There is now no excuse for not taking some simple measures to live a greener life. This is something which we are all aware of but do you make the effort to teach your children all about environmentally friendly issues? If you don’t then here are some easy ways to start.
Take a Greener Holiday
The annual family holiday is probably very precious to all of you but have you ever thought about the impact it could have on the planet? If you all tend to head off to hotels on a plane then this is a good chance to make a positive change. Take them on camping holidays in France, for example, and you will be showing them that going away can be fun as well as green. Websites such as www.keycamp.co.uk will show you the sort of thing you can do while you are away camping. This will probably involve a lot of interesting activities which will let you spend time together without doing anything likely to cause harm to the planet.
Leave the Car Behind
Most youngsters are so used to travelling in a car now that they will probably be shocked if you suggest going for a walk or, gasp, getting the bikes out. However, this is a tremendous way of showing them that the car isn’t always needed. Short journeys to the shops or to school can be more enjoyable if you do them on foot anyway.
Choose Your Food More Carefully
Food is always a touchy subject when there are young folk in the house but this is also an area you can use to get them thinking in a more environmentally friendly way. When you take them to the supermarket you should explain why some products are greener then others. For example, you could explain to them the concept of food miles and why organic produce is better than non-organic stuff. Depending upon their ages they might have already learned about this kind of thing in school by now anyway. If this is the case then you can get them to help you choose the greenest items. Introducing them to ethical living as early as possible is never a bad thing to do.
Don’t Waste Water
One of the bad habits a lot of us have is that of wasting water. Youngsters are often especially bad in this respect but in many cases they simply don’t know any better. You should explain to them the importance of using less water. Of course, you then need to lead by example and find ways to reduce your water usage. There are lots of unusual and effective ways of doing this and perhaps you can set your kids a challenge to find and implement as many of them as they can. The internet is a great source of information on these tips and they could end up finding a lot which you don’t know about yet.
This guest post is published in association with keycamp.co.uk, the camping holiday and family holiday specialist in the UK.