Parent’s Role In Educating Kids About Climate Change
Children nowadays are becoming more aware and knowledgeable about issues involving climate change. They are being taught in school systems across the globe the causes and effects of climate change. And in due course, children become aware of the fact that human activities are the primary driving force behind an inevitable global climate crisis. As a result, this fundamentally affects almost every aspect of parenting. And parents must learn to adapt to this shifting paradigm.
I live in Sydney, Australia, where impacts are becoming more real than ever, especially when it comes to water consumption and supply. Australia is naturally an arid region, at least a majority of it. And all the inhabitants mostly occupy coastal regions of the continent. Mainstream media and social awareness groups are constantly making citizens aware of the impending climate crisis. And this includes our children as a member of the audience.
The bush fire crisis is still ongoing here with 28 human casualties, countless animals dead, 3000 homes and 7.3 million hectares (17.9 million acres) forest already destroyed by fire.
Kids Are Learning And Acting Against Climate Change
During one of my recent visits to a friend, I noticed the effect of the ideology mentioned before in action. While my friend’s wife was busy preparing dinner for us, she was cleaning some vegetables. The tap was running for almost two full minutes and suddenly I noticed his younger daughter interrupt her mother and point towards the running water. After an inquiry, I found out that the child was prompting the mother to minimize the use of water and be more careful with consumption. And upon further questioning I became aware the child had learned in school that water consumption will soon become an expensive luxury.
This shows at least children are becoming aware of the impending climate crisis and the impact it will have on their quality of life. As a result, parents have to do their part in educating children about the proper way to conduct when it comes to consuming scarce natural resources. Parents must be careful not to install fear when educating their children about details of climate change. Any knowledge gained as a result of fear tends to be unuseful for children. That is why it is crucial to teach kids about the causes and consequences of the climate crisis in a positive light. Parents have to be able to present positive examples and solutions when discussing these important issues.
Approaches Taken To Educate Kids About Climate Change
One approach in educating children is via visual means. During one of my visits to a nearby school, I witnessed a mural in the hallway. It depicted the various humans of different backgrounds indulged in irresponsible actions. And another part of the mural showed the consequences of those actions namely, coral bleaching, pollution, wildfires, and severe storms. However, the adjacent wall mural also portrayed sustainable ways to live in modern society to curb the effects on the environment. Thus it is crucial to take a solution approach if we as parents want to educate kids about a great problem.
Another approach could be to educate the complexities of global economic development in an accessible manner. Kids always want to join us for visits to malls and supermarkets. There we can teach them how to be more aware of their own choices. For instance, we can teach them the benefits of recycling or using bio-degradable materials. Reusing plastic bags for multiple trips to supermarket helps reduce the formation of micro-plastic in marine ecosystems.
Thus, as parents, we have to take it upon ourselves to make our children ready and able to face the challenges climate change will bring on their living standards. And we also need to show them how their choices and actions impact not only regional but global ecosystems. We need to prepare them for the shifting global socio-economic system that will be the product policies by governments to tackle the issues of climate change.
