No matter what age your children are there are ways to be an eco-friendly parent to them. Babies though are discussed in a lot more detail in ‘How To Have An Eco-Friendly Baby’, as there are so many things to consider if you’re about to have your first child and are wanting to be as eco-friendly as possible. This article is not aimed at one particular age group, instead it contains tips and advice for children of all ages.
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In America? Check out Life Without Plastic. They sell a whole range of eco-friendly items for kids and babies, alongside household items for those looking to live plastic free.
10 Ways To Be An Eco-Friendly Parent
1. Buy Secondhand
Younger children in particular really don’t care about what they’re wearing, they haven’t yet been convinced that only designer or branded clothes are acceptable! You can find good quality used clothes in so many charity shops, on facebook marketplace and many other secondhand clothes shops online.
But it’s not just clothes that you should think about buying secondhand. To prevent so much stuff going to landfill and using up finite natural resources, you can also buy secondhand toys and books. When your child is at an age where you think a mobile phone is appropriate I highly recommend getting a secondhand or refurbished one, especially for their first phone. Teenagers are quite good at losing or breaking things so save yourself some money and don’t buy them a phone that costs hundreds of pounds.
Bikes can also be really expensive. Look for preloved childrens bikes online because other kids quickly outgrow theirs. You can get some very affordable secondhand ones.
2. Cook From Scratch / Bulk Cook
Buy plastic free loose fruit and vegetables and then batch cook and freeze portions to prevent food waste. Batch cooking also saves you time on other days when you might be too busy to cook a healthy meal. Pasta sauces, soups, chillis, casseroles and so much more can be cooked in bulk. Add some lentils into your meals for a cheap way to add extra protein. (“Half a cup of lentils contains more than 20g of protein, which is the equivalent to four ounces of salmon” – HollandandBarrett).
3. Buy Good Quality, Non-Plastic Toys and Games
When you’re not buying secondhand toys and games, make sure your children are getting good quality toys made from natural materials. Not only are they far more eco-friendly, but they look nicer, are less likely to break and are much nicer things to regift at a later date. Alternatively look into buying toys made from recycled materials. Talk to your family and friends about the kind of toys, games and books you want for your children when it’s getting close to Birthdays and Christmas. Have a read through Eco-Friendly Toys & Gifts For Children for ideas on where to find things like eco-friendly lego and lovely wooden toys.
4. Use Soap Bars
Instead of buying numerous plastic bottles filled with bubble bath or liquid hand soap, get yourself some plastic free soaps! This is such an easy way to reduce the amount of plastic in your home. Have a read through this list of eco-friendly bathroom swaps for lots more ways to reduce the amount of plastic in your bathroom.
5. Use Reusable Wipes (flannels!) Instead of Disposables
Flannels are amazing! They can be used when in the shower or the bath and they can be used when washing your face. Most useful is to use them instead of disposable wipes. Disposable wipes cause so many problems because they often get chucked down the loo which in turn blocks up the sewers helping to create fatbergs. Most disposable wipes don’t biodegrade, and even biodegradable ones take time to break down. Save yourself a load of money and hassle and just use flannels to clean up any mucky faces and hands.
6. Reduce Your Laundry Pile By Providing Your Children with Aprons
Having kids means your laundry pile is going to get massive. Children love to get dirty when they’re outside, but they also get dirty when doing any arts and crafts projects at home or helping out with baking in the kitchen. Get your child to wear an apron to reduce how often you have to put their clothes through the wash. It doesn’t matter if the apron gets dirty and it doesn’t have to be cleaned after each use.
Make sure any wash you do is at 30º or less, you always wash a full load and you line dry whenever possible to save energy and water.
7. Car Share for School Runs
If you live within walking distance of school the better option is to walk your children to school until they’re old enough to walk themselves there. They could also cycle to school if you’re a little bit further away. However if you live some distance from their school and need to drive (if no school bus is available), find out what other children live nearby and share the school run. There’s no need for 3 cars from the same neighbourhood to all travel in the same direction every day when just one car could take all 3 children. Take it in turns with other parents. This is safer for other children walking to school, saves money on petrol, gives each parent more time to do other things and helps to reduce air pollution.
Please never sit with your engine idling when you’re waiting for the kids to turn up. Switch the engine off to reduce both air and noise pollution.
8. Buy Reusable Drinks Bottles
It’s really easy to give your child a juice box, whether they’re at home or for their packed lunch. To reduce plastic waste, save you money, and probably provide them a healthier drink buy your child a reusable drinks bottle. Reusable bottles will last for years and there’s nothing wrong with either giving them nice fresh water to drink or a healthy fruit squash. Getting them used to carrying a reusable drinks bottle with them from an early age should stop them from getting in the habit of buying fizzy drinks cans or bottles when they’re a bit older. This will prevent a massive amount of plastic being thrown away.
9. Get Them Interested in Nature
If you’re wanting to be an eco-friendly parent then you probably care about nature and wildlife as much as you care about the environment. Get your children interested in nature from a young age. There are so many ways to do this.
- Go on nature walks and get them looking for certain plants, birds, insects or animals. You can make it into a game where they have to tick off each one they see.
- Give them a patch in the garden to grow something. For really young children it’s worth planting quick growing plants so they don’t get bored of waiting for something to happen!
- Maybe look into getting a wildlife camera so your children can see what animals pop into the garden at night. Leave a bowl of water out and some appropriate food to attract wildlife.
- Attract birds to your garden by providing bird feeders and a bird bath.
- Teach your children about spiders, wasps and bees so they learn how amazing they are rather than being afraid of them. Learn how to have an insect-friendly garden.
On a side note, it’s worth giving your children some wellies. They are the best footwear for kids when gardening or going on nature walks. Your children can jump in puddles and their trousers won’t get as dirty.
10. Get some Reusable Straws (My Preference is Bamboo)
Kids love straws, it’s strange, but they do. Probably because it’s fun to blow bubbles into your drink! Instead of buying plastic straws get some reusable ones. I was gifted some bamboo straws and I love them. Stainless steel ones can be very cold, and I personally don’t like it when they knock against your teeth. Paper ones can be very flimsy. This set of bamboo straws comes with a straw cleaner and a jute bag to carry them. It even has an individual pouch to carry one straw with you. You’ll never need to accept a plastic straw at any takeaway or restaurant again!
There are so many ways you can be an eco-friendly parent, this list is just for starters! For example if your child’s school doesn’t provide good food for lunch you should make a healthy, plastic free packed lunch in a good quality lunch box. It’s also worth making your own snacks rather than providing ‘lunchables’ or including individually wrapped snack bars etc.
Have you got any other ideas that are easy to implement?
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