Children and the importance of living a sustainable lifestyle

It seems like there is a lot of talk about being green or making changes in our lives to live more sustainably. You might hear about a local tree planting or the local super market giving away reusable bags to celebrate this event, but what can you do to bring a natural way of living into your home and why should you bother?

The argument in the media about global warming is pretty well known and both sides get pretty heated about how to interpret the science. To me the bottom line is that our society is living in a disposable world where we throw away everything. We don’t seem to be phased by plastic spoons, paper plates, plastic bags, and way too much packaging. 

We recently visited a local county landfill as a family. This is an eye opening event for adults and kids too. It is very important to start the conversation with our children about where our trash goes and what impact our daily choices have on the Earth.  Most children would be in awe at the pile of garbage and immediately want to do everything they could to help reduce waste.

It is pretty overwhelming when you live in a society that has accepted a disposable lifestyle. However, the idea of throwing everything away isn’t that old. Disposable diapers have only been considered the standard for about 30 years, plastic bags and plastic forks were introduced in the 1950’s, paper plates may have been invented 100 years ago but most elderly people are shocked at how easily we all throw things away.

The attitude change has happened in my own lifetime. This relatively new trend is not something we have to accept. In fact, I think it is extremely important to help our children see the big picture so they can right the wrongs of our generation, after all, we are handing this problem down to our children and grand children to solve. The only way to make a real difference is to start the conversation in your own home. 

So how can you bring a love and respect for the Earth into your home? I think looking at your homes garbage is a great place to start.

What items do you bring into your home?

You can buy used and repurposed goods, items made of natural or recycled materials, and quality items that can be reused for many years. All of these help lessen the amount of garabge that your family sends to the landfill.

What do you do with trash in your home?

Items that can’t be reused should be sorted as compost, recycling, scrap paper, potential art projects, and at a last resort they go in the trash. If you can teach your own children to question the way we look at garbage there is hope that they can stop this destructive path of a throw-away society.

You can use all the reusable bags in the world but it won’t do any good unless you are creating a sustainable mindset in the eyes of your children. Real change starts at home. I hope you will consider ways your family can create a positive change within your own home that go beyond Earth Day and become part of your daily lives.