Toddler Talk Thursday - Raising an Eco-friendly toddler

It's Toddler Talk Thursday! Hosted by The Life of a Sippy Cup Mom, Crazy About My Baybah, and Family and Life in Las Vegas. 

The day we talk all things toddler!  Since joining in with these awesome Moms, I have really looked forward to our Toddler Talk Thursdays.  I've gotten some great advice, and just enjoyed knowing I'm not alone in this crazy toddler world.  

This week we're talking Green (no not money).  This week we were asked

 How are you helping to raise an eco-friendly toddler?

I'm going to be honest here.  I don't go out of my way to be green.  However, that doesn't mean we're not eco-friendly.  I do believe we have been entrusted with this earth; and that means we should do our part to keep it clean, and a beautiful place to live.  

Growing up my mom would take us on a walk around our block. We took trash bags with us and pick up the trash around our neighborhood.  We lived in the country, so our block was not a normal city block.  We usually had a couple bag fulls at each corner.  My mom taught me that littering is bad, and we should do our part to keep the earth clean.  I want to teach my children the same thing.  

So what am I doing with my toddlers? Well, we planted a garden this week.  I think it's the first place to start. To teach our children where our food comes from is very important.  Plus, having your own garden saves you money.  So if you have a garden, get the kids out there in it.  I have fond memories of pulling weeds every saturday with my siblings.  I personally loved that chore (so much better than vacuuming, or dishes!).  And another great benefit of gardening, is your kids will be more willing to try those veggies! It is a thrill for children to plant a garden, watch it grow, and then actually get to eat what came out of it!  

We try to recycle what we can.  Our city doesn't pick up recycling, and I just can't spend the gas money to drive it out, but we reuse a lot of items.  We're at my moms 1 day each week, and she has a stack of papers just for the Princess' to color on.  These papers all have something on one side, but are blank on the other.  I save paper towel tubes, and toilet paper rolls, to use in our crafts.  Old drink mix cartons (you know the koolaid cartons) I wash out and use for things like beads and buttons.  We turn cardboard boxes into storage bins (which saves on the ridiculous cost of plastic storage), and they work just as well!

This week I have pledged to do something for the earth with B Kind 2 Earth Day.  They sent us some awesome shirts to wear on Friday (which by the way is earth day).  So I've been trying to come up with what to do.  Many ideas have crossed my mind, and we'll just see how much we can fit in.

- Take a nature walk. We have a trail here, that I've been wanting to go on. 

- Plant some more stuff in the garden.  We still have a blueberry bush I need to get in and the carrots

- Color some earth day pictures

- Cook some earth friendly recipes like Asparagus and Potato Soup

Whatever I do, it always involves my 3 little Princess'.  We are bound to have fun, laughter, and a whole heaping of love for each other and the earth.  

Topic Suggestion for next week: Toddlers and Sport, where's the balance?

    

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