How to help your teen go green
With politicians and celebrities alike focusing on the environment, more and more teenagers are expressing interest in making a difference in the world around them. Besides encouraging your kids to reduce, reuse and recycle, here are five ways to help get your teens to think green.
1. Set an example: You won’t have any credibility with your teen if you talk the talk without walking the walk. Make sure you’re doing your part before you insist that they do theirs.
2. Discuss the issues: Talk to your teens about what politicians are saying and doing when it comes to the environment. Ask them who they would support in an election and why.
3. Get the facts: Watch documentaries together and share magazine articles about environmental problems such as global warming, overpopulation, acid rain and species extinction. Talk about changes your family can make to positively affect the environment in your home and your community.
4. Encourage environmental efforts: Help your teen find time in his or her schedule to join environmental clubs or efforts such as the Otesha Project (http://www.otesha.ca) or the Canon Envirothon (http://www.envirothon.org), North America’s largest high school environmental education competition. Teens participating in the Canon Envirothon work in teams to solve real environmental issues through in-class curriculum and hands-on field experiences.
5. Listen: Find out what your teenager is thinking about, angry about and worried about when it comes to the environment, and then help channel those feelings into actions that can have lasting, positive effects.
Credit: http://www.newscanada.com