How to Raise an Environmentally Conscious Child

With plastic pollution and climate change becoming huge parts of our lives we should be encouraging our children to be more environmentally conscious. Thankfully there are lots of little things that can be taught to the future generation, thanks to this guide put together by this Nursery in Oxton.

Let them do the recycling

Showing your child how the recycling is done in the home will make them feel involved in the process and, eventually, you can let them take the reins. They’ll be able to see how different items can be disposed of in your rubbish. 

Part of the recycling process is also ensuring it’s clean and crushed down for when disposing companies come to pick up your waste. Show your children how to wash down milk cartons, empty tins of vegetables and break down cardboard boxes.

Showing them these methods will allow them to understand the importance of recycling, how it benefits the environment and what they can do in the future to combat unnecessary waste.

Take a trip to the shops

You often see a lot of fruit and vegetables in plastic packaging, often in packaging that can’t be recycled at the moment. These kinds of plastics are also harmful for the environment due to how long it takes for plastic to decompose.

When entering the produce aisle, show your child alternative ways to buy fruit and veg. There are a lot of grocery stores that now offer loose fruit and veg to be weighed individually. 

Also show your child where their food is grown – buying locally sourced fresh produce reduces your impact on the planet by cutting the number of food miles you contribute towards.

Grow your own vegetables

Another step up from shopping locally is growing your plants in your garden. Create a vegetable patch in your backyard to start growing your own range of vegetables that can then land on your child’s plate in the future.

Show them the full process of how growing vegetables works – from letting them plant the seeds themselves, to filling the watering can and harvesting the vegetables when they’re ready.

Pack environmentally-friendly lunchboxes

It’s easy to throw together a lunch that can contain a lot of items with unnecessary plastic packaging or can be easily thrown in the waste. 

This can change by using reusable sandwich bags, beeswax wrappings, and a reusable water bottle your child can take to school. If your child does have rubbish, ask them to put it back in their lunchbox and bring it home with them so that it can be properly disposed of.