Showing the impact of climate change can help children realize the lives of animals are critically endangered.
Children need to be taught about population explosion, global warming or environmental pollution, but in their own way. If you want your children to raise awareness about this issue, start by teaching them to be kind to animals. The Mamavation educational page shows 9 ways to help children build a love of animals.
1. Show children the impact of climate change
Take a real-life example to explain this, such as the image of a sick polar bear appearing in Siberia (Russia). This information will help children realize that the lives of animals are becoming more and more difficult due to climate change. From there, you will easily teach children to raise their awareness of environmental protection.
2. Be gentle with animals
On an animal’s body, there are places where they feel safe if touched, but there are also places where they feel threatened. For example, cats have a defensive response to belly rubs. Teach your children the areas that should be touched by domestic animals such as dogs and cats to get used to them. Then, teach your child how to make first contact with an animal, such as standing still and letting them smell it instead of saying hello. These guidelines help make “encounters” better, making children less afraid of animals.
3. Taking care of pets in the house
If you have pets at home, delegate the tasks related to taking care of them to your children. If your child is young, give the pet a change of water to drink. When they are older, let them take their pets for a walk, clean the toilet… From these actions, children will realize that animals are weaker species, must depend on people and gradually develop compassion. hide with animals.
4. Watch documentaries about nature
Currently, documentaries about nature appear a lot on TV, Youtube or social networking sites. Show your kids videos about animals in the wild or struggles to survive. These films will help children expand their knowledge of the natural world, showing the bad impacts of humans on the living environment of all species. With movies about the struggle for survival, you should consider the content appropriate for the age of the child.
5. Learn about the local natural environment
Human development is shrinking the habitat of animals. However, humans have devised a way for animals to “live together” through the construction of nature museums, zoos, sanctuaries… Take your children to these places to learn about animals at locality and a clearer understanding of how urban encroachment affects animals.
6. Trap animals but don’t kill them
Rats, spiders or cockroaches… may be present in your home but do not have to be killed if they can help control other pests. You should catch and release harmless animals into the wild so that they can hunt insects that are harmful to human life. Right from these small actions will help foster love for animals in children.
7. Read books about animals
Books are a valuable source of information for learning and understanding animals. A story can have a positive impact on a child’s perception. When children are young, tell them stories about animals or books with lots of animals. When they can read on their own, choose more informative books like science books.
8. Nature-friendly courtyard and balcony design
You can plant flowers, grow vegetables in the yard or out on the balcony. Not only for beauty, this action can attract the attention of animals such as birds, butterflies… to pollinate or catch worms. Remind them to watch instead of trying to figure out how to catch and touch them to make sure they come back next time.
9. Join the volunteer club for animals
Learning needs to be accompanied by action. So, get your kids involved in local volunteer clubs for animals. However, it is not necessary to become a volunteer, children can donate food, old blankets, milk… to animal rescue centers. Or not, you can let them take care of a feral dog or cat near your house or a neighbor’s pet.
Tu Anh (According to Mamavation )
