5 Fun Ways to Teach Your Kids About Sustainability

A lot has been done to raise people’s awareness about the simplicity and necessity of sustainability, but how do you carry those lessons through to the next generation? Here are 5 fun ways to teach your kids about sustainability and to help them develop good environmental habits. 

 1. Reusable beats disposable. Everything starts at home, so if you want your children to adopt the practices of an eco-friendly life, you need to do it first. Explain to your children how much damage plastic causes to the planet. When it comes to household items, it’s always good to choose products that don’t have a lot of packaging. Explain to your kids what happens to garbage when the collector takes it away and make adopting zero waste practices a collective family effort. 

 2. Plan and plant a garden with your kids.  Whether you’re gardening in your backyard, indoors or on a balcony, your kids will love to watch something they’ve planted grow into a plant. Better yet, into a plant that they can eat. This is a great opportunity to teach your kids about healthy soil and how what is in the soil ends up in our bodies.  

 3. Do something with your kids by repurposing or upcycling something that would normally be thrown away or recycled. You could make recycled journals (maybe a nature journal) with paperboard and other items from your recycling bin. You could make crafts with clothing you’re getting rid of; the possibilities are endless. 

 4. Encourage your kids to play outside every day. There are so many reasons to get your kids outside daily like, according to the National Wildlife Federation (NWF), outdoor play builds healthy bodies, raises levels of Vitamin D and “improves distance vision and lowers the chance of nearsightedness.” 

• Children are spending half as much time outdoors as they did 20 years ago. 
• Children who play outside are more physically active, more creative in their play, less aggressive, and show better concentration. 

• Sixty minutes of daily unstructured free play is essential to children’s physical and mental health. 
• The most direct route to caring for the environment as an adult is participating in “wild nature activities” before the age of 11. 

 5. Less is more. Excessive consumption of resources poses a threat to our planet every day, so it’s necessary to educate children on what they can do to minimize it. Encourage your kids to turn off the lights whenever they leave the room. Also, remind your kids to unplug all electrical devices when they’re not using them to avoid wasting energy. Another important step to make is reducing the amount of water you use as it helps in sustaining fresh water supplies, which are already in critical condition. Encourage your children to take shorter showers and turn off the water while they’re brushing their teeth. 

At The EcoFairy, our goal is to help you build a more sustainable life by offering you a line of reusable products. We offer products that last and that will help you reduce the amount of plastic you use.