6 Fun Family Activities To Teach Kids About Climate Change

Was your family affected by the floods brought about by the recent typhoons and habagat? Our country has faced increasingly severe weather patterns in recent years, due to climate change. Aside from disrupting everyday life including schools and work, it can also threaten families’ safety, well-being, and livelihood. Teaching our children about climate change is now more important than ever, as it helps them better understand the world they live in and inspires them to take action.

In order to help parents engage and better equip their children to be stewards of the environment, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is leading the 2024 National Family Week Celebration, focusing on “Pamilyang Tutugon sa Pagbabago ng Panahon.” The initiative aims to emphasize the role of families in raising awareness about climate change and taking action to mitigate its impact.

How do we, as parents, teach our children about climate change? What can we do to make them understand its impacts and our role in mitigating it?

Here are some fun and interesting activities that families can engage in to have a better grasp of climate change while also strengthening family bonds.

Climate change awareness-related activities for families

Start a family garden

Home or community gardens became popular during the pandemic, with families cultivating their gardens with vegetables and other produce. If you haven’t started one back then, it’s not too late to start one now as cultivating a family garden is actually an excellent way to teach kids about the environment and climate change. It’s a hands-on activity that lets children explore plant life, ecosystems, and sustainability. It can also give children better appreciation of plants and farming, and provide context into discussing how climate change affects agriculture and food security. You can plant herbs, vegetables, flowers, or even fruit-bearing trees–and learn about how growing your own food can help reduce carbon emissions by cutting down on transportation and packaging waste.

How it teaches climate change:

• Shows children how growing your own food reduces carbon emissions.
• Encourages composting and recycling organic waste.

Create DIY recycled crafts

If you and your children enjoy craft projects, then you can teach kids about waste management by incorporating household trash into your projects. You can use recyclable materials like old books or magazines, plastic bottles, courier packaging, or cardboard boxes, and get creative. You can use these to make simple toys, decor, or even learning materials.

This activity highlights the importance of recycling and reusing to reduce waste. You can also talk to your children about how plastic and trash can impact our oceans and ecosystems.

How it teaches climate change:

• It shows the impacts of waste and the importance of recycling.
• Encourages self-awareness on overconsumption and how it contributes to climate change.

Family cleanup operations

If your family enjoys going to parks or beaches during the weekends or holidays, you could plan or join a clean up activity. Taking part in a clean up can help kids better understand the importance of keeping the environment clean and how trash can impact ecosystems. You can also teach them how certain types of waste–like plastic or styrofoam–take hundreds of years to break down, and how this contributes to environmental harm.

How it teaches climate change

• Raises awareness of pollution and its effects on wildlife and habitats.
• Reflects the importance and strength of community action in environmental protection.

Watch climate-change related films as a family

You can turn your family movie night into a learning experience by watching kid-friendly documentaries or films on climate change. Films like Our Planet or Before the Flood can show kids real-world environmental issues in an engaging and visual way. After, you can discuss with your kids what they learned and how your family can help protect and take care of the environment.

How it teaches climate change:

• Provides visual understanding of how climate change affects the world.
• Sparks discussions on climate solutions.

Have a climate-friendly family meal

You can also use the “Kainang Pamilya Mahalaga Day,” declared via Presidential Proclamation No. 326 aiming to promote shared mealtimes to teach your children the concept of a “climate-friendly meal.” The idea is to choose locally sourced, plant-based ingredients to reduce the carbon footprint of the meal. You can then explain how our food choices, such as the high consumption of meat, can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, and encourage more sustainable options. It’s also a good way to include more greens into your kids’ diet.

How it teaches climate change:

• Discusses the environmental impact of different food choices.
• Encourage healthier, more sustainable eating habits.

Do a family energy audit

You can also teach your children about energy consumption and its impact on your family’s carbon footprint by doing a family energy audit with them. You can identify areas or appliances in your home where energy might be wasted–like lights left on in empty rooms, overuse of air conditioning, or plugged-in devices that are not in use. This can teach your child to build better habits when it comes to energy efficiency.

You can then set goals to reduce your energy use, such as switching to LED bulbs, using fans instead of the AC during cooler temperatures, or setting up a recycling station at home.

How it teaches climate change:

• Shows children how their everyday actions can contribute to energy consumption.
• Promotes behavioral changes and healthy habits in reducing carbon emissions and energy consumption.

The National Family Week 2024’s theme of “Pamilyang Tutugon sa Pagbabago ng Panahon” is a timely reminder of the important role families play in climate action, especially in heavily impacted countries such as ours. By engaging our family in climate awareness-themed activities, we can raise good environmental stewards while also creating lasting family memories.

As DSWD Assistant Secretary Irene Dumlao emphasized, “We urge all Filipino families to bond, strengthen communication, and maintain healthy relationships”–and one of the most meaningful ways to do that is by working together to protect our planet for the future generations to enjoy.

Read here to learn how one dad is helping create a livable world for his kids.