Let Kids Make Their Own Fun
Are you interested in raising your children to be creative, engaged, curious and self-assured? The toys you buy them may be at odds with your objectives.
With so many of today’s popular electronic toys, it is the product (not the child) that supplies the entertainment. The child’s role is mostly that of an observer. Since there is nothing for their imaginations to do, children with too many electronic games and toys tend to be bored and passive. The game or toy takes care of everything. Creativity atrophies.
Does that mean we should we pull the plug on all the electronic devices in an effort to pique our children’s interest in more interactive and creative play? Is “no electronic play” the only way to foster in our kids a love for the earth?
Not necessarily; as with everything, moderation is key. But I do think that the concept of moderation has given way to the luxury of convenience. Convenience, however immediately gratifying it may be for us, is short-changing our kids. Kids want to be challenged. They want to be creative. But some of the toys we give them deprive them of that opportunity, and reinforce that what we want from them is to be passive.
Forced Fun?
Take the Zhu Zhu pets for example. Seriously, people waited in line for hours to get their hands on these little self-propelled mechanical hamsters. I happened on them one day at the store and impulse-bought two for my youngest son and daughter for Christmas. After the initial pleasure at opening the package, how long do you think they played with them? Long enough to see what they could do, which was about 3 minutes. I haven’t seen them since.
Cute but boring?
It is not a child’s natural tendency to be passive and just watch a toy do something. It deflates their self esteem because they lose the sense that they are in control of their own fun. Nothing threatens a child’s self esteem like feeling that they have to depend on other people or things for entertainment
Will there be resistance if electronic toy time is reduced in exchange for active, outside or creative play time? You bet. Is this another one of those uncomfortable “attitude adjustments” that we as parents have to make ourselves in order to bring up caring, conscious and creative children? Yes again.
Will you make the effort?
PS? Another Good Reason to Ease Up on the Electroinc Toys
Little Green People
I know it sounds cliché, but our most important resource for ensuring the future health of our planet really is our children. Raising them to be mindful of the world around them teaches them lessons that go way beyond resource conservation. Learning how to preserve our earth will help our children:
- Feel empowered to be part of a plan that is bigger than just them and their family/friend oriented world
- Gain self esteem by learning that their actions and their decisions can make the world a better place
- Find a new appreciation for the world outside, and what it has to offer for fun beyond ball fields and playgrounds. Hiking, biking, and our new favorite, snow scootering, all get kids outside and having fun in nature.
Getting and keeping kids interested is as simple as involving them in your day to day activities. I engage my kids by asking questions like, “Is this garbage, or can it be recycled?” Sometimes I ask them, “Who invented liquid soap, and why?” but that just seems to irritate them.
Take your children outside and show them the stars. Or the grass. Or the snow. Or this. You don’t have to force feed them rhetoric about saving the earth; they will learn to love it if they see you get excited about it.
Quick and easy kid-engagement ideas:
- Challenge them to find and turn off all lights in the house that are not being used (accompany them if they are not old enough to handle lamps or reach light switches or understand that lava lamps are not made with drinkable Play-Doh)
- Get kids their own stainless steel water bottle and encourage their sense of pride for keeping plastic bottles out of the system.
- Let your kids pick out a reusable shopping bag that they like. At the store, put them in charge of filling and carrying that bag. Let them own part of the experience.
Let your kids rise to the occasion and they will surprise you with their enthusiasm.
What Does It Really Mean, “Being Green”?
Confused about that ubiquitous eco-buzzword? Here’s what I think.
Being green is about being aware. Understanding that there may be other ways of doing things is the first step in building an eco-consciousness. When you understand that you have options (such as using dishtowels instead of paper towels), you have taken the first step towards a greener mindset – even if you don’t immediately change your behavior.
Being green is about being conscious. With three kids and a full-time job, I know about living on autopilot. For instance, even after I set out my new basket of dishtowels (see previous post…) right in front of the paper towel roll, I still find myself reaching right over the basket and grabbing a paper towel. It’s a special kind of crazy.
Don’t live your life unconsciously. Pay attention to what you are doing. Even if you just laugh at yourself for forgetting something again, the more you acknowledge it, the more you are retraining yourself to be more present the next time.
Being green is about attitude. Yes, sometimes you will have to make the uncomfortable choice to do something that may take slightly more time or effort than you are used you. But the attitude adjustment comes in knowing that the little bit of pain will yield a lot of gain: Setting a better example for your kids, living your life more consciously and feeling like you are a part of something good. I’m talking unicorns and rainbows good. Seriously.
Being green is about teaching kids to care. Teaching kids that there is more to life than their egocentric Pokémon/Barbie/Tech Deck world is one of the toughest messages to get across.
Seeing you take actions to care for something that can benefit all people and even the whole world will resonate deeply with them.
Each baby step for the planet matters, and, at the end of the day, will result not necessarily in you saving the world singlehandedly, but in the development of a new, more conscious, more caring state of mind.
What’s important is that we celebrate the victories, even the small ones, and give ourselves a break when we fall short.
Also, I am not obsessed with paper towels.
Beware the Happy Fest of Papery Pleasure
I am addicted to paper towels.
They are so white, so absorbent, so there for me always, just when I need them. I know you know what I mean.
Unfortunately, as far as the earth is concerned, paper towels and paper towel usage is not the happy fest of papery pleasure that you might think.
To make conventional paper towels, you have to cut down trees. Cutting down trees, of course, contributes to the earth’s inability to process the excess carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere. (Here’s a little photosynthesis 101 for those who are unclear on the connection between trees and CO2).
Once we’ve cut down and processed the trees, we bring on the bleaching chemicals, like a nasty cocktail of badness. The good news is that chlorine, corrosive and toxic, has mostly been phased out by US and Canadian paper mills. However, instead of going chlorine-free (a technology that’s been around since the 70’s by the way), mills now use a chlorine derivative, called chlorine dioxide, for their bleaching.
Although not as damaging as chlorine gas, chlorine dioxide still releases dioxins (a manufacturing by-product, labeled by the EPA as “the most potent carcinogen ever tested in laboratory animals”) (p.s.? that’s bad) into the water, where they work their way back into the earth and up the food chain, until they finally crawl through your window and end up swimming in your latte. Well, not really, but you get my point. Inevitably, dioxin contaminated food makes its way back to humans.
So what’s a paper-towel lovin’ girl to do? Baby steps, my friends, baby steps. The first step is awareness. Sometimes I don’t even realize it when I’m reaching for a paper towel. I have told my kids that they may shout “That’s a tree!” when they see me reach for a paper towel. We’ll see how long that lasts before I tell them all to stop yelling at me and send them to their rooms…
This small step has already reduced my paper towel trash by 80%!
The second step is attitude. Yes, if I use less paper towels, I will have to wash more kitchen towels, thus using more water and more time, blah blah blah. But if I’m already doing a load of laundry, throwing in a few extra towels is not going to deplete the local water supply.
There are also some great unbleached products out there on the market that are made from recycled fibers, and now that I am aware of them, I will see them not as enablers, but as compromises for those times when I must, MUST enjoy the absorbent goodness of a paper towel.
Farewell, paper rolls of joy; I bid you adieu.
Mama, It’s Cold Outside
It’s winter, and I’m freezing. I’m a California girl living in the Midwest, and the first year I lived here I refused to go outside on a day that it was 0º because I was pretty certain that my lungs would freeze and I would die unglamorously on the sidewalk in front of Target.
Even after 15 years, I struggle during the coldest months with not wanting to venture beyond the comfort of my warm house. However, since having children, I have had to (sometimes unwillingly) adjust my cold-weather attitude, and this is why:
Kids need experiences to learn. The best way for them to learn that this is a planet worth saving is to get them outside to experience it first hand. The best way to inspire them to fight for a healthy world when they grow up is to help them fall in love with what it has to offer right now.
Some of the best memories I have from childhood are from when my dad took me river rafting on the American River in California. We camped out under the stars and tackled rapids better than any amusement park ride. When I later learned as an adult that many of the California Rivers were in danger of
eco-system deterioration, I took a
personal interest in wanting to preserve these beautiful scenes of my childhood.
So, if you live in a warmer climate, grab the kids, open the door and step outside. Show your children how to slow down and take in what is all around them by doing it yourself. Look up, and appreciate the silhouette of the trees against the sky. Make it a morning ritual to find animals in the clouds. There are no rules or time limits; any time outside is time well spent.
If you, like me, live where there is snow, go outside long enough to scoop up a few cups, and make snow ice cream. This is something I will do with my kids today; they will love it, and it will take less than 10 minutes. What are you waiting for?
The seeds of my passion to preserve the planet were planted over 30 years ago on an outdoor adventure with my dad.
Go outside today with your kids and plant some new seeds of your own.
The Green Road Ahead
You’ve seen all the buzzwords. There is eco-friendly, earth-friendly, environmentally friendly and the multitude of variations on a theme. Are you “earth-conscious” or “eco-responsible?” Can companies or products really be “green”? What does that even mean, anyway? What are the real consequences of using (or not using) some products over others? Is it more than just hype? Is your head spinning?
“Going green” can mean 100 different things to 100 different people. Trying to figure out what it means to you can be completely overwhelming. Many of us feel like we either don’t know where to start, or think that any small effort on our part isn’t really going to make a difference, so why try?
This blog is about getting started, and if you’re already on the road, maintaining your momentum, and knowing without a doubt that you are making a difference.
In this new blog I want to explore how we can use our personal power to make small yet worthwhile contributions towards healing our planet. We will explore how “being green” is as much about attitude as it is about choices, and how changing the way we think about things can be the seeds we plant in our children to care for the world around them
I want to use my own personal power to make an effort everyday to do something small that benefits our planet, or at least doesn’t increase the damage. I want to show my kids how they can help, too. Every little accomplishment will be a victory, a new and healthy habit in the making. I invite you to join me and to share your victories. And as we look back on the week, the month and finally the whole of 2010, we will see that all these small accomplishments, like pearls on a string, have come together to create something much bigger and more meaningful than we could have imagined.
I’ll also keep you informed on how Baby Planet is working to create a better world for all of our babies. We’re passionate about restoring health to the planet and all its living creatures, but change doesn’t happen all at once. So I’ll share our goals, our baby steps, and our larger victories, and even our shortcomings. Because it’s not about being perfect and it’s not about doing everything, it’s about doing something.
You don’t have to be an eco-warrior to make a difference for our children’s planet. You merely have to be willing to reach out and take the opportunities for conservation that present themselves. There are victories waiting to be had every day. With a little time and a little effort, we can win them all for our truly, truly Amazing Planet.
