3 Things Children Teach Us About Being Eco-Friendly

Children are amazing! They see the world from a perspective of innocence and believe in magic and goodness. These traits mean they have the ability to teach the adults around them as much, if not more, than we teach them. In this post we’ll look at three things they can teach us about being eco-friendly.

But first! A small story from my own life.

When I was in elementary school, we had someone come in and do a presentation about recycling. I’m old enough that recycling wasn’t always around, so it was being taught and talked about everywhere.

I still remember the silly song the presenter sang, so it clearly made an impression! That day, though, I went home and told my parents that we had to start recycling and showed them how to get started. From that point forward, recycling was part of our daily lives.

Recycling is commonplace now, but kids can still teach us a lot about living an eco-friendly lifestyle.

Clean Up After Yourself

Sometimes called pack in, pack out. Sure, this is a value most parents try to instill in terms of cleaning up rooms or putting dishes in the sink after eating. But many of those same adults will leave trash after a picnic or throw food remains on the ground because “they’ll go back to the earth.”

While they may do so, it’s far more likely they’ll be eaten by birds or wildlife, which is potentially dangerous since the food is not natural for their diet.

Kids, though, don’t need to know that fact. They know the rule “clean up after yourself.” If they see a situation where that’s not happening, they’ll likely be upset and confused. Instead of trying to explain why “this is different.” Clean up after yourself and use it as a teachable moment for your and your child to learn why it’s important.

Don’t Litter

This may surprise you, but many adults seem to think throwing trash out the car window or on the ground while walking is acceptable behavior. Though, it’s likely those same adults would be upset if they saw a child do it.

Let’s nix that double standard! Your kids already know littering is wrong. Set a good example and dispose of your trash or recycling properly. If you see litter somewhere, pick it up and properly dispose of it. 

You can create a teachable moment here, too! Look up how long it takes different types of materials to break down. It might encourage your family to reduce waste in general.

Connect to Earth

Most kids love to play outside and get dirty. While this can be frustrating from the perspective of doing laundry and bathing them, it’s also a lesson in connection.

Connecting to Earth helps ground us – all life. It helps us remember our connection to the greater whole and remember we have a special role to play in that whole.

Go get dirty with your kids! You can wash off the dirt, and the connection you’ll feel is well worth it.

If you want to take it a step further, think about how you can use that feeling of connection to create positive change.

You can read Ellie of the Woods with your kids and help them discover their own passion and purpose with help from my free download.