Sustainability

Introduction: 4 Reason to Teach Your Kids Sustainability

Sustainability isn’t just for adults: Kids should be encouraged to learn about environmental issues and to think about the consequences of their purchases, choices and behaviors, just as we adults do!

While learning to be green can be a challenge, it’s one that we should definitely share with our children. When we start doing things differently around the house, such as recycling, composting or using non-toxic household cleaners, we owe it to our kids to explain why we are doing this. When we explain the significance of our choices, children can begin to understand the impact human beings can have on the future of our planet. They can also learn about other values, such as responsibility, thrift, and care for others, including non-human animals as well as future generations of human beings.

Here are four reasons why you should teach your kids about sustainability:

1. Character Development

When you teach your children about sustainability and protecting the environment, you offer them the opportunity to develop other aspects of good character:

• When children learn to repair toys and clothing, rather than just throwing them away, they learn thrift.
• When children learn to not litter, but to hold onto trash until they find a recycling bin or trash container, they learn patience and develop a sense of responsibility for the community in which they live.
• Children who are taught the importance of eating food that has been grown sustainably by workers who have been treated well and are paid a living wage learn concern for others.

2. Habit Development

By teaching a child sustainability behaviors at an early age, he or she will have an easier time developing sustainable habits that will last a lifetime. When a child grows up in a home where leftovers are composted, waste is recycled and people walk or ride bicycles instead of driving, these behaviors are a normal part of daily life. A child who grows up learning these habits won’t have the struggle of making significant lifestyle changes when he or she gets older and suddenly learns about environmental challenges.

3. Encouraging Conscious Consumerism

Consumers who have educated themselves have an easier time choosing sustainable products and services. When you take your children with you to the grocery store and show them how to look for “organic” or “fair trade” certification labels, your child learns that it’s important to understand that products don’t just mysteriously appear on store shelves. Instead, products are made by people using materials and processes that affect the environment.

4. Positive Peer Pressure

Never underestimate the influence that your children have on others: It’s very possible that your child’s friends and associates may pick up on your child’s “different” lifestyle and decision making processes. If your child is able to explain why he or she doesn’t eat meat on Monday, uses real silverware instead of throw-away plastic forks and spoons, or chooses to wear organic cotton, his or her friends might follow suit.

Do you have children? How are you raising them to be aware of environmental sustainability. Tell us about it in the comments section!