How to Keep Organic Living in Children Beyond the Toddler Years

If you do a quick search in stores or online, you will find a lot of baby and toddler items that are organic based and eco-friendly. However, for some reason, the variety of organic items tend to drop off for kids over the age of 4. The following are some great eco-friendly ideas on how to keep organic living in children beyond the toddler years.

Plant an organic garden
With children age 4 and older, you can engage them in planting an organic garden. Simply buy some organic seeds and soil. You can use old shoe boxes or old yogurt containers as nursery boxes instead of buying the plastic ones. Explain to your child what you are planting and engage them in learning more about gardening without the use of pesticides.

Read the label out loud
When you go grocery shopping with your child, stop by the produce section and explain to them why you prefer organic produce and teach them to begin recognizing the USDA Certified Organic label. Explain to them the benefits of buying and eating organic foods.

Cook together
Teach the children how to cook using healthy recipes and explain to them the benefit of tasting food with minimum seasoning.

Buy thrift or second hand whenever possible
When you go shopping for items, look for second hand or gently used items before you consider buying anything new. Teach your child to find great deals and explain to them the benefits to the environment as well.

Minimize exposure to unnecessary advertisement
Parents complaint that their children want to buy each new action figure or superhero toy and they just cannot seem to keep up with the changing interests. Children learn to want such items by watching television. So, if you need to have some time to clean the house or just for yourself. Have your children watch the discovery channel or borrow nature DVDs from the local library for them to watch.

Learn to sew together
Teach your child the benefits of sewing. You can easily transform an old pair of jeans or t shirt by sewing on a new patch.

It's okay to wear it twice
Unless the kids have soiled their clothes from playing outside in the playground, you can usually have them wear their jeans or pants again for a second or third time. This saves money on doing another load of laundry and also conserves water as well. Explain to them why you are doing it.

Create a family tradition
Have your child be responsible for taking out the recycling bin. Also, have your child responsible to make sure the lights are turned off when the room is empty.

Source: www.eco-friendlyliving.com