Q Our 8-year-old daughter Olivia saw a television program about the environment. The show stressed the need for everyone to do more to save the environment. Olivia seems to feel an urgency to help the earth. She becomes angry when she sees people throwing trash on the ground and not recycling. How can we help her manage her emotions while learning to care for the environment?
A can begin by talking with Olivia about the one person she can control: herself. We can’t control other people’s behaviors and whether or whether they care for the environment. However, we can set a good example for others and hope others learn from us and do the same. Here are some suggestions for how you can help Olivia in her efforts to care for the environment.
- Help your daughter create a recycling system in your home. Decide what your family will recycle. Choose where items will be collected and stored. Choose what will be garbage and what will become compost. Select a yard location where the family will bury the compost.
- Volunteer with your daughter for clean-up projects, in the neighborhood, in the city of Austin, at the lake, or at the beach.
- Reuse and repurpose items. Reuse shipping boxes to make a fort. Repurpose egg cartons to plant a small garden.
- Donate. Encourage Olivia to sort through clothing she no longer wears and toys she has outgrown. Discuss how these things can be used by other children instead of thrown away. Perhaps her outgrown clothes and toys could be shared with younger cousins or other children in the neighborhood.
- Reduce water and electricity consumption. Brainstorm with your daughter about saving water by turning off the faucet while brushing her teeth. Think about saving energy by turning off lights in empty rooms. Consider purchasing fewer disposable cups, plates, and plastic eating utensils.
- Take a leadership role at school. Meet with the school principal. Encourage Olivia to communicate her interest in recycling at school and how the family would be able to help. The principal may provide a way for Olivia to form a school recycling club.
- Go to the library. Read books about caring for the environment.
Outdoor play provides an opportunity to teach young children about the world. Explore new places with your kids. Let them get dirty. Dig in the sand. Collect leaves. Plant seeds and find worms. Children of all ages will benefit from spending time in nature. The more time we enjoy our world, the more likely we are to take action to care for it.
Betty Richardson, PhD, RN, CS, LPC, LMFT, is an Austin-based psychotherapist.
