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Teaching Your Kids to be Energy Efficient
photo credit: Kerri 2009
Saving energy and saving money is not just the responsibility of parents. Kids can also learn to contribute to conserving energy and keeping the electric bills down. Helping your kids learn energy saving habits means your effort will not get wasted and at the same time, your kids will learn good values while growing up.
Teaching your kids to be energy efficient requires minimal effort. In fact it only takes five simple things to help your kids learn to be more energy efficient in the home.
Education
Teaching your kids the importance of saving energy should be your first goal. Helping them understand the value of being energy efficient is more effective than listing the numerous ways to save energy and leaving it at that. Teach them how conserving energy helps the environment. Tell them stories or read educational books about the importance of energy.
Lead by example
You know very well that kids tend to follow what you do before what you say. You have combat this by practicing what you preach. You may have listed and posted a litany of things-to-do to conserve energy but if you don’t follow them yourself, you cannot expect your kids to. Do not just tell them to turn the lights off before leaving their room; show them by always turning the lights off every time you leave a room in your house. Education and leading by example are a good combination if you want to make good habits stick.
Make it fun
Kids are more open to learning when they are having fun. Use this to your advantage by making fun games that reinforce energy saving ideas. Play scavenger games to find things that could be unplugged or turned off. Hold contests to see who can go the longest not using energy draining devices such as TVs or cell phones.
Get your kids involved
Family activities should not limit to eating, playing and entertainment. Chores can also be a good way to bond with your kids. Manually wash the car, water the plants, clean the table, wash the dishes, clean the house etc. These are some of the things you can do with your kids while conserving energy.
Teach your kids according to their age.
Kids of different ages have different attitude on things around them. If your 5-year son doesn’t know how to turn off the lights before leaving the room, all you need to do is to talk to him about it and showing him by practicing what you teach.
Your 10-year old daughter may require different approach, like showing her your electric bill and explaining to her that it will greatly help if she will change her bad habits. You are teaching your 5-year old good habits while you are teaching and emphasizing your 10-year old good habits and responsibility.
Make sure that you teach your kids proper ways to conserve energy using an approach suited to their ages.
If you are just beginning to teach your kids about energy conservation in the home, start small. Trying to jump immediately into using as little energy as possible is like to frustrate them and make them less interested in joining in. Begin with these six simple energy saving tips for kids.
- Turn off the water while brushing your teeth.
- Always turn the lights off before leaving the room.
- Turn the computer off after use.
- Do not hold the refrigerator open.
- Unplug unnecessary appliances when not in use.
- Use natural light if possible.
Saving energy is not so hard if your kids are involved. And just like any family activities you do, energy conservation should be fun, educational and brings the whole family together.
This was a very good post. I’ve been speaking to my 5 & 6yr old about turning off lights when they leave and room and not letting the water flow when they are not using it. Hopefully they will soon begin to do it by second nature instead of after being reminded.
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