How to teach a child to environmental habits?

It is never too early or too late to study ecology. If you want your child to grow up to be a conscious inhabitant of our planet and contribute to its protection, start your education now.  

We live in a time when making even more environmentally damaging mistakes can cost us dearly and condemn the younger generation to an existence in an increasingly polluted world. It is worth educating from an early age and showing how important environmental care can be.

Even one-year-olds can accompany you in the daily care of your home garden, and a walk in the forest together is a great opportunity to talk about nature and how not to harm it. Learn how to skillfully form an environmentally friendly attitude in your child. You will quickly discover that the young man is a very smart student. You just need to help him a little and guide him on ecological paths.

Be an example

It's no secret that children learn best by watching and imitating others. If they see Mom and Dad eating healthy, not spending long hours in front of the TV, and also cycling a lot, there is a good chance they will replicate these behaviors. Use it to learn green habits. By the way, it's all for the best. Remember that you can not pretend and deceive! The young man is very perceptive and perfectly understands when someone is dishonest in their actions. Separate garbage, do not drain water, take care of animals and plants. Practice environmental habits every day and your child will watch you carefully and learn to care for the environment.

Speak

Conversation is one of the most important tools in raising children. If you see that your child is worried about something or when he asks directly, take a moment to sit down and talk together. Also, often initiate such chats about the ecological lifestyle yourself. Try not to bore your interlocutor with this. Adapt your statement to the child's age by following the examples. Also, make sure not to scare him! Instead of dreaming about catastrophic scenes of life in a few or a few decades, when every day will be a struggle for survival, better drop the rhetoric and pay attention to how nice it can be when we start using renewable energy, we separate the waste and reduce minimizing the amount of waste generated. If you don't know how to explain a particular point, refer to a book on the topic. Every moment to talk about ecology is good. Walking in the woods, playing at home, driving a car or watching a movie on TV - there are always important things worth mentioning.

Take care of your home in a sustainable way

Clean the house, but follow the environmental rules. Waste sorting is relevant today, so explain to your child what multi-colored bins are for, what waste composting is and why it is worth doing. A book on waste sorting, written for younger readers, will help you with this, which explains what garbage sorting is in an accessible and attractive way. You can also prepare household chemicals with older children. Just remember to follow the safety rules, even when it comes to environmental products.

Spend time actively in nature

Bicycle rides, walks, excursions around the neighborhood are a great way to introduce a child to such an important topic as ecology. By the way, encourage them to use a bicycle, scooter, roller skates, or even their feet more often, rather than public transport or a car. Maybe you should start by buying a new bike to encourage your child to ride. By the way, explain the importance for the environment of replacing existing modes of transport with more environmentally friendly ones.

Involve your child in environmental activities

Set up and maintain your home garden together. Make sure your child has the right tools that are safe, comfortable and colorful. This way you encourage your child to work in the garden. Or maybe you will build a feeder or a hotel for insects together? This will be a great time to talk about the role they play in the entire ecosystem and the need to protect them.

Опыт

A child of all ages loves to experiment and explore the world - this is the best science for him. Opportunities for this are at every turn. While walking, observe plants and insects, and if possible, animals. Visit forests and parks, organize trips to the arboretum, palm house and landscape parks. It can be an idea how interesting it is to spend, for example, your child's birthday. Talk about what you see and feel at every opportunity. In this way, you will teach your child to empathize, which is so important for the environment. They will become sensitive to the world around them, they will understand and perceive more, respect animals and plants. This is the basis for acting in harmony with nature in adulthood. If you come across an illegal garbage dump along the way, take the opportunity to explain how it is bad for the planet. You can also organize a joint walk, during which you will clean the area. Continue your science fun at home with a kit that teaches you about climate change caused by global pollution.

Read more

Textbooks, guidebooks, albums with beautiful pictures... Read all about life in harmony with nature! Books in a friendly and accessible way bring children closer to the topic of environmental protection, and also arouse interest in this direction. Just be sure to match them with your child's age. For preschoolers, there are enough books to say in a simple way, for example: cleaning up the world or sorting garbage. For older children, books containing valuable knowledge such as garbage garden. This is a position that impresses with original illustrations, and each of them is accompanied by a short text with important information and interesting facts - just enough to get you interested in the topic of caring for the environment!

If you do not know how to explain important issues to your child, refer to books that will help you, for example, from the Ecology Academy series, Amazing water. The role of water in nature.. From it you will learn everything about water, which is important in the context of ecology. In addition, the book comes with a board game that will help you absorb valuable information even better.

Toys with an environmental message

They don't have to be exclusively wood or made from recycled materials. They are of great value Toys didactic classes teaching environmental attitudes. If your child loves building blocks and complex structures, put together a moving windmill! This opportunity is provided by Lego Creator Expert bricks together with Vestas. This is a great opportunity to talk about obtaining wind energy, as well as raise the problem of traditional energy sources as a threat to the environment.

When accustoming a child to ecology, be guided by a well-known proverb: What the shell impregnates in youth smells in old age. When raising your child, you can be sure that in adulthood it will be easier for him to live in an eco-friendly way. This will benefit your child, their health and the planet.

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