How Do You Go Green With Older Children?

Posted by joy

3 Sep

Our babies happily play with paper bags and wooden spoons without feeling the least bit deprived, but what happens when your child ages a bit? Can you get by with just wooden blocks and fabric food? What happens when they see the myriad of blinking toys out there that aren’t made from organic hemp?

I could say that I teach my child to resist temptation and make himself happy with sticks, but that isn’t the truth. My parents tried to teach us not to want stuff by limiting our gifts, which made me think that being resourceful and thrifty was a huge downer. With my son, I’ve purchased some really fun secondhand stuff so that we keep our budget in check, we recycle, and we show him that living the thrifty green lifestyle can be a grand adventure. This started with all the garage sale loot for his second birthday. Virtually all his clothes, toys, and furniture has been purchased used, which seems perfectly normal to him.

The unintended consequences include his addiction to yard sales, his full acceptance of thrift store merchandise, and too many toys. We pack them up in “treasure boxes” so that they stay in the garage and get rotated out to keep things fresh. We also give toys away on a regular basis so that he gets the idea that someone else can find them and love them the way he has.

For his birthday this year, I spent about $50 and bought him a new bike, several trucks, (since vehicles are his passion), and a few small new toys. The total cost of those items new would have been well over $250, but I was able to buy more and better quality by searching for it used.

Is it perfect? Nope–But I hope it can show him that buying used benefits the environment, our budgets, and our quality of life. How are you going green with your older child? Any tips for the rest of us?

Filed under: Family Life, General, Green Holidays, Holiday Gift Ideas, Living Simply, The Green Household

RSS feed for comments on this post

5 Responses for "How Do You Go Green With Older Children?"

Lori September 3rd, 2010 at 5:41 am 1
My 10 year old daughter LOVES the consignment store and annual PTO consignment sale. I started her there at an early age, saying things like “wow, look at all these different choices, and they are all your size!” and pointing out how much those things would have cost if purchased new. Now that she has her own money to spend, she knows that consignment is a great deal and fun to shop. Most of her other money goes toward food treats, so she isn’t buying a lot of plastic crap, for the most part.

My 12 year old son loooooves his video games. I helped him buy a secondhand Nintendo DS from ebay, pointing out the savings, and I’ve pointed out the secondhand games available at Gamestop. However, by default he chooses the quickest/easiest route to buy things which is often new. He’s very focused on his own immediate happiness and not interested in/doesn’t care about the long-term consequences of acquiring “stuff.” Not sure how to get through to him, but in the end I realize he gets to choose his own values in this world, I can’t impose mine on him, no matter how much I’d like to!
Ali September 3rd, 2010 at 9:39 am 2
For the most part when buying for my 3 yr old we will look for something that is built well and will last for a long time. We do not mind splurging if we now he will use it and that our youngest son will use it after him and maybe future children if giving the oppurtunity.

We splurged on a tricycle. It was from a top quility sustainable company and we know it will be around for generations.
Larisa September 3rd, 2010 at 10:36 am 3
“The unintended consequences include his addiction to yard sales, his full acceptance of thrift store merchandise, and too many toys.” LOL, that describes us to a T! I’ll usually splurge on something new for my son’s birthday, but his idea of a fun outing is going to Goodwill. He’s gotten so many cars from there that my husband instituted a rule that he has to pick out a car or other toy to donate to Goodwill on each trip, before he can get a “new” one.

He’s 4, and is starting to grasp the difference between expensive and inexpensive, but I don’t think he understands any difference between buying stuff at the toy store/kids clothing boutique vs. Goodwill or a yard sale. Which is fine by me, for the moment, since it means he’s perfectly happy with the used stuff.
Julie September 6th, 2010 at 9:16 am 4
With our 9 year old – he loves to buy used as he can usually get it faster! If he’s saving for a book or game he’ll often ask to go to the used stores. He does show a desire to go “green” but right now, the pocket seems to be the biggest influence. When his book order came home this week we said we would spend $5 for books for him to take on vacation. He figured out he could get more books if he went to a used book store, and then I took the opportunity to explain how it is also a green option as we are reusing something someone else didn’t want anymore rather than having to print more books.
Tracy September 7th, 2010 at 4:39 pm 5
Yes, I think introducing our children to thrift stores is a good thing. Making it normal to buy used, even if they don’t know (or care) that it’s better for the earth.

We also make it a habit to spend a lot of time in nature and talk about respecting it.