Teaching Kids the Connection Between Environmental Wellness and Personal Health

You want your children to understand how to take care of themselves. At the same time, your kids need guidance to ensure they recognize the importance of environmental wellness.

Educating children about the connection between environmental wellness and personal health can change the world. If your kids know how to care for themselves and their environment, they can lay the groundwork for a happy, healthy, and safe lifestyle. And over the years, your children can maintain this lifestyle, so they can be the best versions of themselves into adulthood.

The sooner you educate your kids about the connection between environmental wellness and personal health, the sooner they can reap the benefits of your knowledge and insights. Now, let’s look at four tips to help you teach your kids about environmental wellness and personal health.

1. Use Hands-On Activities

Take advantage of interactive activities and exercises that promote environmental wellness and personal health. In doing so, you enable your kids to get hands-on experience in both areas.

There is no shortage of hands-on activities and exercises you can use. For example, you can plan a trip to a grocery store, where you can teach your kids about carrots, lettuce, and other types of produce. From here, you can promote healthy lifestyle choices and teach your children about the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals included in myriad foods. You can also bring reusable bags and use them to bring your groceries home. Plus, when you arrive at home, you and your kids can work in lockstep to use your groceries to prepare a healthy meal.

2. Establish a Recycling Plan

Create a recycling plan for your home. When it comes to your recycling plan, start slow. For instance, you and your kids can gather recyclables in a designated bin in your home. Collect your recyclables for a week or month. Next, you can ensure they are recycled properly.

Many cities and towns offer recycling pickup services. They ensure community members can have recyclables picked up during weekly or bi-weekly trash collection. Or, if you have large items that need to be recycled, you may need to bring them to a local recycling center. If you and your kids have old electronics, you need to ensure they are disposed of properly, too. Otherwise, these electronics can cause environmental damage.

Don’t forget to provide your kids with details about recycling and the importance of producing a zero-waste environment. Research indicates the average individual produces approximately 4 lbs. of trash daily. But, you and your kids can use your recycling plan to minimize the amount of trash you send to landfills. You and your children can also conserve natural resources and reduce pollution.

3. Bring Your Kids Outdoors

Capitalize on opportunities to bring your kids to a park, playground, or any outdoor environment. Here, you and your kids can get fresh air and enjoy the sights and sounds of the great outdoors.

Any outdoor environment can also be used to teach your children about environmental wellness and personal health. If you bring your children to a state park, for instance, you can teach them about different types of plants and wildlife. Meanwhile, a state park also gives you and your kids lots of space to roam around and get plenty of exercise.

Furthermore, you can explore ways to bring the outdoors inside. To do so, you can pick up a houseplant that you and your kids can grow. The plant can simultaneously purify the indoor air and help reduce stress. It allows you to educate your kids about caring for a plant and contributing to the environment’s health, too.

4. Work Together As a Family

Encourage your kids to come forward with concerns and questions regarding environmental wellness and personal health. Keep the lines of communication with your children, and you can provide your kids with a wealth of environmental wellness and personal health insights upon request.

Along with discussing environmental wellness and personal health as a family, you can read books with your kids regarding both topics. “Miss Maple’s Seeds” and “The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle” are just two of the books you can use to teach your children to take care of the environment.

In addition, you and your kids can make sustainable swaps across your home. For example, swapping out Ziploc bags for reusable ones can help your family cut down on waste.

Do Your Part to Teach Your Kids About the Connection Between Environmental Wellness and Personal Health

Environmental wellness and personal health impact you, your children, and the rest of the world. By teaching your kids about environmental wellness and personal health, you can ensure that they recognize the importance of both topics. The result: your kids will be well-equipped to support a thriving environment and feel their best, now and in the future.