Kindergartners age9/18/2023 ![]() ![]() With global warming, there are more and more blankets being put around the earth. Gurwitch suggests describing it this way: “Our world is protected by a layer surrounding the earth, like a blanket that keeps it at just the right temperature. Once you’ve dispelled the myths, you can explain the more abstract idea of climate change by using the blanket analogy. This may be a tough discussion, but it will help you recognize and validate the outrage that kids may feel at older generations. Acknowledge these false claims for what they are, explaining that some people care more about making money or hanging onto power than about the health of our planet. Kids sometimes overhear strange ideas, as we know from some of the lies circulated by climate change deniers in our own government. If they’re familiar with the term climate change, ask them to tell you what they’ve heard about it. Teaching the Basics to School-Age Kids (Ages 6–12) Explain the science, simply.įirst, gauge what your kids may already know. While important to be open about your climate change concerns, do it out of your kids’ earshot, by talking with other parents or banding together with fellow activists in your community. In the same vein, avoid processing your own anxieties while talking to young kids, who easily pick up on our emotions. “They need to know the adults are in charge, and they’ve got this,” DeMocker adds. Remind kids that so many grownups care about kids’ futures and about nature, and they are working to protect both. “For most children under age 5 or 6, the world is a good place, with people taking care of it,” says Mary DeMocker, author of The Parents’ Guide to Climate Revolution: 100 Ways to Build a Fossil-Free Future, Raise Empowered Kids, and Still Get a Good Night’s Sleep. “When people most important to us notice our actions,” she says, “we’re more likely to do again and carry it forward.” Keep their faith in humanity alive (it might help restore yours, too). That could be as simple as saying “Thank you for turning off the lights, that’s helping the planet.” Many of us forget to take this step, says Robin Gurwitch, a professor and clinical psychologist at Duke University Medical Center and the Center for Child and Family Health. Likewise, praise kids when they take initiative. Additionally, though the idea of “sharing” can be challenging for people of any age, young children should be encouraged to share earth’s space with other living things. “It’s thinking about the impact you have-if you make a mess where plants and animals live, it can hurt them, and if you clean up, it helps them,” Greenspun says. In the short- and long-term, it’s beneficial to instill the idea of cleanup responsibility. Recognize small actions demonstrating respect for the planet. Point out migrating birds or butterflies that come and go with the seasons. On hikes, note how leaves fall from trees in autumn, then sprout again in spring. Noticing, appreciating, and celebrating the seasons builds a good foundation for understanding climate change, suggests Ronnie Citron-Fink, a former schoolteacher and now the editorial director of Moms Clean Air Force. Children learn through doing, so try planting seeds or caring for animals as a way to raise young environmentalists. Since younger children won’t easily understand concepts such as greenhouse gases and ocean acidification, start out with a more straightforward message: Living things grow and thrive when we care for them. Introducing the Concepts to Young Children (Ages 0–6) Inspire environmental wonder in little ones. By doing so, you set up a baseline for kids to take in more complex information as they grow and become ready to exercise their own voices on behalf of their generation’s future. “Similar to other tough topics like sex and drugs, approach climate change in a developmentally sensitive way,” says Wendy Greenspun, a New York–based clinical psychologist engaged in climate issues. How do you do so without creating an anxious-or perhaps worse, despondent-child? ![]() These are also the people who can help them cope with the Big Feelings that inevitably ensue upon realizing future climate change–related difficulties. When difficult subjects come up, it’s not easy being a parent-especially when that subject is climate change.īut a parent, teacher, or caregiver is often the first and best source of trusted information for children. ![]()
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