Teaching your children how to respect the environment is important and there are many ways you can do this at home to lead by example. We’re all well aware of the damage the human race is causing to the environment, and if you’re looking for new ways to go green and show your children how you can be environmentally friendly, then take a look at these tips and tricks. 

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Switch off lights and appliances when not in use

These days it’s all too easy to leave the TV on standby or switch to another source so you don’t have to turn a console off, but failing to turn them off uses energy unnecessarily. Teach your children to get into the habit of turning off lights, appliances, tvs and consoles when they’re no longer in use. This isn't just good for the environment, but by saving electricity it's good for your wallet too.

Use environmentally friendly products around the house

We’re all so used to products on the shelves that we rarely stop and think about how they’re impacting the environment. There are many environmentally friendly products that you can use such as reusable coffee mugs, material shopping bags, bamboo kitchenware and toothbrushes and glass containers for your groceries. Switching to environmentally friendly products such as wood will help the environment and you can find out more about it here.

Build and maintain your own vegetable patch

A great way to keep the children interested in being more eco friendly is by getting them involved. Building a vegetable patch to grow your own produce throughout the year is a hands on way of keeping your children involved. Plus, you’ll save money on vegetables throughout the year, not to mention knowing your food hasn’t been sprayed with pesticides and packaged unsustainably. As a bonus children are more likely to eat vegetables if they have grown them.

Start a compost heap

A compost heap is a great way to encourage your children to avoid throwing waste away. Make a habit of taking out food waste to your compost heap in the garden. Not only will you reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, but at the end of it you’ll have nutritious soil to use in your garden and your vegetable patch! You can find out how to start composting here.

Get the children involved in recycling

Teaching your children which products and packages can be recycled from an early age is important. As they grow up, they will instinctively put waste in the right bin and prevent recyclable containers from ending up in landfill. When they’ve moved out, they will naturally continue these habits and help take care of our beautiful green earth.

Upcycle old furniture and toys

Finally, rather than throwing your baby’s old crib away, why not use that as an opportunity to upcycle it with your children? You can turn recycling and upcycling into something that’s fun by getting them involved with unscrewing and repainting old furniture to create something you can use and enjoy around the home. The same goes for old toys too! Turn them into something else, repaint them, or even encourage your children to clean them up and sell them on to make some extra pocket money!

This is a collaborative post.

Check out this post for ways to make your children's birthday party more eco-friendly.