Sustainable living is usually incorporated in talks about healthy living and caring for the environment. Due to climate change and viral outbreaks becoming bigger issues of today, as parents, you should start teaching your kids how to live sustainably and be responsible for the natural environment. With patience and consistent practice, you and your family can embody sustainable living and integrate it into your daily lives with no difficulty.
Here are five ways to do it.
Make a Fun Game about Conserving Resources
Show your kids how conserving water lowers the monthly water bill, keeps more potable water, and helps in maintaining plants and recreational facilities, such as swimming pools or man-made lakes. Set a timer to see who can shower the fastest. Encourage whoever remembers to turn off the tap after washing their hands or brushing their teeth. Verbal praises go a long way in motivating them to build sustainable habits.
You can also do the same concept for conserving energy. Whoever turns off the light whenever they leave the room will get “gold stars” that they can use to redeem rewards or healthy treats. Teach them that turning off lights and unplugging devices when not in use helps in lowering your electric bill, avoiding potential fires, and reducing the heat that is felt around the world.
Educate your kids on the importance of conserving resources by using games to make it enjoyable for them to develop the habit of conserving water and energy until they grow older.
Plant a Garden at Home
Starting a home garden is a fun way to bond with your kids. At the same time, you can use this to teach them to be responsible for the environment. Introduce indoor plants, such as succulents, cacti, Chinese evergreen, and snake plants, that they can water on a schedule. Tell your kids how sustainable developments take care of their hectares of trees and other flora and fauna to inspire them to develop the habit of taking care of plants at home.
Growing vegetables in your home garden is also a fun way to introduce living sustainably to your kids. They’ll learn to be responsible for their natural surroundings, be keener on eating healthier, and know how to cut costs by utilizing renewable sources of organic food.
Show Them that Home-cooked Meals are Better
Other than teaching your kids to eat healthier, teach them that home-cooked meals are better than food take-outs in all aspects. Use fresh produce from your garden to make hearty meals that your kids will love, such as vegetable soup, chop suey, vegetable burger, eggplant lasagna, pinakbet, and organic vegetable chips.
Show your kids that many of the dishes offered as take-out can be cooked at home. This will teach them to save money and to also reduce plastic and paper waste from the packaging of foods being delivered to your home.
Use Less Plastic as a Family
Teach your kids to use reusable water bottles or tumblers instead of buying bottled water whenever you go out. Give them reusable straws that are either made of metal or wood so that your kids will not have to throw away straws every time they finish their favorite drinks. If you don’t have reusable straws, use paper straws as an alternative.
When going shopping, bring reusable cloth bags to avoid any additional costs for plastic or paper bags. Setting an example to your kids will teach them to have the habit of using reusable bags and containers instead of disposable plastic ones.
Even on vacation, you can teach your kids a lesson. Tell them why Pico de Loro Cove uses paper straws and refillable water pitchers in their hotels instead of bottled water and plastic straws. The lush resort community refrains from using any plastic products because plastic pollutes the ocean and land where the green sea turtles and other animals live.
Teach Them to Ride a Bike
Teaching your kids to ride a bike is a way to educate them on using modes of transport that don’t use fossil fuels. One creative way to make your kids understand climate change better is to talk about how fossil fuels lead to air pollution. If the air is polluted, the climate of Earth changes, which means many animals, like the birds in the aviary and sea turtles on the beach, will eventually be gone forever.
With this, your kids will learn to reduce their carbon footprint at an early age. They will also have a more active lifestyle by riding their bikes to run errands or to savor the fresh air and greenery outside your house.
These sustainable living tips will only be effective if you set an example for your kids. Conserve resources, plant your own vegetables, use less plastic, and ride your bike. These habits may take time to develop, but setting an example will nurture your kids to be environmentally responsible adults when they grow up.