Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) June/July 2018 Aspire Mag Full Issue | Page 66

At home, parents can help kids spot climate
misinformation, whether from textbooks,
museums, or public officials. For accurate
information, try Inside Climate News, Yale
Climate Connections, or Bill Nye’s shows.
For help teaching overall media literacy,
consult Commonsense Media.
Help them engage:
for brains— and our backyard with sports
equipment and, as often as possible, live
people to play with. Our neighbors loaded
a wall of pegs with dress-ups. My in-laws
dedicate one room just for Lego-building.
Find ways to encourage real-world play that
work for your family.
Help them find reliable information: As kids
mature, they learn about the risks associated
with drug use, sexual activity, and mental
health issues such as depression, anxiety,
and eating disorders. Learning to navigate
all of this — and get help when necessary
— empowers teens entering adulthood.
Climate breakdown also poses a threat to
children—the biggest threat, in fact, that
they face as a generation — which is why
there’s growing demand for age-appropriate
climate literacy in schools. Kids usually
enjoy learning about interconnected natural
systems that support their lives, and they
certainly need tools for confronting our
climate crisis. If your kids aren’t learning
accurate science and solutions, join with
other parents and demand climate literacy
from school officials.
66
www.AspireMAG.net | June / July 2018
Kids face threats most of today’s parents
never had to, including school shooters,
online bullying, more frequent natural
disasters, shifting immigration policies, and
growing racism, sexism, and intolerance
fueled by top government officials. Parents
can listen to children, ask questions, and
help them engage in positive solutions. If
kids want to share their perspective, help
them find a microphone, column space,
or leadership opportunities. Model what it
looks like to be a citizen imagining — and
working toward — a better world.
Most importantly, help them connect with
other changemakers. As teens demanding
gun law reform are discovering, nothing
inspires kids like other kids. And when
they speak up together, young people can,
through trial and error, eventually influence
decision-makers and re-shape the world.
Based on the book The Parents’ Guide to
Climate Revolution. Copyright © 2018 by
Mary DeMocker. Reprinted with permission
from New World Library.
www.NewWorldLibrary.com.
Read
Online!
Mary DeMocker - Mary is the author of The Parents’ Guide to Climate
Revolution. She uses the arts to fight for a livable planet, and is
cofounder of 350.org’s Eugene, Oregon chapter. She lives with
her family in Eugene, and speaks frequently about creative ways
to make the world more healthy, just, and fun. Her website is
www.marydemocker.com.