Adventerra Games’ mission is to educate families to respect and protect the environment is a tremendous undertaking that requires dedication and courage. You can help us get there with very small but very powerful gestures.

What can you do to help?

Join us along any one of the many paths that we indicate; all of them lead to a common goal: to live better by helping the planet live better.

Why is it important to educate young children to respect the environment?

We believe that educating children to respect animals, resources, environments, and entire ecosystems is the main path to a more sustainable future, in which humanity can peacefully live with all other forms of life that inhabit our beautiful planet.

Today, more than ever, environmental issues are becoming predominant in our lives, in the form of news from afar and in the form of noticeable (and sometimes catastrophic) climate changes. These issues are affecting the way we live.

Educating children to respect the environment means making them aware of how the world in which we all live functions. Additionally, it gives them the tools to act to help our heavily wounded ecosystem.

How should you talk to children about climate change?

The truth about the environment conveyed without drama

Unfortunately, when we talk about environmental issues, the images are often horrible: animals that risk extinction, deforestation, clouds of carbon dioxide in our cities, islands of plastic., It is essential to be reminded of where we stand and how we decide to approach the problems. Additionally, the excessive drama may lead to worrying and distress concerning the issue. Children may fear the topic, thus not wanting to approach it anymore.

For this reason, we will share some small tips that will help you to talk to children without scaring them, making them aware of the most current and vital environmental issues, and how they can personally help heal the earth.

Instead of raising awareness through fear (using catastrophic descriptions and dramatic language), try proactive and constructive language. Explain what is right (and good) to do, for nature, rather than listing prohibitions and bad behaviors.

Some examples include descriptions of behaviors and actions that are good for nature:

1. Turn off the light in your room when you do not need it, which helps the planet stay cool and healthy;
2. Take a nice walk, instead of using a car, which gives you fresh air and exercise, makes you stronger, helps the air for everyone stay fresh!

These examples also help children understand how behaviors that are good for the environment are good for them too. For example, learning to eat seasonal fruit makes you feel good While helping the planet because it incentivizes more conscious consumption. Using a bicycle helps keep our bodies healthy and reduces CO2 emissions because the car stays in the garage!

Walk the talk!

Describe it and then put it into action! Children emulate their parents’ actions. So, to teach your children to love nature, you must set the example by implementing eco-friendly behaviors and following eco-sustainable habits.

Simple words to describe actions, not theories

As mentioned before, use simple words and adopt a positive point of view when talking to children about the environment: without changing the content and the topics, try to describe them so that your children can follow the reasoning and understand what is being talked about.

To clarify some concepts, use similes that relate complex issues to children’s experiences in their lives. For example, to explain that the planet is warming up, you can say that “it’s as if it had a fever”: this may not be accurate from a scientific point of view, but it certainly gives the child an idea.

Here, below, are more examples of what could be said:

• If the Earth gets too hot, then it gets a fever!
• The car heats the air a lot; when we can, it’s best to take the bike or go for a walk, so we don’t give the Earth a fever.
• Lightbulbs get really hot when they are turned on! Too much heat melts the ice where the bears live! Then how will they walk around if the ice is melted?
• Let’s remember to turn off the lights when we don’t need them, so the ice doesn’t melt, and the bears can keep living in their natural homes!

Of course, every lexical choice and every metaphor must be carefully chosen based on the child‘s age. The explanations must be expressed in an age-appropriate language for better comprehension.

Learning through play

Words are essential, as well as actions. However, playing also has a fundamental function in the learning stages. Therefore, environmental issues can also be conveyed through games.

We are convinced of this. We can proudly define ourselves as a company whose entire catalog consists of educational games entirely focused on environmental issues: we have games about ice melting and water conservation, recycling, and reducing electricity consumption.

Direct learning: learning about nature from nature

Another way to introduce children to nature and nurture in them a desire for a responsible relationship with the environment and its resources is to encourage them to spend some time surrounded by nature. Encouraging children to be in contact with nature can be done both at home and outdoors.

Discovering nature at home with children

Here is a list of some activities that a parent can do to invite their children to get in touch with nature while staying at home:

• Gardening: build or maintain a small garden to explain how plants germinate and grow, and teach the importance of water, the right temperature, and sunlight (alternatively, you can also plant flowers or simply sprout a seed in a pot).
• Composting: a domestic space dedicated to collecting compostable waste can be an excellent opportunity to explain the difference between non-recyclable waste and waste that can return in the cycle of nature, dissolving in the environment as fertilizer.
• Sorting recyclables: for children, discovering different materials and textures can become an opportunity to learn the differences between a plastic bottle and a salad leaf or between a cork and a glass jar. This can be a first step towards participating in the recycling process!

Teach children to respect the environment by going outdoors

Needless to say, many outdoor experiences and activities can be done to teach children to respect the environment! Examples are:

• Walking: walking is the perfect way to connect with nature. However, if you prefer, you can also go biking . You can often find bike trails through meadows, forests, mountains, or just through the countryside.. Just look around. During your ride you will see lots of reasons to start talking about nature and the environment: wild animals, farm animals, flowers, and even fruits and vegetables, which can turn into an opportunity to talk about the seasons.
• Camping: camping life can be a fun way to create an even deeper and more intense contact with nature. For example, you can learn how to differentiate and treat waste, and thus avoiding environmental pollution. You can also observe wild animals in their natural environment: this is a unique opportunity is to talk about how important it is to respect forests and rivers because they are the homes of many different animals.

Parents have the task of setting an excellent example in respecting the environment

Finally, remember that children learn from our actions, even when we don’t speak or explain.

All you have to do is pick up a can from the ground and throw it in its appropriate recycling bin, or divide food leftovers and glass jars into two different bags – after a picnic. These actions will send children a strong and clear signal about the best behaviors needed to take care of nature.

Live as parents who love nature, and your children will learn to love it too!

To find out how or stay informed, follow us on social media (Instagram and Facebook). You’ll find that living an environmentally friendly life will translate into living a healthier, fuller, more engaging life. Because Earth’s health is ours too.