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Learning how to raise an eco-conscious child is mandatory for the future and wellbeing of our planet. Here is how to do it!
Children are curious and hungry for knowledge by nature. As a conscious parent, you should take advantage of this and teach them from a young age many things and skills they can benefit from in the future.
One of the valuable things they should learn from an early age is to lead an eco-conscious life. Given the current climate change situation, showing your children how to be more conscious and take care of our planet is beneficial on many levels. Even though this topic is complex, if you are looking for how to raise a conscious child, there are many fun ways to do it.
So, without further ado, let’s see what your options are!
Let them connect with nature
If you wonder how to raise a conscious child, you should know that one of the best ways to teach kids to be more eco-friendly is to let them connect with nature. Instead of keeping them in the house all day, go outside with them and show them how awesome and fun nature is. Kids are natural explorers and wanderers, so let them discover the beauty of nature. Take them hiking, fishing, to the park, or even camping.
The sooner they develop a deeper connection with nature, the sooner they will start to preserve it. They will associate nature with fun and happiness, and this feeling will help them behave in a more eco-friendly manner throughout life.
Plant a tree
We all know the importance of trees for our environment. This is the knowledge we need to transfer to our children if we are looking for how to raise them more eco-conscious.
Therefore, an activity such as planting a tree is an excellent opportunity to teach your kids how trees work and help our environment. In addition, tell them that trees are the lungs of our planet. This is a fact that will definitely stick with them for a long time.
You can make this activity a tradition and plant a tree with your kid on every birthday. Moreover, it’s always a good idea to bring your kid to local community activities organized for Earth and Plant day. There are always some activities planned for such occasions that are both fun and educational.
Create a recycling corner in your house
If you want to teach your child to be more eco-conscious, you can’t overlook recycling. This is one of the most important steps of the eco-friendly journey. Since kids are too young to learn about the complexity of the recycling process, you can introduce them to the activity. So, how to do this?
We suggest making a game of sorting out your garbage by creating a recycling corner in your house. Get a hold of 4 biodegradable plastic containers and use each for a different material you’ll recycle – paper, cans, glass, and plastic.
To make your kids even more excited about this, let them draw a recycling sign and hang it above this corner. You can even let them draw labels for these containers. The more involved they feel in this process, the more they will be happy to participate in it later.
Do fun DIY projects with reusable material
Speaking of recycling, did you know that it can also be used in an educational way by parents looking for how to raise conscious children?
You can use some of the reusable materials you have at home for fun DIY projects with your kids. Use stuff like toilet paper rolls, empty water or wine bottles, cardboard boxes, etc. This is an excellent opportunity to bond with your children and teach them that trash isn’t always just trash. Show them it can be used for creating art, crafts, or even something you can use every day.
For example, you can make pencil or brush holders from toilet paper rolls. In addition, you can use old cardboard boxes for packing if you’re in the middle of a relocation process. Teach your kids that even eco-friendly packing and moving is possible, and there is a great green solution for this.
Encourage them to walk or ride a bike
We are all aware that the carbon footprint of cars is enormous. If we want to make this planet a better place, and learn how to raise eco-conscious children, we need to decrease all the toxic emissions our vehicles cause on a daily basis.
While kids can’t understand the terminology, we can teach them that walking and riding a bike is better than getting by in the car all the time. They are more than capable of understanding that some things are bad for the environment and some things are good.
That’s why we need to encourage them to walk and ride a bike as often as possible. To help them, it’s good to go on bike rides with them and take them on hiking trails. Make these eco-friendly activities fun, and they will do them with pleasure, especially if they make a habit of them from an early age.
Introduce them to gardening
A great way to teach your child to be more eco-conscious is to introduce them to gardening.
Gardening is an activity that will help them understand the life cycle of all living things. It also instills in children a sense of interest, compassion, and responsibility for something alive, as well as a solid grasp of the ecosystem needed to support life.
This is exactly why kids thrive when it comes to gardening. Letting them plant their own garden will make them grow a healthy relationship with nature. In addition, seeing the plants they have planted grow into something they can eat will get them extremely excited. They will even want to try some vegetables they don’t usually eat. So, it’s a win-win situation!
Ready, set, green!
Even though climate change is a complex issue of today’s world, you can teach your children to be more eco-conscious by letting them participate in many eco-friendly activities they will love.
In addition, they don’t have to understand everything that’s going on; they have to get the feeling of what’s good for our environment and what’s bad. This is something that’s easily done through the above mentioned activities. Let them connect with nature from an early age, and they will build a healthy appreciation for it that can grow into something bigger in the future.
If you are looking for more ideas on how to raise a conscious child why not have a look at our other blog posts. We have many great eco-friendly ideas you can try such as:
- How To Implement A Zero-Waste Bathroom
- Non-Toxic, Eco-Friendly Ways to a Cleaner and Healthier Home
- 12 Great Ideas To Help You Transform Your House Into A Bastion Of Eco-Friendliness