Why we should teach our kids from a young age to go plastic free

5 April 2022

At this point, I doubt there is a person on the planet that would deny that plastic pollution is a problem. The tough truth being Brits make up much more than their fair share of the plastic pie, ranking as the second largest global contributor to plastic waste with an average of 99kg’s per person a year - this isn't a podium finish to be proud of.

Rowdy Kind founders Anne Marie and Kate

So why should we teach our kids from a young age to be plastic free? The initial answer may seem obvious, because we have a problem and we need to solve it.. This is absolutely true, but it hasn’t inspired rapid action from the population to date. So, I want to share four other reasons why I think there is an amazing opportunity to use plastic pollution as a tool for your childs’ (and family’s) learning and personal growth:

Problem Identification:

It’s one thing for kids’ to learn that plastic pollution is a problem (cue picture of plastic wrapped around a turtle), but there is also a great opportunity to explore together WHY it is a problem. Industrial developments, a culture of convenience, global economic pressures - the list is endless. Of course the lessons and tools you use need to be tailored to your child's age, but I think the “WHY” step is important, there is a reason that toddler’s ask why 400 times each day.

Teaching Empathy:

Now that you explored the problem together, investigate who is most impacted by it. Again, tailored to age this could be as simple as a trip to the beach or as in depth as researching the impact of UK plastic pollution shipped to third world countries. Empathy is an extremely important pillar in a child’s emotional development, in fact fostering empathetic thinking flow is directly correlated to vital adult attributes such as leadership and overall happiness - this is really good stuff!

Fostering Empowerment:

You’ve explored the overall problem together and built empathy for those impacted by it - now it’s time to make some changes! The most important part of this phase is empowering your kids to be involved. For younger kids this could look like “should we try bamboo toilet paper or reusable paper towels first,” for older kids they could be empowered to research and make a list of ‘eco-swaps’ the household could make and lead the family discussion about which to tackle first. As adults it’s easy to dismiss kids’ ideas based on life practicalities such as price, convenience, and just being set in our ways - try not to and instead work through the solutions together.

This lesson is very close to our hearts and the reason our brand Rowdy Kind was born. Kate’s son Chris (then 7) felt empowered to question her regarding the amount of plastic bottles they were using at bathtime. A year later, they launched the world's first plastic free skincare range, for kids.

Good Decision Making:

This final step is really exciting and will make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. After all of the family’s learning about plastic pollution, you can support your child in making good decisions and building lifelong sustainable habits in a multitude of ways. It’s truly exciting to see how this process has impacted their decision making.

Here’s some fun examples of games you can play together:

The grocery store hunt: “You can pick a treat but it has to be plastic free!”
Challenge: pack a single-use-plastic free lunch together
Got a birthday or holiday coming up? Task them to make their own wish list plastic free, or pick an eco-friendly gift for their friend!

I hope this has given you a different perspective on why we should teach our young kids about the plastic pollution crisis and the multitude of lifelong lessons they can learn if you do!

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/oct/30/us-and-uk-citizens-are-worlds-biggest-sources-of-plastic-waste-study