How to Teach Your Kids to Love Animals

We all want our kids to grow up to be responsible and caring adults and look after their environment. If you haven’t yet talked about the impact of humans on ecosystems, it might be time to do so. At home, on holidays, and by choosing the right movies to watch on a Friday night, you can do a lot to encourage your kids to look after the animals; big or small. Below you will find a few tips on how to incorporate environmental education in your family life.

Lead By Example

The first thing you need to do is becoming a role model for your kids. Do you drive them around the corner to see their friends, instead of walking? Do you keep the engine running while you are waiting for them to finish their soccer practice? Once you have sat down with them and told them about climate change, expect your kids to remind you to do more. Recycle whatever you can, and ask them to give you tips on making your home greener and reduce your family’s carbon footprint.

Get a Pet

To make your kids understand and love animals, you might want to get a pet. Dogs will teach your children how to take responsibility for another living creature, and consider their needs over others. You can assign different tasks to your kids to look after animals around the house. You might want to start with fish and teach them about how they are impacted by warmer seas and the increased pollution of open waters. Next, you can look for a ferret or a cat, and move on to a dog.

Take Them Diving

If you want your kids to appreciate every animal, not just the “cute furry” ones, you might want to take them diving on your next vacation. This way, they will see the great variety of sea creatures and the living environment of the fish. A diving adventure can open their eyes to the importance of recycling plastic, and protecting the beach. You might even find that they will want to take part in local beach cleanup projects, after seeing dolphins or whales in their natural environments.

Eco Holidays

You could also decide to book an eco vacation somewhere close to nature. There are several educational Eco vacation deals advertised for all ages, teaching kids about the importance of looking after the living environment of wild animals. You will help them understand the impact of humans on animals’ lives, and have a great time bonding during your Eco vacation, taking a shower outdoors, and using recyclable materials.

One Day Off the Grid

Image via National Park Service

To make your kids understand what it means to be greener, and to get them to appreciate the comfort they have at home, you could take a day off the grid. You can use solar power, but nothing powered by electricity in the house. You might even take a trip to the bottom of the garden, or the closest campsite and teach them why it is important to preserve natural resources that are so scarce.

Documentaries

There are several great documentaries about animals and native tribes that will teach your kids a lot about living alongside animals and respecting them. From movies about endangered species to educational cartoons; you can pick the right films according to their age and cognitive development. Watching the stunning whales communicate with each other, or elephants looking after the injured will make them realize how lucky they are to share the planet with other species.

Learning About Agriculture and Its Impact

Learn Beekeeping Course

Image via Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson

It is important that you teach your kids about ethical agriculture and the use of pesticides. The humane treatment of animals should be taught at an early age. If you want to set up a small farm looking after injured animals, and you have enough space, your kids will love this new adventure. You might even want to get some beekeeping supplies and start an ethical business, teaching your kids about the damage pesticides cause for these extremely valuable species.  

Loving animals and looking after their living environment is one of the most important skills you can teach your kids. To bring up responsible and caring children, you will need to educate them about ethical treatment of animals, and the impact of the growing human population on different species. Get a pet, enrolf for educational Eco tours, and help your kids understand how their actions can impact animal environments. Choose educational resources that you can all enjoy together and learn from.