also, consider installing low-flow shower heads and faucet aerators. They can reduce your home water consumption by up to 50%.
Have your children participate in a beach or park clean up event: Many clean up events are family friendly and can be lots of fun too. It's a great way to help your child realize the importance of taking care of the earth and putting trash and recycling in the proper place.
Let your child help fill the recycling bin:
Preschool aged children are capable of distinguishing between items that should go in the recycling bin and items that should go in the trash can. Let them be responsible for what goes in the recycling bin and talk about each item and what it's made from as you are recycling.
Check out online resources about Going Green designed for kids:
Nickelodeon, Playhouse Disney and many other organizations have green web sites for kids with information about the environment, tips for going green, games, printables etc. Click here for a list of online resources.
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