Kids & Company Blog

How to Talk about Earth Month with Your Children

April is Earth Month, a time to raise awareness and create consciousness around the issues that affect the health of our planet. Concepts like water conservation, recycling, and electricity are widely discussed, but it can sometimes be difficult to explain these concepts to our young children in a way that demonstrates exactly why or how they can actually help to keep our planet healthy. 

Read on for a ‘script’ you can use in explaining some key environmental concepts to young children. 

Recycling:

When we recycle, we turn something old and used into something new. It’s good to turn something old into something new instead of throwing it in the garbage.  When we throw things in the garbage, the Garbage Man comes to collect it and brings it to a big hole in the ground called a landfill. Landfills can get really full and stinky, and they can hurt the Earth by taking up space and making it hard for plants and animals to live. 

How to apply this to daily life:

1. Involve children in the recycling process. Make this fun; Play a ‘sorting game’, or have them help you take the garbage bins to the curb and wait to wave to the Garbage Man.
2. Be creative in how you recycle to show the process of turning something old (like a big cardboard box or milk carton), into something new (like a playhouse or a bird feeder). 

Water conservation

Water conservation means using water carefully and not wasting it. This is important because there is only a certain amount of water on the planet and all living things (like people and animals and trees) need water to live and grow. Just like we take care of our  family and our pets, we need to take care of water too. We can do this by using only the water we need and by not letting it run when we don't need it. 

How to apply this to daily life:

1. Turn off the water when brushing your teeth.
2. Use a watering can to water plants instead of a hose.

Electricity

People need energy to move around and play and often get that energy by eating or resting. Just like people, things like lights and machines need energy to move and work. They get their energy through electricity. Sometimes, the way electricity is made is by burning what’s called fossil fuels. This helps make things move and work, but it also pollutes or dirties our environment.

How to apply this to daily life:

1. Turn off the lights when you are not in a room. 
2. Make a point of walking to the store or to school together one day instead of driving if that’s your usual routine.

Overall, it's important to keep things simple and relatable for young children when explaining the concepts related to Earth Month and the importance of taking care of the planet. Take it a step further and show them how these concepts apply to our daily lives. And remember to lead  by example - children learn  by observing and imitating the adults in their lives so make sure you are taking care of our one shared home so that they can do the same!

Posted on: Friday March 31st, 2023

Posted by: Kids & Company