How to Get Kids Involved in Saving Energy and Its Importance
Saving Energy
Everywhere you go, you hear about, “going green” and saving energy. More than just the adults are getting in on this trend. Many children are starting to learn in school the importance of saving energy. It is also a parent’s responsibility to teach their children more about conservation. Understanding this and putting it into practice at an early age are going to help instill the importance of saving energy for the rest of their lives. Future generations are likely to be much savvier when it comes to using less energy.
Tips for the Kids
No matter how young the kids might be, they can start saving energy. Here are a few tips that they will be able to incorporate into their lives.
Make sure that they know to turn off the lights in the room whenever they leave – as long as no one else is in the room! When they are brushing their teeth, teach them that it’s a good idea to turn off the water until they need it. They should also know that it is a good idea to unplug their computers and games when they aren’t using them. Explain that even though the computer might be off, it is still taking some energy from the outlet.
Many kids who get hungry for a snack will stand in front of the refrigerator with the door open. This wastes quite a bit of electricity. Tell them that they should have a plan of what they want to eat before they get to the fridge so that they can get in and out quickly. If they have quite a few toys that run on batteries, introduce them to the concept of rechargeable batteries. Show them that these batteries are going to be better for the environment than wasteful disposable batteries. The energy that it takes to remove those batteries from the environment is much higher than what you would use recharging batteries.
A Fun Option
Here’s a fun exercise that you might want to try with your children. Make some little badges, or buy some fake badges and “deputize” the youngsters as energy police. Teach them about some of the things that you and the family have to do in order to reduce your energy usage, and give each of the energy saving tips a special code. Whenever anyone the family violates one of these energy saving laws, the kids will be able to write them a ticket. This is fun for the kids, it gives them more responsibility, and it helps to teach them the importance of conservation at the same time.
These are just a few of the things that you and your children can do to save energy at home, which, in turn, will help the planet