Instilling the 3Rs of Living in your child

Teaching your child about sustainable living is no different from teaching him to share his toys with his sibling or putting them away after each play. It is neither easier nor harder but certainly no less important than the 3Rs of education (reading, writing, research)

Children should be taught of the 3 Rs (reduce, reuse and recycle) of living as a way of life,-their life! That way they will not have to ‘remember’ or ‘try to incorporate’ it into their lives because it’s the only one they know.

So with that said what better way to teach a child then by exploiting their youthful talent of possessing a natural sponge like brain and such warm compassionate hearts?

Children are great observers, and natural mocking birds. They are easily impressionable and can pick anything up on a whim. So if you really want to instill in them the 3Rs of living, you should lead by example and live on them yourself!

However as commitment to actions (in this case of the 3Rs of living) are reinforced by an appreciation of knowledge about it, it is vital to explain to your child why it is your family practices sustainable living, even if some traits come off as different from other families.

Explaining the WH questions about the 3R will encourage them to embrace it but it’s worth remembering that there are 2 ways to explain it, one is the more boring strictly factual scientific way and the other is the simplified child friendly way.

The latter is the approach you want to adopt with children as making the lesson relatable to them allows for true appreciation of it.

In explain the 3Rs of living to a child, remember to keep it interactive (use examples that they can relate to, cite animals that they are familiar or fond of, ask them what they think would happen, encourage them to relate) and simple (use simple words, if you can’t explain it in one word use sentences).

The important thing to ensure you cover the basics of why they are living the 3Rs and how it all works. It’s best to explain as you are in the act of performing any of the 3Rs.

The following are some questions you should cover as well as examples of how to approach them:

The 1st R: Reduce:

• What is reducing about and what are you trying to reduce?

Reducing is about cutting down waste. Each time you buy something, say a toy. It comes packaged doesn’t it? Well that packaging material is waste because you end up throwing it away.

• Where does waste go?

The waste you throw out is taken away by the bin man and buried in a place called a landfill

• Why reduce?

Simple, because landfills aren’t exactly a good thing, it works a lot like sweeping dirt under the rug. In the long run it all piles up and spill out, so either you let it overflow or you find a new piece of land to make a new landfill –which means trees and animals have to lose their homes! Would you want the poor bunnies to not have a home?

The wastes at landfills also endanger lives, especially that of the animals because it contaminates their habitat. Imagine if a bear drank water from a river that has toxic waste in it.

What would happen? It isn’t going to turn into a bear with superpowers, it’s going to fall sick and die. Do we want that to happen?

• How do we reduce?

We reduce by cutting down on unnecessary waste. We don’t buy things in expensive fancy non-biodegradable packaging and we reuse or recycle what we can.

• Who should reduce?

Everyone who lives on earth and cares about taking care of it. Surely you don’t want to end up living in a landfill or next to one! And that just might happen if we don’t reduce the amount of waste

The 2nd R: Reuse

• What is reusing?

Reusing is simply what it says; reuse the item so it doesn’t end up as waste after one use. Take for example your Mechano robot kit that came in that plastic box. The box could be reused to keep say mom’s sewing materials like buttons and beads so you don’t have to throw it out.

Reusing an item doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to use it yourself. Like the clothes you outgrew, we packed them up and gave them to someone else who could fit into them- that’s reusing too.

• Why reuse?

So you can cut down on waste and the effects of landfills. Do you remember what those effects are and who are the first to suffer from them?

• Who should reuse?

Everyone who cares that animals and plants still have a home and those that don’t want to end up living in a giant landfill.  

• How do we reuse?

Well there’s no fixed rule to it. If you’re imaginative enough, you can always find new ways to reuse something, even if it is just a tin can or your own tattered blanket.

• When should we reuse?

Every chance you get or can create.

The 3rd R: Recycle

• What is recycling?

Recycling is a process which ensures that used material doesn’t end up in the landfill but instead is transformed into something new.

Through recycling, used paper can become paper again saving trees from being cut down (that means the birds and squirrels get to keep their homes).

But of course it’s not just paper that can be recycled, these days we have the technology to recycle almost everything! We can make a lot of new things out of one type of used material…like how the soda bottle can become part of a new toy or building material.

• Why recycle?

Mainly because you can cut down on waste and help earth keep its precious non-renewable resources. Do you know what non-renewable resources are? They are those things that we can recreate or re-grow like mountains. Once we use them, they are no more.

If you don’t reuse or recycle, then we have to clear more land for landfills and we have to harvest more of nature’s non-renewable resources just to make things from them.

It’s never too early to teach a child about the 3Rs, even if he’s too young to understand words, he is learning through observation. Strive to make the 3Rs a way of his life and not just another lesson in it.

Note: The answers above are just suggestions, you should work with your child as an individual and adapt to his needs and abilities.
You might want to introduce your child to EPA’s Planet Protectors Club  and Environmental Kids Club too!

Image Source: EPA