Nature moms blog green and natural parenting simply has to do with the way green and naturally conscious moms raise their kids to see the environment and the planet as a living, breathing creature as opposed to a bed of soil only good enough to exploit.
It also refers to a culture that prioritizes organic food, recycled materials, and a love for gardening. So without wasting much time, let’s get on with it.
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What’s the best time to educate your child on the importance of protecting the environment?
Actually, babies are open to learning new things and absorbing the world around them from the moment you cut that umbilical cord. There are even speculations from experts that they could be learning a thing or two, even in the womb.
Of course nobody is expecting you to start showing clips of melting polar ice caps to infants, hopefully, however, there’s a time period where it’ll be very easy to teach the child the importance of caring for the environment, and best of all, it’ll stick.
That time period is between ages 2 to 5, a period which I prefer to call the learning sweet spot. This is the range where children learn at unmatched and unmatchable speeds, in comparison to the other parts of their lives.
More than 85 percent of a child’s brain is formed during this period. It’s also a point where crucial skills are developed, skills like language, social, and academic skills. Like I said before, learning starts when the child is born, however, a lot of them are extremely passive. [scholarships]
During the learning sweet spot, your child is going to have to learn about the importance of taking care of the environment through subtle means like gentle repetition and imitation, especially imitation. If you want your child to throw recyclables in the recycle bin, they had better see you do it too.
How do you teach your kids to love the environment more?
Give your children books about nature and wildlife
At this stage, your child will respond more to fun and games while you subtly sneak in the message you want to pass on to them. Introduce your kids to books about nature, the jungle, and wildlife, give them animal figurines and watch their curiosity for these things increase. Watch how excited they’ll be when you take them to the zoo and they get to see it in person. [scholarship]
Children learn more by self discovery and self initiated activities
When you take them on trips involving nature, don’t just let them sit passively and watch you, allow them to be more involved. Gift them stuff like magnifying glass, binoculars, a bucket, anything to help build their excitement and enthusiasm.
Encourage them to observe that they see, and if possible, draw them. [scholarship]
You got to care about nature yourself
This is actually the best way of teaching your child because it has to do with one of the most effective ways little children learn, and that is by imitation. Handle animals with care, put the recyclables into the recycle bin, don’t just dump trash willy-nilly, and most importantly, let them see you do it.
Begin with the neighborhood
Kids tend to learn better, actively or passively, in areas where they feel more at home, or at ease. The best place to do this is at a local nearby playground, garden, or park. Let the child take strolls (this heavily depends on the kind of environment, your child’s general safety will, and must always come first) and possibly pluck flowers on the way. Allow them enjoy this close to home. [scholarship]
Doing all of this is very important and it has both short and long term rewards. The short term reward is that your child gets to have fun, build up a stronger immune system, and nurture a love for the environment, which leads to the long term reward.
When the child reaches the age to be receptive to more active methods of teaching, they will already have a love for the environment, making it easier for them align with the program. [scholarship]
There’s the gardening aspect
Gardening is a very good and easy way to get your kids outside and more involved. Show your kids the fun and joy of planting and taking care of plants that are easy to grow.
Do ensure the plant requires minimal care and also produces a lot of fruit so that the child will feel much rewarded when it’s time to harvest. Here are some plants you can get your kids to grow that don’t require great and constant attention, which also produces well.
Cucumber
Cucumbers are a great choice on the list because they are great producers, which will give your kids something more tangible to harvest. When kids plant cucumbers, they’ll have to care for it from seed level till it’s ready to harvest, giving them a deep sense of pride when they finally harvest the fruits of their labor. [scholarship]
Strawberries
Strawberries are an excellent choice because they grow quite fast and also do not take up a lot of space. Get your kids to water them regularly using a garden sprinkler.
Mint
Mint has a strong smell which I’m sure your kids might find interesting. Once planted, mint dosen’t really need much care. Mint tends to establish fast, which will reward your kids with the joys of seeing their work come to life. Note, mint needs moist soil so it’s best to water the soil regularly if it’s dry. Also, mint spreads fast if you leave it untamed. [scholarship]
Carrots
Carrots are easy to plant and the harvesting can be very fun for kids. Dragging the carrot out of the ground and speculating whether or not it’ll be a good harvest is something your child might love.
They can grow in different climates but tend to do better in cold environment. If you’re planting carrots, do ensure to till deep down into the ground because carrots don’t really work hard in order to grow deeper. Carrots tend to give up growing deeper when they hit a little obstacle underground. Do not transplant carrots too.
