How to Raise your Kids to Love Nature
Nature is abundant around us, from the air we breathe to the flowers in full bloom. To share this with our precious children is a sheer joy. Seeing the amazement on the face of your little ones as they watch the intricate details of life, that sometimes can pass by us busy parents. Kids are born innately to make life slow down and make moms and dads appreciate the smaller things in life. The tricky part is to keep them interested as they get older.
Once kids reach a certain age they tend to want to be shut-ins. They watch TV, play video games or play on the computer. In our technological advancements we may have hindered our children. Can we make them appreciate the finer things once again? In order to make our children love nature, we need to get them out and about. This includes getting out and about with them. Quality family time is often spent outdoors. The amount of activities that can be done outdoors with your children is an endless pit. And they love every moment of the time that you are spending together, at least until they reach a certain age.
Loving nature means learning about it, learning about the names of the trees, the animals and the insects. Nature walks are a great way to get your children involved in their surroundings. While you are on the nature walk, talk to your child. Point out the beauty of the light shining through the trees, the smell of the pines and the sound of the leaves crunching beneath your feet. Make a game of “Eye Spy” a part of your adventures. Make outings into an adventure for your kids, so that they can get excited too. Getting out into the nature can become a daily part of your life with your children. It can even be as simple as taking your dog for a walk together. Plant a garden or flowers together. Get the kids to plant their own plant and water it. Point out how much it has grown on a daily basis. Then plant it outside and get them to help you pick and eat the vegetation. This is an amazing process that we tend to forget. It encourages bonding family time and a strong foundation for a lifetime full of the love of nature.
We truly have a gift to share with our children and its name is “earth”. Life is in the smaller details and children seem to be born already knowing this. Let’s not let them forget about the smaller joys in life and get them to want to look after our mother earth. We have a responsibility to the future generations to teach our kids to love nature.
