Since a good leader is usually self-motivated,
you may need to educate your child on the effects
that saving water, conserving energy or recycling
can have on our planet. Once you have, assign her
an entire role, with a legitimate-sounding title to
boot, and let your little CEO (child environmental
officer) lead your family into more socially conscious
grounds. Here are five shoes your child can fill.
Light Monitor. As a light monitor, your child
would be in charge of making sure all lights are
turned off when not being used. A light monitor can
also bring the family together into a single room
so lights don’t have to be turned on all throughout
the house. In true leadership form, you can also
encourage your child to delegate and come up with
a reward system to galvanize other members of the
family to conserve electricity.
Water Reductionist. I love extended showers,
admittedly, as do my kids. My kids love to play
in the shower and I find water therapeutic. But
taking shorter showers is a great example of how
to conserve water. Remind your child that water is
scarce and many people in the world have to walk
miles before having access to clean water. Instead
of being the dripping reminder, let your child be the
voice of reason for a week or month and let your
child come up with other creative ways for your
family to conserve water. Perhaps your child can
time everyone’s showers. Or put a ban on running
the dishwasher when the load isn’t full.
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