As the old proverb says: “what a shell soaks, the old age trumpets”, therefore it is worth raising children in the spirit of ecology and respect for the environment. There are very good ways to teach them good principles from an early age.
Children learn best by watching adults. They can be inspired and they know what is good and what is not. If you set a good example for your child, he or she will certainly notice. Try to explain at every opportunity why you are doing a certain action
The same goes for taking care of the environment. Take a reusable shopping bag with you, saying that you are helping to reduce litter. While camping, ask your child to help you clean up trash and waste. Your child will notice your efforts and will surely be happy to help you take care of the ecosystem.
Certainly some ideas related to ecology are easier to convey through fairy tales than through stories about littering or extinction of some rare animal species. For a child such facts are quite abstract and hardly appeal to his imagination
Try to tell all this information in the form of a story. Invent heroes with whom the child will identify – a superhero who saved the world from a garbage creature, or animal friends who care about the common environment. Such images work better on a child’s imagination than numbers or scientific facts.
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Teach your child to love nature and then he or she will be more sympathetic to environmentally friendly behaviors in the future. Instead of watching TV, spend some time outdoors. Take him to the forest or to the park. Show him how animals live, tell him what they eat and what they look like
Certainly a trip to the zoo will be an ideal idea, where the toddler will get to know more animal species and other ecosystems. They will certainly be interested in the fact that in other parts of the world live animals that are not similar to those known to us in Poland. By seeing living creatures, children learn to understand the environment and empathize with animals. The child will also be willing to protect something he or she knows and likes.
It doesn’t matter if you live in a single-family home or an apartment building. You can grow plants anywhere. Think about starting a small garden that your child can tend with you. It is also a perfect way to teach responsibility. The toddler will learn how to take care of flowers and what to do to make them grow and bloom nicely. All you need is some soil, a box and some seeds or flower bulbs so that the toddler can start taking care of his plant. It will definitely be a great lesson in ecology.
Your child should feel responsible for his or her loved ones, but also for our planet. You can explain to him during various eco-friendly activities why it is so important. When the child feels that all these activities make sense, he or she will certainly want to help, e.g. in waste segregation or during forest cleaning. The child should feel that it is useful, but also attractive
Turn these activities into a game – paint the trash garbage cans together and mark them so that they remember what waste should go in them. Develop habits in your child so that they remember to clean up after themselves and to separate waste. Colorful and eye-catching gadgets such as a plastic bottle crusher, a fun garbage can for reusable shopping bags, or a trash bag container that you make yourself will also help.
To help your child learn the zero waste philosophy, you can also make homemade soaps or candles with your toddler on your days off from work or school. The child will notice that it is great fun and will certainly be willing to join in the help.
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