Kids' Fashion / 19 August, 2020 / My Baba

5 Top Tips On Raising Eco-Friendly Kids

During lockdown, many parents turned to nature to help inspire children to appreciate and respect the beautiful flora and fauna around us. Frugi, the UK’s leading ethical and organic children’s clothing brand, is on a mission to help parents continue to inspire their children to embrace nature. We’re talking eco friendly kids. We want to help raise a new generation of environmentally aware citizens that will have the skills and drive to one day save our planet.

Here are Frugi’s top five tips for parents looking to motivate a little eco-warrior at home:

Eco-schools programme

Get your child’s school to sign up to the global Eco-Schools programme to help improve the environment in both their school and local community. Frugi is funding 150 schools in England this year to earn their Green Flag status. Children of all ages – in nursery, primary, and secondary schools – can participate in the Eco-School 7-step challenges to have fun learning with their friends about various topics including marine, biodiversity, energy, litter, global citizenship, healthy living, school grounds, transport, waste, and water. Click here for more information.

Get outside and experience nature

Foraging – take long walks in the woods or fields and start looking for wild herbs and plants where kids can identify, collect, and possibly eat. Make sure you are aware of the poisonous plants by picking up a book to help you.

Walks in nature also inspire other interactive activities, such as making dens and artwork with wood, leaves, cones, and other crafty ideas that connect children with the world around them.

Teach your child about the products they use and wear

Ethical Clothing & Accessories. Teach your children about the clothes they wear and where they come from. Frugi’s organic cotton clothes are made using GOTS certified organic cotton that uses less water in the production process and does not use pesticides or other chemicals that harm the environment in India where the cotton is grown. Frugi’s outerwear, back-packs, lunch bags and pencil cases are all made from recycled plastic bottles, which helps eliminate waste going to landfill and littering our oceans. Watch this ‘Behind the Seams’ video to learn more. It’s also a good idea to talk about why passing on clothing to second-hand shops or other friends and family is a good idea, and explain the importance of recycling clothing, toys and books.

Read to your child

This may seem obvious but make sure that what you read is positive, colourful, and playful, such as those with lots of rhythmic prose, artful illustration and subtle elements to talk about to encourage discussion. Our picks this month include The Lost Words by Jackie Morris and Robert Macfarlane that talks about how words from nature, such as fern, kingfisher, acorn, etc, are disappearing from a widely used children’s dictionary because those words were not being used enough by children to merit inclusion. Let’s help bring them back!

Cooking

Take time to prepare and cook simple but healthy organic meals with your child and discuss where the ingredients come from. Let them chop, peel, and prepare with you and watch their senses come to life as they learn about food and how it nourishes their bodies.

In The Spotlight

Nala's Dream by Taylan Kurtul

Nala’s Dream is a magical children’s story with an incredibly poignant story behind it. It was first imagined by five-year-old Taylan Kurtul, who dreamed up an adventure in which his real-life kitten, Nala, travels into space. Taylan sadly died in February 2024, just eight months after being diagnosed with a medulloblastoma brain tumour. His mum lovingly brought the story he created to life as a book in his memory, celebrating Taylan’s wonderful imagination while raising vital funds for Brain Tumour Research. A beautiful legacy filled with adventure, love and a little boy’s magic.

SHOP HERE