How to Raise Eco-friendly Responsible Kids

As the green movement continues, most of us want to do our part in raising eco-friendly responsible kids. But how? The following are some suggestions.

Learn more about Eco-friendly Initiatives

The most common phrase used in green and eco-friendly initiatives are: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. However, kids need to learn more specifics in order to apply it to their daily lives. Therefore, learn more about eco-friendly initiatives together through application.

Borrow instead of buy

Ever since babies enter toddlerhood, novelty triumphs everything else. Seasoned parents know this and try to expose their toddlers to as much new experiences as possible. Continue to expose your children to new eco-friendly ideas by swapping great items with friends. Everything can be exchanged and shared. Common items that are usually shared among friends are clothes and toys. For example, you can expand this to school supplies (e.g. Can your fifth grader donate his or her box of used crayons to a neighborhood child?).

Reward with experience instead of material items

Children learn early on to value what their parents value. For example, studies have shown that children who are rewarded with food (e.g. candy) when they are young, tend to turn to food as a coping mechanism when they are older. So, encourage eco-friendly habits by rewarding your child with a shared experience such as going bicycling riding together or just playing ball for an extra 20 minutes.

Spend time with "like-minded" families

Your children may behave similarly to their peers so before their tween or teen years, expose them and encourage them to spend time with families and neighborhood friends that share similar eco-friendly values as you. So, parents who let their kids hang out with other kids that value playing lots of video games should not be surprised that they wind up having kids that do the same. So the next time you are hosting a playdate, don't resort to having your children play videogames together. Instead, have a contest for them (this appeals to their competitive nature) and hand them a number of items from the recycling bin and have them build their own toys. It might be hard for them to brainstorm ideas, but you can come up with a theme. For example, young boys, age 5-10, tend to like Star Wars related items so give them some materials from the recycling bin and challenge them to build the best light saber. Young children also enjoy gardening, so have the children gather around and assist you in planting or weeding the garden.

Lead by example

When parents do impulse shopping, they are sending mixed messages to their children. So, the next time you go shopping with your children, ask them as well as yourselves if you need an item versus want an item. If you need it because you ran out, it's broken or it cannot be fixed, then, explain that to them. If you want an item, first think whether you can borrow from a friend or get it somewhere else secondhand.

The key is to instill eco-friendly living as part of your daily life and enjoy it. Don't view it as a sacrifice.