Jacob Wackerhausen/iStock
DCL
I am totally frightened by the technology at the hands of kids these days. When I was in high school you would be expelled at the sight of a cell phone because that was a clear sign that you were dealing drugs, imagine that! Today there is no teen without one. With all the online chatting, texting, and social sites it's really hard to keep your teen interested in a healthy green lifestyle. Teens are under more pressure than ever to succeed and they often respond in some less than healthy ways.
According to the Weekly Beet, 52 percent of children over five have a television in their bedroom and one-third of U.S. children and teens, are either overweight or on the verge of it. Even worse, more than 5 million children living today will die prematurely because of a decision to smoke cigarettes.
Those are some pretty staggering numbers but in truth, a lot of these issues can be handled early on with these helpful tips:
1.Don't spoil your teens.
Teach them about consumption early on. Consumption is the opposite of being green so it's important that your child knows the value of material objects. In a society that buys buys buys you don?t want to put your child at a disadvantage, but at the same time, don't spoil them. Don't put a television or computer in the bedroom, put them in a common room so that your teen can't simply lock themselves in their bedroom every night. If you choose to buy your child a car (used hybrid of course), teach them the importance of carpooling. Ensure that they pay for their own gas as well so that they don't drive all over the place wasting gas.
2.Talk seriously about smoking.
You can't prevent your teen from experimenting, but it is terribly important for them to know what smoking can do to their bodies and what it does the environment as well. Each year nearly 600 million trees are destroyed to provide fuel to dry tobacco. Put in another way one tree is destroyed for every 300 cigarettes.
3.Make sure they participate in some outdoor activities.
Teens can't appreciate the outdoors if they don't come into contact with it. Make sure that your child chooses activities (they like) to be involved in so they don't have tons of downtime. Kids are taught to balance their time when they have a lot to do and there is also less time to get into trouble. Don't force your kids into any activity that they are not interested in, but encourage them to get involved with friends and with their community. Play sports, join an outdoor club, or participate in an outdoor activity like hiking, fishing, or surfing.
4.Pass along the green knowledge.
Teens that grow up green are more likely to pass that knowledge on to their children. Remember that your kids learn about conservation and the importance of protecting the environment from you. Kids that grow up picking fresh produce from their garden every night for dinner won't settle for produce that travels across the country because they know that garden fresh is so much tastier.
5.Make sure they know the importance of eating green.
Make dinner at home every evening using seasonal, local ingredients and keep the processed junk out of the cabinets. If you teens want junk food to snack on, offer up healthy alternatives like homemade granola bars and my homemade organic cookies. This way your teens will know the importance of the ingredients in their foods.
Are you a green hipster looking for all things green and cool? Then you'll love actor and eco-activist Adrian Grenier and his team of environmental experts, who live it up with sustainable style on Planet Green TV's Alter Eco.
