mothers
April 28, 2024
Minutes To Read: 3

Conscious consumption since childhood

Today, mainly because of current discussions about the need for sustainable development, much is said about conscious consumption. But what does it mean?

Conscious consumption (or responsible consumption) is basically balancing personal satisfaction with nature's sustainability. Moreover, to acquire products of ethical origin and from companies committed to the preservation of the environment, society and the common good.

But consume consciously can? and should? go far beyond that concept. It is knowing the value of our money and balancing the cost-effectiveness of our acquisitions. It is knowing our rights as consumers. And demand them when necessary.

We currently receive a great deal of stimulus for consumption at all times. And often implicitly telling us that it is necessary to "have to be happy". So, how to train children and young people to be conscious consumers in this current context in which we live?

It may seem quite complex at first, but educating a child is nothing but enabling them to experience examples of good conduct (indoors first!), To have experiences from their own practice: copying, adapting models or inventing new ones through trial and error, and encouraging her to reflect on the act and consequence of attitudes and situations.

For those with small children at home, many everyday situations can help a lot in shaping their values. The child is a? Sponge? and is learning, with everything and every moment, how to be, to be and to live in a world of constant discoveries.

So a nice tip is to allow children to participate in making the shopping list of the house. That's right! Asking them to help them figure out what they need to buy and what they still have in sufficient quantity for a next purchase is a way to begin to understand, in a playful and entertaining way, the value not only of money but of things.

This activity can also help the little ones in their literacy process, even with the little ones.

With children not yet literate, parents can play word-forming items on the list supported by moving alphabets (those loose-letter alphabets made of wood, for example). Playing, the child begins to know the alphabetic symbols early and gradually establish the relationship between letter and sound, word and sound and understand combinations between vowels and consonants.

With children who already know how to write small words and phrases, let them make this list themselves, assisting them whenever necessary.

Here the most important thing is not whether I am parenting right or wrong, or if I am teaching differently from his teacher, or becoming boring and similar to a homework, but be a fun and laid back way to stimulate your process of familiarization with the world of letters. And the main thing: being a family fun time.

Allowing your child to help you find the right products and knowing the cost-effectiveness of each one further enhances this knowledge (and may even make for many the difficult time shopping with the kids more relaxed and fun. !).

Although still children, it is also very important to explain to them that there are companies that are? Nature friendly? and others that are not. They use the resources that nature offers us without any responsibility: they waste water, destroy forests, and make people work long hours in unhygienic places and earn almost nothing. And nature-friendly businesses help people and care about the planet.

Activities like these help a lot in developing the child's logical-mathematical thinking by understanding notions of quantities, prices, and sizes. In addition, they help in the process of forming their self-esteem and developing their sense of responsibility and life in society.

Childhood is the moment when human beings do not yet have their fully formed identity. Therefore, this is the ideal time for parents to enable children to form their own spending habits. Questions like? Do you (or we) really need to have this? Why is this really good for you (or us)? made for little ones early? especially when the phase of? mom, dad, but everyone has !? starts? ? It helps in the formation of highly necessary skills for the human being these days: the critical sense, reflection and having one's own personality.

A child who lives in an environment where adults have a responsibility to consume is much more likely to become a conscious adult not only at the time of shopping, but in all situations of his life.