Teaching Environmentalism to Kids

How Children Can Learn the Concepts Reuse, Reduce, Recycle

Sep 18, 2009

Children (even older ones) learn by example. Parents can teach their kids how to protect the earth by allowing them to participate in the "three Rs" of environmentalism.

Environmentally-aware people have heard the earth-friendly motto “Reuse, Reduce, Recycle,” and it actually is a sound concept when considering how to protect the planet. And while parents can explain these ideas to their kids, they can also put them into practice and let kids join in on the action. What better way to teach children early on how to respect and protect the environment?

Reusing

Reusing is one of the least expensive (and easiest) ways to be environmentally friendly, and anyone can do it. It's easy to help children learn that things can be used over and over and that doing so helps the earth (as well as the checkbook!).

Many people are starting to buy the reusable cloth bags that can be purchased in the supermarket. The bags are sturdy and can usually fit more items than regular plastic bags. Many stores will also give customers monetary credit for using cloth bags as an incentive to avoid using plastic bags. Kids can get in on the action by reminding mom and dad to take the bags every time they go grocery shopping, and parents can share the "reward" so kids can see real value. For example, if the store gives a five-cent credit for each cloth bag used and five bags were used, the parents can give the quarter to their child.

Rechargeable batteries are another way that kids can learn how to reuse (and save money). Children frequently need batteries of all sizes for handheld electronics, so teaching them to reuse batteries by recharging is a natural. The savings quickly add up, and children can understand this concept tangibly by noticing how often they need to recharge the batteries they use.

Reducing

Reducing is, perhaps, one of the more difficult concepts to explain to kids, but it can be done. For example, one way a family can reduce the amount of gasoline they use is to group errands together. Showing kids on a map how far the family would travel by making separate trips versus doing all the stops together can make an impression.

Another good way to explain the reducing concept is to show kids in terms of packaging. For example, one large bag of potato chips uses a lot less packaging than several smaller bags that equal the same amount of food. Just showing kids how many little bags it takes to equal one larger bag can make quite an impression. Compare, for example, ten little one-ounce bags to one 10-ounce bag. Even youngsters can see the waste factor and understand why reducing is an important idea.

Recycling

It's fairly easy to get kids in on recycling. Kids can immediately see the value in recycling aluminum cans, for example, if they earn a little money in the process. But it's also easy to make an impression if a parent has bins for newspaper, glass, plastic, and cans in addition to regular trash. Kids can see very quickly how much can be rescued from the landfill by simply doing a little sorting.

Composting can make the same impression. Kids can really get into a compost pile. Parents simply set aside vegetable scraps and then dig a hole in the backyard. Kids can be taught to lightly sprinkle dirt over the vegetable matter and let nature take its course (but for those who want to seriously compost, there are lots of websites that can help).

Parents don't need to stop there, however. Many inkjet and laser cartridges can be recycled, along with cell phones and even computers in some areas of the U.S.

Making Better Purchases

Parents can also impress upon their kids the concept of "putting their money where their mouth is." Buying paper products (from printer paper to paper napkins) made out of a percentage of recycled paper is a way to start. Florescent light bulbs are another good purchase that can also help the family save money. The shelves are also filling up with earth-friendly cleaning supplies, with everything from toilet bowl cleaner to laundry detergent.

Green Starts at Home

Parents can impress upon their children the importance of being good to the earth, just by getting their kids involved in what they do everyday. If kids see their parents making environmentally-friendly choices, they will too.

The copyright of the article Teaching Environmentalism to Kids in Green/Simple Living is owned by Cynthia Jones-Shoeman. Permission to republish Teaching Environmentalism to Kids in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.