World Environment Day: Dear parents, here’s how you can guide your children to save the environment

Parents leave no stone unturned when it comes to teaching their children everything that would help them become a better person. From helping the little one learn the alphabets to inculcating good manners, everything that a child learns, begin at home. So, should not parents raise their children to become an environmentally-conscious citizen? According to a report by the World Health Organisation (WHO), environment plays an important factor in the health and well-being of children.
“More than three million children under five die each year from environment-related causes and conditions.This makes the environment one of the most critical contributors to the global toll of more than ten million child deaths annually—as well as a very important factor in the health and well-being of their mothers,” states a WHO report.
Let’s look at a few habits that can help children become a better person and save the environment:
Reduce, reuse and recycle
Every child should grow this habit of ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’. In fact, parents should set examples for the little ones to follow. For example, when a child sees his father reuse the same article (cups, bottles or dishes) multiple times, he too would be inspired to do the same. A child can be taught to harvest rain water or recycle water using simple tips (for example, the water used to swipe the floor can be used to water the plants.)
Plastic is an absolute no
When we all know the harmful affects of plastic on health and environment, shouldn’t we guide our future generation to avoid using these? Children from a very young age should be made aware of the menace that plastic can cause. Parents should ensure that the articles such as bottles, tiffin boxes, pencil case etc. used by children should be made of environmental friendly material.
The importance of natural resources
The rate at which we are consuming natural resources like petroleum, minerals etc. it would not be long before these become extinct from our earth. A child should be made aware of renewable (infinite) and non-renewable (finite) resources. Parents should tell their children about how difficult (almost impossible) it would become to survive if we run out of water (yes, water is a finite resource) or natural gas. Encourage them to watch movies on environmental awareness or conduct small experiments at home to help them understand the importance of natural resources, which would prevent them from wasting the same.
Plant a tree
This might sound surprising, but planting a tree does not take much of an effort. Whenever you eat a fruit (fruits with hard seeds like plum, cherry, mango etc. are better), save the seeds instead to throwing them away. Keep these in a damp place and when the seeds start sprouting, just scatter them in the open. In fact, every time you plan a vacation with your kids, take the seeds and leave them in a place where they can grow into a tree.