How To Raise An Eco-Friendly Child.

Sometimes it’s difficult to know how to instil good behaviours and ethical ideals in your kids. Between the hectic school run and the relentless bed time routine, how on earth is it possible to find moments in the day to inspire your children to also be environmentally conscious?

We all want raise little superheros that are healthy, happy, educated and naturally kind to people and the environment. But covering those major areas with your kids takes a lot of work. Sometimes, just getting your kids to brush their teeth is enough of a triumph, and there’s often not enough time and energy to teach them how to sort the recycling too.

So sure, it’s pretty unreasonable to be expected as a single mother to fit in a weekly environment ethics lesson. But, there are some quick things you can do to at least open up your child’s mind to having a duty of responsibility for the environment. You can also build environmentally friendly behaviours into normal daily practices and habits around the house. Here’s how…

1. Inspire a good relationship with nature.

How do we get our kids to respect the environment? We get them to fall in love with it! All it takes is a trip to a national park, lake or beach on the weekends. Watch as your kid’s happy connection to the environment grows all on its own.

2. Conserve water as a whole family.

Implement household rules that apply to everyone, including yourself. If they’re taught from a young age to take short showers and turn off the tap while brushing their teeth, your kids will adopt these things as habits over time, even when you’re not around! Try installing a shower bucket too. The visual reminder is bound to keep water conservation on their mind.

3. Walk, bike and carpool.

Even if you have a car, try to fit in other means of transport into your family’s day to day life. Maybe you can all bike to the park on the weekend? Walking to school is a cheaper, healthier and environmentally friendly alternative for you and your children. If the school isn’t close enough to walk to, work on encouraging a strong carpool culture with their classmates’ parents. As your kids see you actively choosing to not use the car where possible, it’s sure to give them a positive influence.

4. Integrate eco-friendly behaviour into household chores.

The process of intrinsically linking daily household actions with eco-friendly habits, could unlock your child’s inner eco-warrior. Start by teaching your child which household items can be recycled and how. The goal is that whenever they are tasked with taking the bins out, they will also sort the recycling, almost as muscle memory. If you teach your child how to wash the dishes with minimal water and only eco-friendly soap, eventually they will always do it this way without you needing to prompt them.

5. Bring good influences into the house.

Echo some of the environmentally sustainable habits you’ve taught to your children and bring some other tools of inspiration into the house. There are some fantastic children’s books that focus on sustainability. You can find a great selection at Biome. You can also engage your kids with fun games and activities for extra encouragement, like this kid’s activity sheet on hipages.

Emily Leary is a family and lifestyle writer from Sydney. She has a passion for TV, cooking, books, yoga, and swimming. She was raised by a single mother of three.

P.S DID YOU KNOW?

Thrive Tribe – the global membership experience for single mothers – will be opening again for enrolment later this year. Join the waitlist here.