Conversation with a preschooler

Have you ever talked to a preschooler? It is one of the funniest, sweetest things I’ve ever had the chance to do.  I’m sure it’s more enjoyable since the preschooler is my own, but preschoolers are a funny breed.   They are learning about the world around them and every experience is new and hopefully exciting.  Sometimes my preschooler takes things so  literal all I can do is think yeah technically that’s right, but not really what I meant. Like eight & ate.  A resent misunderstanding “If I eight it is it still this many” (holding up 8 little fingers) Um, OK anyone else want to explain this one?  Today’s misunderstanding might be my all time favorite, for now at least.

Exact conversation:
Me “B we need to brush your hair it’s a birds nest”
B “OK mom” as she’s scratching her ear
Me “does your ear hurt?”
B “I think the bird built the nest in my ear”

It’s the innocents that makes them so literal and it’s the innocents that I want to try and keep for my girls as long as I can, as I’m sure most parents do.  I think that might be why it’s so hard for a lot of parents to talk to their kids about the environment and being green.  I think a lot of the Green Eco lifestyle comes out of fear and being scared of what will happen if we don’t live green.

We have started talking to B about living green. We don’t use the term “being green”, could you imagine what a preschooler might think if you told them they were going to be “green”. B already knows that banana peels or conana (as she calls them) don’t go into the garbage, but go into the chicken bowl.  She reminds us to bring our canvas bags to the store and don’t forget to turn off the lights when you leave a room cause she will not let it slide.  She also knows that we eat organic foods because “they are better for everyone.” All these little things are fun, helpful & practical. We are trying to encourage her to start habits now that are Eco friendly, that she will do w/out thinking about as she gets older.

We also talk about not wasting things like water, food & even toys. Toys I know sounds weird, but really everything that is throw away ends up in land fills.  We try to give all of the things in our house a second home when we are done with them. We involve B in the process of going through old stuff & bringing them to the goodwill, salvation army or where ever they need to go. Just another habit.  So why do this & how do you start?

I think anything that has to do with young kids and big topics it needs to be brought to their level and have a positive spin on it. With this particular topic I think the more fun you make it the more kids will enjoy it. Make a game out of it.  See who can remember to turn off the most lights each day or build a container to start a compost bin and turn it into a family project, nothing says fun like worms and dirt.

I think the why is simple, young kids need to learn to care about the world around them at a younger age than any other generation has before.

I would love to hear more ways that you make being Green fun for your kids.

B is already sharing all her Green secrets with little K