How to talk to young children about climate change.
There is absolutely no question that the children of today will be greatly affected by climate change. They will not have the luxury of slowly learning about environmental issues, rather they will be faced with them their entire lives. However, this topic is rarely addressed with young children. We worry that it’s too big, too scary a topic to worry them about. I disagree. I think that we do children a disservice by not equipping them to navigate a rapidly changing environment, and by not modeling how to reduce their own environmental impact. As an Early Childhood Educator, here’s how I do it.
Build a strong connection with nature.
It’s simple. Children can’t care about what they don’t connect with. I work in a capital city, and one of the biggest priorities for my class is developing a strong relationship with the natural world. We grow a garden and watch how it changes over the course of the year. We eat our own harvest and understand where it comes from. We forage and discover what edible and useful plants and trees are in our own urban neighborhood (we even found a wild pear tree down the block!). At Halloween, carving a single pumpkin can be a rich experience. We harvest our own pumpkin, roast and eat the seeds to limit waste, keep a few seeds to plant the next year, and then watch how the organic materials break down and biodegrade. We spend entire days in the forest. We use hundreds of chestnuts, sticks, rocks, and leaves for art projects and classroom decorations. We use plants and flowers to make natural dyes and paints. We keep snails as pets and learn about what ecosystems they need. There are countless more examples of the ways we bring nature into the classroom, and how we bring the classroom into nature.
All of these seemingly small projects and activities have an enormous impact. Small children are constantly building their own concept of the world. They are unconsciously developing their personal value systems. By experiencing first hand the beauty and usefulness of the natural world, they grow to value it. By spending time playing in nature, they develop a personal relationship with it. As adults, these children will have a strong bond with the environment. They will be more likely to want to protect it because they have had an appreciation for it from a young age.
Educate them about specific environmental issues
Talk about environmental concerns. Talk about the issues your city, your country, the world faces. This is the world that these children will inherit, and it does them a disservice to pretend that climate change will not impact them. You may be worried that it could worry them, but if you talk about these things in the right way, it will leave them empowered and not afraid.
Props help. Concrete books, objects, and activities help children to learn through exploration. There are countless children’s books about environmental issues, and they can be a fantastic way to introduce these topics. One of my students’ favorites is What a Waste. These kinds of books need adult guidance, and are an excellent conversation starter, to spark bigger conversations. Hands-on activities are also a great way to introduce environmental issues. We recently froze our own ‘polar ice cap’ to introduce the idea of the changing ecosystems and melting ice in the arctic.
The key in talking about specific environmental issues is agency. Make it clear to children that they can do something about it. Make that something as hands-on as possible. In the case of the melting ice caps, we discussed what makes the earth get warmer, and how we can try to avoid or limit using those things. When talking about deforestation, we made our own paper to learn about recycling. Learning that plastic doesn’t break down like the leftover bits of our pumpkin did was another great introduction to recycling. Children are less likely to be afraid of these environmental topics if they know that they can do something about them. If they understand the reasons why we try to reduce our own environmental impact, they will also be more likely to develop good lifestyle habits.
Model environmentally friendly practices
We are role models to small children, whether we want to be or not. Children notice everything. How we behave, how we react, and our habits all create an archetype that they look to for guidance. It is important to model environmentally friendly practices in our own lives to normalize them as part of everyday life.
A few years ago, I stopped using plastic bottles and paper coffee cups at work. I only use a reusable coffee cup and a reusable glass water bottle. I don’t make a big deal out of using these things, but I know the importance of modeling their use. It is not a big topic of conversation with the children, it is simply part of my daily life in front of them. It is absolutely amazing how many children’s families have bought the same reusable water bottle that I have over the years… countless children have arrived at school beaming because they have the same water bottle that I do. From my modeling alone, these children will view reusable water bottles as the norm, and that’s absolutely fantastic.
Be honest in your reasoning for taking certain actions or making certain decisions. At Christmas, I bought a small potted Christmas Tree. I brought it in and told the children why I had done that. ‘I was thinking what a shame it is to cut down trees for the holidays… so I thought maybe we could take care of this tree all winter, then plant it in the summer so that it could keep growing!’ The children loved that idea and even named the tree. They took dutiful care of it all winter, and now that it has grown in our yard for a few years, they still know it by name. Most importantly, they had an adult to model how environmental considerations can make an impact on decision-making.
This kind of modeling can take lots of different forms. Is there a hole in your sock? Let your child see you mend it rather than throwing it away. Use your leftover jars for food storage. Walk or cycle when you can. Plant a vegetable garden, or even just a few herbs on your windowsill. Small actions may not seem like much, but children refer to these small actions when they develop their own philosophical and behavioral road map for life.
Empower them to make their voices heard
As valuable as personal responsibility and a personal understanding of environmentally friendly practices are, it is also important for children to recognize their own societal power.
When talking about environmental issues, we make sure that the children are aware of their own personal expertise on the topic. We empower them to share that expertise with others. When we started recycling in the classroom, the children were proud to do their part to reduce waste. They are now able to separate paper, plastic, and organic waste with almost perfect accuracy. One day, a student came to me and asked why his parents didn’t recycle at home. I told him that I didn’t know, but he could ask them himself. A few days later, he proudly came in and said that his parents were now recycling and that he had taught them how. He had learned that he could have an impact on others, and encourage them to do their part (and a huge shout out to those parents for listening to their child!)
We also spend time exploring democratic participation and learning about making decisions as a group. We even did a mock-election in choosing a project topic, which taught the children about voting. They learn the importance of speaking up and making their voices heard. Even more importantly, they experience being heard. This strengthens their resolve to speak up when they disagree with something.
The concept of protesting is also a big theme in my class. From a young age, they experience that adults are not always right. That is to say, people in power are not always right. We read books like Greta and the Giants, we voice our disagreements and questions, and we even took some of the older children on a field trip to the global climate strike.
I know that the children in my class have learned to value the natural world, to stand up for what they believe in, and are developing environmentally friendly habits and beliefs. Through play and exploration, they are becoming strong people with values that they believe in. The reality of climate change and environmental concerns is not hidden from them, but it also hasn’t scared them. These children will be better equipped to navigate the climate crisis they will face throughout their adult lives. Through a child-focused and play-based approach, they have been empowered while having fun and enjoying their childhood. And I wouldn’t have it any other way.
