8 Reasons Why it’s so important for kids to be taught the value of energy saving

Teaching children how to budget what money come in each month and show them how to manage utility bills, grocery bills and other payments may seem like hard worth but it is very beneficial. Using visual effects can help children to understand a lot more than just using words. It is good to involve them in the family finances.

You can get younger children into energy saving and efficiency by making turning lights off a game. Consider using a rewards system with stickers for following the system.

Teach children that keeping lights off saves money. It may not be a lot, but using an analogy that they will understand – like penny sweets – will help them to gain the knowledge and habit early on.

Consider using a phrase similar to “Lights off, pennies in the piggy bank” or something of the sort. Maybe even keep a few bags of pennies in the house and give them a few to put in a piggy bank to show saving money as well as energy conservation.

Teaching children that protecting the environment and renewable energy sources is also very important. When people are greedy with energy sources, alternative, and more expensive measures must be taken.

If children do not want to have to pay high energy bills as adults, they will need to adopt good habits at an early age. Instead of complaining about the cost of the bill try and speak positively about how much you saved instead. This helps to turn it into a positive conversation and will help your children build the right thoughts around saving energy.

A great way to get them excited is to teach them that the savings from keeping lights off is how they were able to have pizza for dinner or enjoy another activity.

Remember practice makes perfect. It may take a while but getting children into a routine gives them a disciplined attitude when it comes to responsibility. Turning lights off when they leave a room will soon become second nature.

Children will be taught the value of money in school. However, this does not show them real-life examples of how money works.

Teach them at home using a few tactics:

·         Take 100 £1 coins and show them how it is divided up for living expenses

·         Show them what is left and what something they want costs

·         They will see that there is either just enough or not enough for the want

·         Show them how to save their left over pounds for an activity

Why not use this opportunity to show them how much they saved and that it can be used for another purpose. Not only does this show them how to conserve energy but it teaches them the value of money. It is a multipurpose life lesson.

Using lights when they are necessary is fine but you should also consider teaching them that a lamp is better than a room light in some cases.

When lights and electricity in general are used in moderation, the bill is always less and energy is conserved.

Other than having televisions on, using more energy than necessary, children can spend that time outdoors. Teach them activities such as board games, homework practices, doing chores or playing outside instead of sitting indoors.

Limit video game and computer time too. Did you know that consoles use one unit of electricity to power three hours of gameplay? That costs about 20p and most games can take 60 hours to play through costing a total of around £4! Get them involved in other activities.

Once a child has learned math and the concept of money, show them how you budget. This means showing them how much you bring in per month. Break this down by weekly living expenses. Subtract those expenses from the income.

Show them what is left and explain how much things cost. Once they see how much it costs just to live, their complaining to go do something may dwindle.

Children that get in a good routine of conserving energy at a young age will carry this on as an adult. They will teach their children. It will be a cycle that is beneficial rather than hazardous.

With these lessons, children can learn how to conserve energy and lower their bills. This molds them into conscious adults that know how to budget and maintain practical energy bills. Teach them the techniques they need early so that they have plenty of practice.