Children are our future – someday they will be the decision-makers, educators, and possibly even policy makers of our world. What we are teaching them today is going to affect their lifestyle choices in the coming years, so we need to focus on preparing them for the changing world and environment. Teaching our children about sustainability will give them the opportunity to take responsibility for their actions, plan for the future, and maintain a healthier planet.

Not just parents – but teachers, babysitters, and other influencers are responsible for understanding the importance of sustainability and teaching it to our children in a way that they will understand. That being said, children are more likely to learn habits that they see at home, so as influencers of the future, we must also live a greener life so that our children learn to as well. Some best and easy home practices of sustainability include:

1. Composting

It’s as easy as layering organic materials with soil to create a well-fertilized flower or vegetable garden. You can even use compost to grow your lawn without harming your surrounding environment through the use of pesticides and other unnatural sources.

2. Reducing Energy Usage

Cell phones, hairdryers, and other electronics/chargers should be removed when not in use to reduce energy usage. You should also teach your children to turn off lights, check for dripping water from faucets, and switch other appliances to eco-mode or completely off before leaving for the day.

3. Supporting environmentally friendly products for the home

Anything from kitchen cleaning supplies to other home products such as mattresses and pillows can be more environmentally friendly than the ones we typically see on the market. Look for furniture “without formaldehyde, PBDEs, TDCPP, ozone depleters, or other harmful chemicals” to make sure you are supporting products that are good for the environment and its sustainability.

Even though we know of the importance of teaching our children about sustainability, unfortunately not all parents are going to feel the same way. This is when it is crucial for schools to instill school-taught sustainability practices and promote healthy environmental exercises in education through projects, tests, homework and other activities.

As your child learns to compost, reduce energy usage, and support environmentally friendly home products, their sustainable actions are bound to rub off on the peers surrounding them. When these green living tactics grow to have a following, we might even start to see cleaner cities and environments that are more suitable to healthy living. When we – as teachers, parents and influencers – research and understand the significance of a greener lifestyle to pass down to our children, we too are learning a thing or two about environmentally-friendly tactics.