SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. & BALTIMORE, Md. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — From hurricanes to heatwaves, our environment is shifting, and families are feeling the impact. That’s why it’s imperative for parents to teach their children the ABC’s: Action, balance, and change. These building blocks are helping parents empower their children to take charge of their future, one choice at a time.
Whether it’s walking to school or peddling, two families, one on the west coast and one on the east, are raising their children to care for the environment.
“We go to the farmer’s market,” said 10-year-old Naomi Archer.
They are learning the basics from the beginning. A stands for action, and these kids are taking it.
“We walk to school, we ride our electric bike,” said nine-year-old Margo.
“We don’t use paper napkins, only cloth napkins,” said six-year-old Abigail.
Their mom Lillian is teaching her girls to make every choice count.
“I like to think like act local, think global,” she explained.
And it matters. The average American family generates over 18 pounds of trash each day, much of it food, plastic, and paper. In fact, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, American families throw out up to $1,500 worth of food each year. But small actions, like using cloth napkins or composting, can reduce household waste by up to 30%. That’s where B comes in: Balance. Finding a better way to use what we have.
“I collect like all the cardboard and miscellaneous bottle caps and stuff and donate it to my kids’ school,” Lillian told Ivanhoe.
In Baltimore, the Swanson family is taking action too.
“I have 28 solar panels on my house,” said dad Chris Swanson.
“Maybe you have a rotten banana peel. That’s not trash, that’s compost,” said eight-year-old Katja.
C is for change.
“Climate change is sort of the, literally just the changing climate and sort of its effects on the world,” explained 11-year-old Kai.
Experts say talking openly and honestly with children can spark solutions.
“Talk to your child, show them things, discuss them, spend time,” said Kristin Moore, PhD, social psychologist at Child Trends.
And make a plan together.
“How they’re going to live a sustainable life,” Moore told Ivanhoe.
All while building a love for nature and the lifelong skills to protect it.
“They learn to gather information, and then they learn to translate that information into the world in which they live,” explained Moore.
From action to balance to change, these ABCs aren’t just lessons for schools, but for life.
Teaching kids these skills isn’t just good for the environment, it’s good for their future. And being a role model is imperative. One study found that when parents role model sustainable behavior, children are seven times more likely to adopt those habits long-term.
Contributors to this news report include: Marsha Lewis, Executive Producer; Joe Alexander, Videographer; Matt Goldschmidt, Videographer; and Bob Walko, Editor.
Produced by Child Trends News Service in partnership with Ivanhoe Broadcast News and funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).
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Sources:
https://www.dumpsters.com/blog/us-trash-production
https://www.usda.gov/foodlossandwaste/consumers
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272494421000281
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