Children today are fascinated by nature. They tend to have a great deal of interest in and respect for their environment, and often are more informed about environmental issues than their parents. Many mums we spoke to as part of DiG’s global study, ‘Children and Nature’, wished they were more knowledgeable about nature and the environment, and are proud to be learning from their kids. 75% said they were proud that their children knew more about nature than they did. Today’s young and enthusiastic environmentalists (78%) believe their parents should be doing more to help protect their world and find more ways of interacting with it. Children can have a strong positive influence over us as parents to help make changes, whether big or small, to the world we live in.
The small actions that make big differences
Here are the top five small actions children globally have made which make them feel they are protecting nature and the environment:
Don’t litter
Turn of the TV when it’s not being used
Turn of lights when they’re not being used
Be nice to animals
Don’t waste paper
Unfortunately, for all their enthusiasm about nature, 45% of children say they learn more about nature from the TV than they do from real life interaction. An explanation for this could be that 84% of mothers globally believe that it is the responsibility of schools to educate their children about nature and the environment.