Climate change is a topic that weighs heavily on all of our minds. As parents and caregivers, it can be hard to know where to start, and it’s certainly tempting to leave the discussion until “later”. While our own children are young, all under 5 years of age, we want them to grow up knowing that our world is changing, and why. We want them forewarned and forearmed, not blindsided. And, most importantly, we want them to feel hopeful, but also galvanized. We hope this guide helps empower you to begin these conversations with your child, whatever age they are, and helps you and your child(ren) decide how to take action.
This guide is to aid you in choosing topics and information that will be meaningful to your child at their age and stage. You do not need to have a “sit down talk” to introduce these ideas, though you can- rather, keep these topics in mind and introduce them as they arise naturally. All will be best digested as repeated topics of discussion- the goal is to integrate these ideas into their understanding of how the world works through repeated exposure and dialogue.
First Concepts
Ages 2 - 4
For 2-4 year olds, start with the basics. Begin with the concepts of weather and climate.
The most important thing for this group is to foster a relationship with nature and the environment. Whether it’s going for walks, engaging in an outdoor scavenger hunt, or gardening with your child, creating a connection with the environment will help create a generation invested in and empowered to advocate for our earth and our future.
What is weather?
Weather is what is going on outside. You can discuss the weather in terms of temperature (is it hot or cold?), precipitation (is it raining? Is it snowing?), cloudiness (do you see lots of clouds in the sky? Are they gray or white?), brightness (is the sun out? Or is it hidden?), visibility (is it foggy?) and windiness (can you hear the wind blowing?). Have your child start their day by stepping outside and making observations about the weather. This will not only help them to understand what weather is but will even inform them of what clothes to wear or what activities they may or may not be able to do that day.
What is climate?
Climate is the average weather in a given place, over a given period of time. Climate can be a hard concept to grasp, since their memories and concept of time at this age doesn’t always span long enough to observe trends. You can begin to broach the topic by talking about different places they may have been, or seen depicted in a book or video. For example, at the north pole it is always snowy and icy, unlike at our home, where it is only snowy in winter. Or Florida, where Gramma lives, where it is never snowy. These are examples of different climates.
Developing Understanding
Ages 5 - 7
At this age, you can begin to look at longitudinal trends with your children. Have them make observations from season to season about their environment - have them record these seasonal changes through drawings, recording temperatures, or even tallying how many days they had to wear their heaviest coat during the winter. A simple phenology notebook or calendar (“birthday” style perpetual calendars work well) can help; what day did the big tree on the corner get its first leaf? Lose its last leaf? How was last year different?
How is the climate changing?
For this age group, you can begin to focus on trends and changes. A great starting point is to look at snow trends. For example, when grandma was little, she used to experience multiple feet of snow. When you (the parent) were little, you used to have multiple snowball fights each winter. Now, what does winter look like? Is there enough to build a snowman? Opportunities to sled or build snowmen are rarer than they once were, and likely to get more so. Illustrating trends as they relate to your child and people they know is the clearest way to emphasize the changes taking place in our climate.
For those of us in the DC area, the cherry blossoms are another way to illustrate changes in our climate. For one, the peak bloom for the beloved cherry blossoms has been earlier and earlier with each year and this trend is due to warming temperatures. Traditionally, it was easy to predict peak bloom of the cherry blossoms based on past peak bloom dates. But climate change is making this harder and harder. The National Park Service produced a great video on cherry blossom blooming trends that is informative for parents and kids alike.
Why is the climate changing?
You can also begin to discuss the causes of climate change. Keep it simple - explain some of the ways in which we are making the earth warmer:
Cutting down trees
Using transportation such as cars, trains, and airplanes
Cooling and heating our homes- this also introduces the concept of a positive feedback loop. The more the climate changes, due in part to housing heating and cooling, the more we need to heat and/or cool our homes.
Buying/producing food far away from where it is eaten.
An easy way to start to make kids aware of everyday choices and their effects on the environment is by doing this activity in the grovery store - many products show where they are produced. Look at a map - how far away was each of their grocery items grown? How do they think it got to the supermarket/farmers market? How long did that journey take? If you have your own garden, compare the journey of a grocery store tomato in winter to a backyard or community garden tomato in summer.
Taking Action
Ages 7-10
For this age group, you can give more details/context about climate change as well as action steps. Help them to become informed and take ownership - this helps to pave the way for activism. Emphasize that climate change is not one person’s responsibility- and the actions of one person cannot fix it. We all need to work together, and governments need to take action. However, that does not mean we are powerless.
What does climate change cause?
Wildfires - wildfires are becoming more frequent, longer in duration and higher in intensity due to our changing climate. Talk to your children about how wildfires affect us - what causes them? What resources are required to fight wildfires? What happens when we lose large areas of plants, vegetation, and housing?
Water Shortages - what happens when you don’t have enough water? You need water to drink but you also need water to be able to wash hands and keep your surroundings clean. You need water to grow food - plants need water to grow. Brainstorm with your child all the ways in which water is essential. Then talk about what life would be like if fresh water were scarce, as it is in many places.
Refugees: start with what's happening close geographically - the climate refugee crisis is already happening at the Southern border of the United States. From extreme weather events such as Hurricane Etta to the “Dry Corridor” in central America leading to food insecurity, many people are being forced to leave their homes due to the effects of climate change. Talk with your child about why people may need to leave their homes - and how many of these things are because of our changing environment. Discuss with your child what it means to be a refugee - what would it feel like to have to find a new home?
Phenological mis-match: if you’ve learned about pollinators and the relationships between plants and bugs, you can discuss how climate change can make flowers bloom too soon, or at a different time than the bugs expect. What would happen if a flower bloomed before the bees woke up? Or bloomed in winter instead of spring?
These topics may feel like a lot. Take your time in reviewing these with your child(ren). Answer their questions. Be open to their concerns. But also discuss with them what they can do. Empower them!
What can we do about it?
Ways in which your child can get involved are numerous - both through individual actions but also collective action (connect with other kids around these action steps!). Some of the ways in which your child can start to make a difference are as follows:
Informed consumerism/grocery shopping
What are items that are grown locally? What items require the most steps to be made/produced?
NPP Resource: Grocery Printable
Starting a community garden - this could start as neighbors gathering to help each other plant a garden in their own backyards. It could be reaching out to school administrators to see if they could dedicate an outdoor space for a school community garden. How does food we grow ourselves compare in impact to grocery store food?
Methods of transportation
Walk/bike when it’s an option; carpooling. Let them decide: how should we get to gramma’s house today? Which is the best way for our climate?
Resource: Carbon calculator – flying vs. driving
School - how accessible is it to recycle when you’re at school? Where does the cafeteria food come from? (help them brainstorm who they can ask/how they can get this information)
Volunteering for refugees - find local organizations that are providing assistance to refugees. Your child could organize clothing or supply drives. As a family, you can volunteer to host a family of refugees, or simply go to eat at a restaurant owned and operated by recent arrivals.
Plant a tree- or water a tree on public land during a drought. This easy to use app helps you calculate the effects of individual trees on your property or nearby!
No matter the age of your child, take these topics bit by bit. It’s a lot of information for children to digest. We don’t want kids leaving these discussions feeling predominantly scared (though at some points they might express feeling worried, anxious or scared - and that’s okay). The most important thing is for kids to come away from these discussions feeling empowered - empowered with information. We can’t shield our children from big topics and the feelings that accompany them - but we can show them how to turn what they are feeling into action. From gardening, to making observations, to volunteering - there are so many ways in which our children can contribute to their present and their future.