"Mom! Stop wasting water!", this from my 3- year old daughter as she sits on the potty and wags her finger at me as I am brushing my teeth. Seriously? Seriously. I guess I am doing something right if she has decided it was her turn to be the enviro-cop in the house.I thought it was really great that my kids were growing up with these earth-friendly habits at a young age- not like my young, wasteful generation. I know it took me some convincing when I started recycling and was put off by the sorting and learning what could and couldn't be recycled, and it took many reminders to husband to turn off the lights and turn down the heat...but they would never experience this shock of reversing a past ingrained behaviour. They would never see the heaps of plastic bags, plastic containers, and food waste that were routinely thrown into the garbage when I was a child. They know and have always known that there are places for recycling, compost and, if all else fails- the garbage bin. They also know we try to use things more than once before throwing them out.
Well, I thought that all this ingrained training was a good idea until I was getting the private shaming! I admit I deserved the admonishing that I received, but at least I knew the message was getting through to M through all the little things we were doing.
Maybe she wouldn't use half a roll of toilet paper for a toilet paper+ toilet+ water= science experiment anymore. After reading the (appropriately-titled) kid's book called "I Can Save the Earth" about a little monster that turns "green", she is more aware of her use of t.p. It was a timely message considering how much t.p. we were going through and the new realization that those were "wasted trees", was not wasted on her!
Not only were we saving toilet paper, but also other paper products. I bought a large stash of bamboo washcloths for the kitchen- after-dinner wipes for little faces that are naturally anti-bacterial and were quickly reducing our use of paper towels. M is used to using these now and will ask for a "wipe" instead of a paper towel- plus it is much softer for those more sensitive-types like her. http://www.alongcomesababy.com/store/shop_product.php?UPC=400000001536
After running around after runny noses with tissue boxes in tow, I realized that I needed to convince husband we had to invest in something else that would lessen our impact on the earth and our pocketbook- hankies! At first the idea took me back to my university days and I remembered when my stodgy old UBC profs would sneeze and sniffle and yank these well-used workhorses out of their pockets and I wasn't sure I really liked that remembrance all that much.
But, I quickly got over that as I realized how many tissue boxes we were going through when it seemed that colds are par for the course with a preschooler bringing home all those lovely viruses! I decided it was time to get over my fear of this (as with many other things that parents routinely learn to deal with) and give it a try! Well, I am happy to report that our family has now adjusted to using hankies most of the time. Our pick: Organic Hankettes. You can actually buy these in a box that you can use just like tissues, wash with towels (or anything else) and they get softer over time. M now knows that we are saving trees one nose at a time!
One day, as husband was sorting recycling, I suggested that our little enviro-cop may be well-suited to a new chore to really foster some of this new enviro-enthusiasm that M was displaying. What seemed like a good idea - sorting is supposed to be a good preschooler activity - quickly turned into a barrage of comments and questions that husband wasn't really ready to handle.
"Oh, I like this can!...This would be a good instrument!... Can I have this one?... This one is better!" and then the moment of truth, "Dad, Why are we recycling THIS?" (forlornly holding up her scribble on a piece of torn paper that obviously held more value at that very moment than it did when the initial inspiration hit). Yikes. Husband frowns and M is upset that this is the fate of many of her beloved art projects. Of course, this was quickly forgotten and she still knows where the recycling bin is. She loves to contribute to it but we won't be having any of that sorting business for some time.
There is still confusion over the whole water-wastage talk we had after she had run the tap and enjoyed the sudsy soap bubbles for a little too long in the bathroom last week. We talked about how wasting water is bad for the Earth, how it uses up water and that we just shouldn't do it. Later, sitting on the potty she spouts, "Mommy, don't worry, I am putting water back in the Earth now!" Hearing the faint tinkle...yes, she gets it...kinda.
