Eco friendly children are not born, they’re made. My husband and I are avid outdoor lovers and some of the best times we have had as a family have taken place in the woods. Hiking, camping, kayaking, and gardening are all considered favorite family activities. I’m lucky my kids enjoy tagging along on our outdoor adventures (most of the time!).
Maybe it’s because from the time they could walk (or even just sit in a backpack) they have been out in the woods. When we hike they know to leave the indigenous wildlife, rocks, sticks and whatnot alone and they understand what the phrase Leave No Trace really means.
Eco friendly children leave only footprints and take only pictures. Children who love nature are much more inclined to lead a greener life as they get older. They understand what they are trying to protect. There are a lot of ways to get your children (and their friends) involved in saving the planet.
Here are a few ways make sure our supply of eco friendly kids never runs out. I will include a few affiliate links for products that you might find useful.
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Eco Friendly Children are not born, they are made!
Think About This: In 2010 in the United States there were over 4 million babies born! That is just ONE year in ONE country on our very crowded planet. How many of those were raised as eco friendly children?
Studies have show that adults are much more resistant to change than children are. So, if it’s difficult to teach adults to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle, why don’t we start teaching the children instead?
Of course, since children only learn what adults teach them, this poses a bit of a problem. Seems like the only children that are going to learn how to live an environmentally friendly life are those that come from parents that are already living that sort of life!
What to do, right? Eco friendly children will one day grow up to rule this planet wisely…I’m not so sure what will happen if we turn Earth over to kids who were never taught why you shouldn’t throw trash out your car window.
There are many ways to raise green kids and at the same time, spread that green living message to other children as well!
Here are a few ideas on how to create eco friendly children…not only in YOUR family but in others as well.
1. Let your children invite a friend along on the next family outing.
Maybe your child has a good friend that has never been camping. Or maybe you can have a Saturday play date that revolves around planting the garden. Get your children out into the natural world and let them share it with a buddy!
2. Start an Environmental Club at your child’s school.
Your club doesn’t have to be elaborate…maybe you get together once a month and do crafts with recycled household products. Or maybe you meet to plant flowers in the common areas of the school yard.
Ask for art supply donations from school families and make Earth Day posters. Schools are great places to encourage eco friendly lessons for children. Talk to your school administrators and see how you can get involved. (check out my post on eco-friendly schools for more information.)
3. Volunteer for story time!
For children that are very young, you can read The Berenstain Bears Don’t Pollute (Anymore). It’s a great book with a simple message that even preschoolers should understand. For older children, you can pick something a little longer or one that has slightly higher level learning ideas.
4. Ask your group to host an eco friendly fundraiser.
If you are in charge of a group of youth (church, scouts, sports, mom’s club, etc) and are trying to find ways to raise money, consider a fundraiser that is good for the planet. Make sure you discuss the how and why’s of your choice with the kids so that they can spread this information to the people they are selling their products to.
Organic coffee, chocolate, etc make great fund raisers as do reusable water bottles. Check out the Equal Exchange Fundraising page for more ideas.
You can sell recycled wrapping paper or ask people to fund a walkathon. Rethink the items your children are selling to raise money for their activities. Do you have any other ideas on how to create eco friendly kids?
Diane is a professional blogger and nationally certified pharmacy technician at Good Pill Pharmacy. She earned her BS in Microbiology at the University of New Hampshire and has worked in cancer research, academics, and biotechnology. Concern over the growing incidence of human disease and the birth of her children led her to begin living a more natural life. She quickly realized that the information she was learning along the way could be beneficial to many others and started blogging and freelance writing to share this knowledge with others. Learn more about her HERE.
Really good points, I think this is an important topic to make sure kids are exposed to. I think another great family theme could be reducing waste by doing things like upcycling crafts – when I was little, I made a lot of crafts out of empty toilet paper rolls or empty plastic margarine containers, things like that.
. It’s a great book with a simple message that even preschoolers should understand. For older children, you can pick something a little longer or one that has slightly higher level learning ideas.
Great tip! My son especially loves the great outdoors.
We love spending time outdoors as a family as well. Living on 5 acres helps bring our kids closer to nature and wildlife. These are very helpful tips!
I wish we lived farther out in the woods. Suburbia has its advantages and disadvantages!
I love these tips!! I am lucky that all my kids love to be out doors and love to protect the earth as much as possible.
I have nature loving kids here as well. I think because we spend so much time outside together as a family hiking, camping, etc.
Really good points, I think this is an important topic to make sure kids are exposed to. I think another great family theme could be reducing waste by doing things like upcycling crafts – when I was little, I made a lot of crafts out of empty toilet paper rolls or empty plastic margarine containers, things like that.
I LOVE upcycled crafts! So many creative ones out there for kids to do!
Such Creative Ideas Love Having A Fund Raiser Maybe At My Church. So True Our Kids Learn From Us EVERYTHING!! GOOD & BAD SO I AGREE!!
We definitely have a huge influence on them….and if we want them to treat our planet with respect we need to do that as adults as well.