Earth Day 2010, Talk to Your Kids About Pollution
It’s Earth Day 2010 and your kids are going to be hearing about it, at school, on their favorite TV shows, online, on the radio- everywhere. How do you talk to your kids about the importance of conservation and being earth-smart without scaring them? Some sources bombard our children with the message that our earth is in trouble, that by the time they are adults the world will be destroyed, too hot to live, ice caps gone, polar bears dead and more. This sort of information combined with the helplessness a child feels in the face of a global crisis can lead to anxiety, overwhelming fear and depression. So how do we walk that line, teaching our children to be responsible without freaking them out?
Use age-appropriate information. Preschoolers don’t need to hear any negative message – just stick with the positive: We love the earth and we want to take good care of it! That means turning things off when we’re done, shutting the water off while we brush our teeth (Barney has a song about that!), and such. Take a walk and look at leaves and flowers. School age children will hear at least something about global warming or climate change. Explain to them that it’s not going to harm them or their families right now and that people are working to make things better. Encourage them to do the “little things that add up” like recycling, walking or taking their bike places instead of having mom or dad drive, and not having all their appliances on at once. High school children should be encouraged to research the topic and form their own opinions.
Get the facts. There are many differing opinions on things like global warming, climate change, and man’s roll in all of that. Read information from all sides and make up your mind for yourself. Being informed will help you explain to your children and shows them that you are prepared, giving them less to worry about.
Be good care-takers of the earth year-round, not just one day a year. Making smart use of resources a way of life will teach children good habits for life. Then, when Earth Day rolls around, they know what is going on.
