The Environment

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“I cannot do all the good that the world needs, but the world needs all the good that I can do.” – Jana Stanfield

At the end of every day my house is a mess. There is litter (toys on the floor), dangerous spills (popsicle residue on the floor), waste of precious resources (water, electricity and paper), some areas have been taken over by debris (the dining room table) and I think the couch could be a Super Fund clean up site (crumbs, toothpaste and other unidentifiable debris). There is an invasive species in with the dishes (toys in the sink) and measurable climate change (I keep the house is four degrees warmer than I used to at night). Having kids is really messing with my environment.

The environmentalist Wendell Berry is credited with the profound idea that we have not inherited the earth from our parents; we have borrowed it from our children. But he must have been talking about the concept of children and not actual children who seem to naturally tend toward not worrying about limited resources.

Given the numerous stories and approaches that I’ve heard from parents, I’d guess raising an environmentalist is hard, even when the practice is limited to only their room or a play room. My friend told me her daughter once excitedly said to a guest to their house, “Come see my ruin!” A miscommunication so apt that they are still laughing about it 30 years later.

Another family tried teaching by logical consequences so that any toys left on the floor were likely to be trod upon and that must be an effective method because the girls, now in their college years, can still enumerate the toy fatalities (toy-talities?).  Eventually these kids grew up to be good stewards of their environments but not without someone helping them see the big picture and how they can make a difference.

A quote from the Dalai Lama, “Human use, population, and technology have reached that certain stage where Mother Earth no longer accepts our presence with silence,” has spurred me to action because up to this point I’ve been often opting for silence — mostly cleaning it myself rather than teaching them how.

My son goes on garbage walks with his school – the kids identify garbage and the teachers pick it up and put it in bags. My daughter loves to be organized. So I have some raw capabilities to work with and just might be able to make some good stewards of the environment out of them yet!

14 thoughts on “The Environment”

  2. Teaching early, and reinforcing are the key I think. But if we’re being real here, being aware of what to do and actually doing it surrounded by tech, consumerism, real life influence and needs versus the ideal of thinking deeply and fully about our impacts… it’s not just the kids who need teaching and reinforcement. It’s hard. Period. Just like anything else we give and receive the tools to be better. Sometimes we’re on top of it, sometimes we’re not so great. I think we still live fully entrenched in a society that mainly wants ease and gratification and plans to think about the future tomorrow, yet tomorrow keeps getting shoved aside for bigger issues. Be the best example you can be. Your kids will learn and then make their choices throughout life. I sort of suspect that’s the best we can hope for.

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    1. Deb, thank you for this comment. It is hard. And you are so right, it’s not just the kids who need teaching and reinforcement. I’m hoping that just like with social issues, they will just grow up with a different base line of what is acceptable. After all, I remember when I was young and there was a major campaign to stop littering. Small steps.

      And yes, be the best example I can be. Sigh..hard work but worth it if just for my own awareness!

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  5. It’s great that you are going to teach your kids to clean up after themselves. I can certainly empathize with the route of doing it for them because it’s so much easier and less frustrating. But it doesn’t teach them in the long run.

    It’s great that your daughter is organized and your sons school has those cleaning activities. Lots of raw potential and aptitude to work with!

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  6. “Come see my ruin!” That truly is precious. When my three girls were younger, a bachelor friend came over unexpectedly. I said, “Sorry about the mess. A tornado touched down in here.” He looked around and said, “Yeah, what happened?”
    Clearly, he had no children of his own. :/ Yours will grow and learn. Mine have. It is possible!

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    1. That’s hilarious!! I need that encouragement and hope today. I asked my daughter to clean out the bathroom she uses today and found everything she didn’t have a place for in the hallway. 🙂 So glad to hear that they learn!

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