How to save money and energy with children at home
Teach how to save Children not only have an economic facet, but also teach them to behave in a more responsible way with the resources of the planet and the environment. The savings, in addition, help the little ones to live in a more conscious way, allowing them to value and enjoy more of the non-material aspects such as spending more time with their loved ones, a walk on the beach or enjoying the views of a good landscape.
The value of saving
"Teaching children to save is to prepare them for life and allows us to teach them the value of responsibility," says Ana Herrero, a psychologist and coordinator of the Guidance Department of the Brains International Schools group. The care of the environment and the optimization of natural resources should be the objective of this educational process.
However, it is important to remind them that saving is an added bonus at home, because it benefits the family economy. "To teach the little ones to save, it is not necessary to do it through a payment, there are a multitude of strategies in the home that allow us to instill this value in children," adds psychologist Ana Herrero.
7 tricks to teach saving and respect the environment
1. Saving can be a game. Converting savings into a game is the best way to involve the little ones in this task. To do this, we can consider saving with small games: How many lights can you turn off in a day? Or, to see how much money you are able to save in a month?
2. Energy, central axis of saving at home. Raising awareness of the smallest of energy savings is a necessity not only in the economic sense, but also to inculcate respect for the environment. The idea is to understand that a responsible consumption of energy is a way to reduce our impact on the environment and use natural resources properly, while saving money.
3. Avoid wasting water. For the same reasons that we must educate children about the correct use of energy, we must do so with the use of water. Washing your hands with a suitable water jet, turning off the tap while brushing your teeth or not playing with the water, are small actions that we can teach you to save at home and inculcate respect for the environment.
4. The piggy bank, your best ally: In the event that we install a weekly or monthly payment among the smallest is advisable to give them a piggy bank, so they can save their savings. It is not necessary to force them to use it, but if it is convenient to encourage them to deposit a part of the payment in it. The advantage? Once the money is deposited it is not possible to go back and take it out to spend it on sudden whims.
5. Learn to use the imagination: One of the best ways to save money and reduce our environmental impact is through the reuse of objects. For this, our best tool is the imagination. For example, we can decorate a glass container with the help of children and turn it into a vase. Thus, while we teach them to reuse, we will be promoting their creativity and practicality.
6. Use the rewards: We should not offer material rewards to children, since we must convey to them that saving is part of their obligations. However, we must point out how proud we are of them and how well they are doing. We can always have some detail to reward them: make that cake they like so much or go to the movies to watch a movie.
7. Teach them to spend: Saving and spending money are two intimately related concepts. To save, it is important to learn to spend properly and we must teach children the difference between unnecessary expenses and necessary expenses. For this, it is important that from small they are accustomed to make some purchases by themselves. For example, it is useful to accompany us to make the purchase, since we can show the value of things and use comparisons between different products: a bag of chips (which is not necessary and essential in the home) costs the same as a kilo of apples (we must take fruits daily).
Advice:Ana Herrero, psychologist and coordinator of the Guidance department of the Brains International Schools group
