Children as Environmentalists – they can call the shots (Part 1)

Hi everybody, welcome back to another post!

For the past few posts, we were exploring how certain psychological concepts such as “systems thinking” and “overview effect” could be used to promote environmentalism. These concepts, however, may just seem like theories written on paper. So today, let us bring our discussion closer to home – literally.

Moving away from the individual, this week’s post will talk about how households are influenced to make environmental decisions.  I went to read up and explore more about environmentalism in children and how this may impact the family’s ecological decision making. We often say that the parents influence the impressionable child, but there could be a “reverse socialisation process” (Larsson et al, 2010). This is to say, the children can instead push their parents towards certain choices.

There has been many studies relating to children-parent relationships, but only a few so far have focused on the environmental aspects of this relationship. Perhaps this lack of research suggests that we currently do not factor in environmentalism in the family setting and I believe we should look to bridge this gap. We often talk about how one individual can be eco-friendly, but neglect that the family lifestyle can be a huge factor in the eventual lifestyle of the individual.

Nevertheless, there is some research to show that children who had pro-environmental mindsets managed to influence the household as a whole to adopt pro-environmental behaviours (Singh et al, 2020).  This influence can come in various forms, and is not always what we expect. For example, rather than the child telling their parents to not buy that newly released smartphone when they have a perfectly functioning one, the child can make the decision to accept second-hand toys for themselves.

Okay, you might be confused at how this is supposed to make the household more eco-friendly. But consider this, if the child is willing to accept second-hand toys, the family avoids buying brand new ones and effectively reuses toys that would have otherwise been thrown. If you are unaware, majority of our beloved toys as a child (especially the plastic ones) are very harmful to the environment.

Some old toys from my childhood

Furthermore, when a child is environmentally concerned enough to sacrifice having the newest toys in exchange for second-hand ones, parents may very well pick up on this mindset. In fact, we have a great example from Singapore!

Oliver, just 11, is already doing a great job at being an environment advocate. His environmentally conscious decision to have second-hand toys certainly rubbed off on his family and relatives, showing us how a young child has the power to influence many to take pro-environmental actions.

If children have the power to influence their family to be more eco-friendly, should we then aim to groom a next generation of young environmentalists? Before I end off this post, I would like to share a video, and prompt you to discuss your thoughts about it with me in the comments!

7 thoughts on “Children as Environmentalists – they can call the shots (Part 1)

  1. Hey Jia Wei,
    interesting read! It’s good to see that the children today are increasingly willing to adopt a more environmentally-conscious mindset. You mentioned that children have the ability to influence household decisions, what’s your view on their “persuading power” for the environmental crisis in a global setting? Can their views be taken seriously by adults?

    -Jian Xi

    1. Hey Jian Xi,

      Glad you found it interesting too!

      Children typically have many ways to get the adults to listen to them (crying, begging, etc…). I believe we all had moments where we used our sly tactics to persuade our parents when we were younger. The stigma against a child’s opinion is slowly being changed, and more people are acknowledging their views.

      In the case of considering a child’s view on the environment seriously, I think there is actually more power to the child. We often talk about how we need to pay back our debt to the environment, so that future generations can enjoy it. When the child goes up to the parent to preach about saving the environment so that they can grow up in a better environment, this may be taken more seriously by the adults since they realise they are not the only stakeholders.

      Furthermore, if a child can protect the environment, doesn’t that mean that the adults have an even greater capacity and responsibility to do so?

  2. Hi Jia Wei!

    Thanks for the interesting read! Given that the children of today are not only the future of the world, but also have the potential to currently advance conservation by impacting familial consumption patterns, I definitely agree that efforts should be directed towards grooming them as environmentalists! In regard to the fact that children can influence family ecological decision making by the reverse socialisation process, I am curious as to how such environmental notions (such as accepting second hand toys) can be imparted to kids if not from their parents – and who’s responsibility would it be? would educational institutions then have to assume greater responsibility for environmental education?
    Really looking forward to the rest of your blog!

    Cheers,
    Kelly

    1. Hi Kelly,

      Very interesting question!

      I shall very broadly generalise two groups of parents, one that wants nothing but the best for their child and one that is willing to accept second-hand items (be it to save money, protect the environment, etc.). Although the former group may be accepting of second-hand items for themselves, they may refuse to subject their child to that – and we really cannot fault them for that. Though always being indulged with brand new items does not necessarily make the child less environmentally inclined, it does influence their future decision-making when they are old enough to have a say in what money is spent on. For example, they may adopt the “only the best” mentality and view second-hand goods as undeserving.

      Thus, the question is how to influence environmentalism in these children, from outside the family sphere of influence, so that the children ultimately make the household more eco-friendly through the reverse socialisation process. To me, the obvious answer is educational institutions.

      Often, our decision-making is made with lack of knowledge. We consider the more obvious factors such as our personal comfort, affordability and social stigma, but can fail to realise the indirect consequences to our environment. I believe education is a very important aspect in helping to bridge the lack of knowledge. Even young children can understand what is “bad” and what is “good” for the environment, as long as the information is catered to their level of knowledge. If the child is lacking environmental education from home, I believe that our institutions should take up that responsibility to give the child a more holistic development – after all, education is more than just academics.

  3. This post is AWESOME ! Look at the deep Qs you’re instigating among your peers.

    So…

    I have some thoughts.

    First, Kelly’s Q is astute. It causes me to wonder about the counteractive force of marketing & economic growth pressuring us (kids & adults) to buy, buy, buy.

    Second, I’m in LOVE with this Oliver CHUA. What an inspiration.

    Third, you asked for ppl’s reactions to the video.
    1: kids will, like me, do anything for ice cream ;-).
    2: this shop owner’s heart is definitely in the right place.
    3: the kids might be developing durable environmental & charitable habits OR this could teach them to expect tangible rewards for behaviours that should really be expected of good citizens.
    4: the ice creams are served in single-use disposable plastic cups. I wish I could correspond with the shop owner and encourage him to consider giving cones instead or encouraging kids to come in with their own containers.

    You’re such a blogging star ! What a joy to read your work.

    1. Hi Dr. Coleman,

      Happy to hear you like the post!

      Overconsumption is a very difficult thing to solve, it takes a lot of active effort to consciously steer away from overconsumption when the media everywhere is pressuring us to consume. Things that require consistent, conscious effort just tend to be naturally avoided by humans as we are inherently lazy..

      Really interesting point made in #3! I think it can really go both ways, and it largely depends on how the child grows up to view the environment. If they adopt the mindset that the action of “protecting the environment” is the “reward” in itself, then this is a great initiative to get them started on a good habit. Then again, it may not necessarily be bad even if they grow up to expect tangible rewards for their efforts, after all this releases dopamine and dopamine motivates us to do the things we do in life. The problem, however, arises if the children start to demand for rewards that make their pro-environmental behaviours unsustainable.

      And yes, Oliver really is quite amazing. This kid is a better environmentalist than I currently am!

      1. Great reply, Jia Wei ! Your thoughts on the release of dopamine are quite interesting – I hadn’t thought of that.

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