Teaching Children For Sustainable Living
Education for Sustainable living empowers learners of all ages with the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes to address the interconnected global challenges we are facing, including climate change, environmental degradation, loss of biodiversity, poverty and inequality.
Learning must prepare students and learners of all ages to find solutions for the challenges of today and the future. Education should be transformative and allow us to make informed decisions and take individual and collective action to change our societies and care for the planet.
Sustainability is a difficult concept for children to grasp, even as they come to learn more about the environment and about why we need to protect the planet, the dots aren’t always so easy to connect. Here are four ways that you can help your kids gain a deeper understanding of sustainability in a way that matters to them so that they can develop eco-friendly habits early on in life.
“Do as I do”
One thing to remember is that not all children will do as they’re told without being shown what to do. It is important to lead by example, which is a lot easier than it sounds.
You can do this by showing your kids ways to be sustainable around the home. Atrangi Duniya has some great suggestions on how to do this, for example:
- Turning off lights after leaving the room
- Turning off devices, such as the Wi-Fi router, at night
- Recycling correctly
- Investing in a shower timer to save water
- Using recycled paper
We suggests that cutting down on your plastic waste is a good way to get your kids to follow your lead and be more sustainable. For example, encourage the habit of using reusable bags when shopping, and avoiding single-use products, such as bottles, bags and straws in favor of reusable ones.
Abstract
During the last decade, provision of education has become a primary indicator for Sustainable Development as the key agenda. The essence of this goal is to enable upward socio-economic mobility and is a key to alleviate poverty, provide free primary and secondary education, access to technical and higher education, expand scholarships for developing countries, improve the infrastructure of schools, and ensure the literacy among men and women globally. The current research was conducted to investigate the role of NGOs in provision of education at primary level operating in rural communities in India. This cross-sectional study opted quantitative research design where purposive sampling technique was used to draw the sample from the population. The findings of the study conclude that NGOs are playing a vital role in providing educational facilities to the residents of rural communities where both communities and students are participating in multiple learning-based educational activities. The study also revealed that the parents of school-going children show a higher level of satisfaction from these formal educational institutes and agree that it is also supporting the local community to learn school management system by arranging close coordination between parents and teachers (PTA – parents-teacher association).
Learning about Eco-Friendly Living
Someday, our children will be independent decision-makers, educators, and, who knows, maybe your child will once become a worldwide known policy-maker. What we are teaching them today will undoubtedly affect their future day-to-day life choices and eco friendly habits. Plus, teaching them how to lead a sustainable and eco-friendly lifestyle will learn them to take responsibility for their actions and maintain a healthier planet.
Recently, everybody has been crazy with following “go green” and it’s a good thing to follow, actually, despite you’re probably annoyed with hearing it from every corner. Given the circumstances when populations are numbering quickly into the billions and fossil fuels burning have reached the alarming rates, it is important to learn and develop, but the same important thing is to pass these concerns to our children.
But what are the most efficient and easy-to-apply ways to teach the next generation eco-friendly living?
This simple trick will teach your children respect for outdoors. Florida’s unique environment offers a wealth of trails to choose from. Whether you head to the local park or a nature preserve, finding an easy walk to make with your child helps you both appreciate the beauty found in a flourishing ecosystem. Also, you get in some fun, healthy exercise.
Following “the three R’s” rule is very easy; in some communities, it’s a mandatory lifestyle. While some communities allow co-mingling (which means that all recyclables can be placed in one container), others prefer sorting into containers separated for plastic, glass, paper, and cans. Kids are easily learned to sort items and place them in the correct bins. After the bins have been emptied, ask your kids to rinse them out and bring them back into the house or garage – they will quickly develop this useful habit for their future.
Despite composting sounds so scary to many families, there’s actually nothing complicated about adopting this rule into your household. Not only composting is great for the environment, but it’s also a wonderful way to teach children about what should be put in the garbage versus what they can reuse. Another great idea would be to make lower water usage at your home your family’s rule of thumb.
Finding a reputable school with any environmental programs is probably one of the best ways to help your child at the start of his/her eco-conscious journey. This way, you will be sure that the next time your child asks to write my research paper for me, he/she is moving in the right direction in their ecologic school program.
As a family, try to choose a mode of transportation with the least amount of damage to the environment whenever possible. Further recommendations on this point would also include taking public transit, riding your bikes when spending free time with your family, and, of course, walking instead of driving. Teaching your children to prefer public transit to environmentally-harmful means of transport from an early age will also benefit your child’s attitudes in the future.
In a nutshell, all these efforts will lead to a healthy and physically fit grown-up. Plus, you’ll save money usually spent on petrol – so why don’t you spend those spending another great weekend with your family?
Even the best preschools cannot keep your child engaged all year round. During the crucial summer months, kids need responsible activities that continue to encourage both education and environmental consciousness. Help your child flourish by growing together. Whether it is a home garden or a new tree in the yard, you can teach the importance of purposeful cultivation early while building an understanding of fundamental life sciences, like plant biology and ecology, giving your young one a head start when school starts.
Adopting DIY projects to involve recycling or reusing things like cardboard boxes, toilet rolls, plastic and glass bottles, etc. won’t take a lot of your time. You’re free to find a plethora of ideas on the web while these would probably be the funniest way to keep kids busy at the same time showing them that not everything should be put in the trash right after its usage and, quite frequently, there’s a way to reuse something before throwing it out.
Involving your family, as well as other parents in your neighborhood, into go-green activities would be another great idea to give the uprising generation an idea of eco-friendly society. Your kids’ brains will assimilate information faster, especially during fun activities. For instance, you can manage gardening exercises that would involve bringing your children together and teach them about the importance of eco-friendly living.
