What defines green parenting?
June 3, 2009 by Jennifer
I recently read a good article by green papa Chris Riemenschneider called “Green parenting is not always easy“. In actuality the article covers more of why green parenting was easier then Chris thought it might be. I.e. cloth diapers – kind of tough, but not so bad. The piece did get me thinking though, is green parenting harder than not?
It’s a tough call because the things that make you a green parent are debatable. For instance are you greener if you use cloth diapers but fail to recycle, or are you greener if you recycle, grow and hand make your own organic baby food, plus buy only natural toys BUT you use disposable diapers? Which parent is greener?
What do I think defines green parenting?:
I think there are some key elements to green parenting such as…
- Being hands on and encouraging your littles to love nature. If you’re not getting your kids outside and teaching them about the planet you’d like them to conserve, the lesson is screwy, don’t you think?
- Making choices by weighing the risks of your actions – i.e. is it better to buy a set of plastic Legos (affordable) and be able to afford organic milk or is it more important to buy an all natural, toxic-free toy (not always affordable) and skip the organic milk? I side with the organic milk on this one. I can’t always control what my son plays with, but he’s past the age of putting Legos into his mouth while milk does go into his mouth daily and non-organic could affect his health.
- Doing the basics – I do think that green parenting at the very least means encouraging recycling, making green cleaning choices, and doing away with disposables when possible. For example, we’ve never had paper napkins in our house, and I’m hoping my son will grow up and continue to use cloth napkins – small choices add up. The above (green cleaning, recycling, and knocking disposables) are easy things that any parent can try.
- Talking about why we make the choices we do. My son, at age eight years, can tell you all about pollution, recycling, organic foods, tree planting and more. Yeah, he tells it in his own words but he gets it to a level that an eight year old can get it. Talking about green living is maybe one of the most important parts of being a green parent in my opinion.
I can think of other things, but the above make the most sense to me. Green choices are tough. Parenting is tougher. Add them together and it’s a lot to deal with which is why I advocate small steps here at THF. Of course I also encourage large steps, but I think if you do what you can it’s an awesome start. Maybe later I’ll gather up a list of green parenting steps – from small to large.
What do you think? What defines green parenting in your opinion?
[image via me - my son Cedar on a hike]
I think the choices we make can help our children grow to make similar choices. My dad was a big environmentalist, conservationist, green guy. Not one of our friends recycled, none, ever. Every one of my siblings recycle and make choices – some more significant than others. My husband’s family – we’re the only recyclers. His brother said I need to put up a sign saying what goes where so he doesn’t throw it away. We let the paper towels run out so now we only get it when our moms are visiting. I just bought cloth napkins, and use my reusable bags. Those are the changes I’m making with my family.
I think though, you have to make your own steps so that your kids feel comfortable making similar decisions when they are on their own.
I agree so much that talking about it and experiencing “green living” is vital! I want our children to experience reusing, experience thrift stores and garage sales while enjoying the fact that we are loving and reusing an old toy, experiencing nature by planting our garden and flowers and experiencing shopping for organic foods etc. I think when little ones have a hand in green choices…it helps instill these important values for a lifetime of greener living. We have gone all natural on many things and our entire family enjoys our daily probiotic from Vidazorb that has helped our son with his Eczema. It all began there and we have transformed our world into a more natural one as a family! Thanks- great thoughts!
Great blog! One idea for green parenting is to buy virtually everything you can second hand or have toy, athletic equipment, and clothing swaps with friends who have kids. Save the money for organic food. I wrote Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times which is all about these challenges. As a humane educator, I try to bring age-appropriate information to kids, foster their curiosity, creativity and critical thinking skills, instill reverence, respect and responsibility for the natural world, other people, and animals, and give them the tools for problem-solving and making wise choices.
Keep up the great work!
Zoe (HumaneEducation.org, zoeweil.com)