10 Good Eco Habits for Green Kids

Many kids are naturally curious about the Earth and taking care of the environment. You can do good green habits as a family. You can make small, simple, easy habit changes that all add up to a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Here is 10 ways to teach your kids how to be green:

1. Keep your kids busy with activities that don’t promote consumption or waste: walks on the beach, bike rides to a public playground, bus trips to a museum and regular stops at the public library.
2. Make gardening a family activity. Eating means no gas is required to ship those blue-ribbon tomatoes.Good for you: “Kids with exposure to gardening programs do better on science tests, do better socially and develop a sense of responsibility,” says Charlie Nardozzi, senior horticulturist with the National Gardening Association. “And they develop better eating habits.”
3. Take the green lead. Your children will pick up habits from you, so try to conserve .Your kids learn the most from you. If you would like to see certain traits in your children, then lead by example. Take quick showers - you can use a timer - turn off lights, televisions and appliances when you leave the room, and switch to more efficient light bulbs.
4. Participate in cleanup days at a beach or park. Use those outdoor trash cans! Never litter. Keep our waterways clean. When you visit a park or beach, be sure you deposit your trash in containers and volunteer at some state and national cleanups.
5. Take a walk or bike ride with your family. See if you can spot ways that people are either saving or wasting resources in your neighborhood. By not driving, it reinforces using alternate means of transportation, which not only saves gasoline, but also reduces air polution.
6. Approach your TV viewing cautiously. Choose taped or non-commercial programs whenever possible to limit your child’s exposure to ads for fast food, sugary cereals, junk foods and fad toys.
7. Participate to Earth Day. Earth Day makes the perfect time to start teaching new earth-friendly habits. By putting the green ideas into practice now when they are young, they will be more likely to continue as they get older.
8. Read your children books with Earth-friendly topics. Early lessons teach kids to act conscientiously as adults. Reading with your children is great for bonding, especially when there are lessons learned.
9. Take part in community “green” activities. Take part in community recycling programs or volunteer a few hours of family time to help clean up a local park or beach. Work with your PTA to develop outdoor learning centers in your community or on school grounds. You can create a discovery trail, a butterfly garden, a sundial, or a weather station.
10. Encourage outdoor learning at home. As a family, plant a garden or a tree and watch it grow. Spend time talking with your children about the plants and animals they see. Have them draw pictures or take photographs of the things they see or experience on your weekend outing.