Comments on: Eco Friendly Kids http://www.ecofriendlyideas.net/eco-friendly-kids.html Green eco friendly ideas to help the environment. Sun, 05 Feb 2012 04:23:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Derek Matthewson http://www.ecofriendlyideas.net/eco-friendly-kids.html/comment-page-1#comment-1755 Derek Matthewson Fri, 04 Jun 2010 14:43:44 +0000 http://www.ecofriendlyideas.net/?p=11#comment-1755 It seems to me that too much focus is being placed on the adult population of this world to solve an issue that we will be leaving to our little ones. Time after time, I see politicians focusing on how we should use more fuel efficient cars, install energy efficient appliances, etc. While these steps are extremely important, what about teaching our kids the importance of turning off a light when they leave the room or how bike riding should take priority over a couple of hours of Xbox fun. People by nature have a 'how does this affect me' approach to issues, perhaps this is why so many adults turn a blind eye to the energy crisis. Teaching our children to be conscious about the environmental choices they make require an improved foundation to their teachings in general. Why is it that our kids think it's ok to toss their garbage on the sidewalk or throw out food in the garbage instead of a compost bin? Perhaps they don't fully understand the impact of their actions or, more likely, have never been properly taught to think about their actions and realize that the easy path is not always the right one to take. Society continually teaches our kids how to do things quicker and easier; fast food, easy money, instant gratification and knowledge at their fingertips. Saving the planet goes against everything that is coveted in today's society, there is no instant gratification, no overnight changes, and no glory in 'thinking Green'. Perhaps it is their parent's job to counteract these messages and force our children to realize some things take time and effort. By ignoring the youth, we are running the risk of ignoring the generation that will truly be affected by global warming and in turn not giving them the tools to effectively fight a risk that will directly impact their lives. Perhaps the government should consider implementing a course within our schools that outline the problem in a way our kids can comprehend. It seems to me that too much focus is being placed on the adult population of this world to solve an issue that we will be leaving to our little ones. Time after time, I see politicians focusing on how we should use more fuel efficient cars, install energy efficient appliances, etc. While these steps are extremely important, what about teaching our kids the importance of turning off a light when they leave the room or how bike riding should take priority over a couple of hours of Xbox fun. People by nature have a ‘how does this affect me’ approach to issues, perhaps this is why so many adults turn a blind eye to the energy crisis. Teaching our children to be conscious about the environmental choices they make require an improved foundation to their teachings in general. Why is it that our kids think it’s ok to toss their garbage on the sidewalk or throw out food in the garbage instead of a compost bin? Perhaps they don’t fully understand the impact of their actions or, more likely, have never been properly taught to think about their actions and realize that the easy path is not always the right one to take. Society continually teaches our kids how to do things quicker and easier; fast food, easy money, instant gratification and knowledge at their fingertips. Saving the planet goes against everything that is coveted in today’s society, there is no instant gratification, no overnight changes, and no glory in ‘thinking Green’. Perhaps it is their parent’s job to counteract these messages and force our children to realize some things take time and effort.

By ignoring the youth, we are running the risk of ignoring the generation that will truly be affected by global warming and in turn not giving them the tools to effectively fight a risk that will directly impact their lives. Perhaps the government should consider implementing a course within our schools that outline the problem in a way our kids can comprehend.

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