On World Environment Day, here’s how you can teach the importance of nature and environment to your kid. There is an old Native American saying that goes “We do not inherit the earth from our forefathers, we borrow it from our children”. This brings to my mind a question on what kind of planet are we going to leave our kids in? Conversely, and more importantly, what kind of children would we be leaving our planet to?
Raising children in a fast-paced techno-savvy world like this can certainly be challenging. There are so many issues to focus on – social development, education, emotional skills, social responsibilities and so much more. And somehow somewhere down the line, we forget about our beautiful planet and all of its voiceless voteless inhabitants.
So how do we inculcate compassion towards fellow inhabitants of our planet in our children and raise environmental awareness? This environment day, let us start to build a better and greener tomorrow. Here are some tips on how to make your little ones more environmentally responsible:
- Teach them to save water:
Turn on the tap only when you rinse your mouth, and not while brushing. Many of us leave the tap running. Same goes for washing hands and face. While lathering, turn the tap off. For rinsing, turn it back on. Else, use a mug of water.
- Ask them to be more cautious using the electricity:
When your kids leave a room, tell them to switch off the lights and then leave. Ask your child to be more cautious, and when the lights, or other things at home, or school are not in use, ask them to be responsible and turn it off.
- Supplement Plastic with Cloth:
Switch to paper-wrapped lunches, or carry them in lunch boxes that can be washed and reused. Carry a cloth bag with you whenever you go shopping.
- Organize your waste:
Teach your children what waste can be composted (food and vegetable waste), what can be recycled (old newspapers, aluminum cans) and what can be reused (glass bottles, old jewellery). This would be a great way to teach them about sustainable living.
- Give them “experience” gifts:
Instead of toys that will soon be discarded or clothes that he’ll quickly grow out of, give your child an experience he won’t forget. Take your kid camping or rock climbing or bird watching. Tell him the importance of caring for our feathered and furry friends.
- Maintain a compost pit:
The best way to help your child learn is by practicing the values that you teach. Keep a small earthen pot where you can compost the daily kitchen waste. This way, you can escalate the figures and teach your child the magnitude and scale of the solid waste that a city churns out every day.
- Don’t Litter:
Your child would be used to seeing the waste on the streets around him. Teach him to take a conscious step against this.
Educate your child on the local flora and fauna:
Maintain a small scrapbook of the trees around your neighborhood (press their leaves and flowers), the resident animals (either a fallen feather or a picture) and teach him about habitat loss and how they are surviving in an increasingly unfriendly and non-green environment.