Talking About Green

I am a mother to two terrific toddlers. They are so much fun and I love every second that I spend teaching them and learning from them.

But I’m not naïve enough to think that I’m the only one they are learning from. They are constantly bombarded with messages: from friends, friends’ parents, grandparents, the media, and people they encounter out in the world. They are learning from literally millions of people. Sometimes I become overwhelmed wondering how I will compete.

You see, I want to teach them not to be wasteful, but to be grateful. How do I teach a two-year-old to be grateful, when he is certain that the entire universe revolves around him?

One thing I’ve learned to do is to pray with my children every night. We simply list the things that we are thankful for. We say something along the lines of, “Dear God, thank you for the food that we eat. Thank you that we are not cold. Thank you for our house …” In the beginning, I did most of the talking, but now my children take over. They have figured out that the more thankful they are, the longer they can avoid going to bed. My daughter has thanked God for her books, one by one, and for the shadows on her wall. They thank God for every person that they love, and I force myself to be patient. I am usually successful. I do think they understand what it means to say “thank you.” At least, I hope that they are getting there.

And of course, the answer to all things parenting is to “live the example.” Of course, I myself try to be green, and whenever my children ask my why I do something a certain way, I take the time to explain. They’ve been treated to explanations about recycling, reusing, why they can’t have individual yogurt containers, and turning the lights off. They also understand (perhaps too well) why their mother hates plastic toys.

While some of this may still be over their heads, I don’t think it would be giving them enough credit to wait until they are older. I’m also teaching them how to count and say the alphabet. I might as well teach them how to separate cans from plastics at the same time.

I also try to expose my children to lots of animals. My kids love animals and it is somehow easier to talk about love and compassion when we are patting a sheep. So, I try to give them lots of opportunities to go to petting farms and hang out with dogs and cats.

I also try to give them ample chances to be outside in nature. This is not always easy, as we live in a populated area with a cold climate, but I make the effort because I think it is important for my kids to see the earth the way it is supposed to look, sans concrete. We take lots of camping trips.

I’ve been criticized for not letting my kids “just be kids.” I will apologize to them later if this is the case. Yes, I do correct them for wasting electricity, and I also correct them for kicking each other, and somehow I don’t feel like I’m robbing them of their childhoods. My daughter’s favorite thing in the world right now is to accompany me out to the compost pile. How can that be wrong?

Robin Merrill is a Maine freelance writer who writes for New England Lifestyle.