E-Cool-Logical: Convincing Your Teen to Go Green

Not every teenager comes prancing out of the cast of Glee to embrace environmental change. Many are bogged down with sports and school or so disenchanted with things like politics and religion saving the planet seems moot. Convincing your teen to go green takes some clever wrangling of interesting or distracting ways so it goes from ecological to e-cool-logical.

The Incentive

It most always comes down to the bottom line so if it takes giving your teen a cash incentive to get them on the green train, so be it. Here are few ways to get started:

• Allowance – Up their allowance for every environmentally friendly step they take and can prove. To prove a green move you can witness their effort, such as checking their computer to see if it was shut down before bed which saves about $90 per year. This could be factored into them reaping the benefits rather than the power company.
• Chart – If trust is not an issue then setting up a daily eco-chart may do the trick. List green tasks with adjacent boxes of the days of the week. Total the boxes checked at the end of the week or month and reward them monetarily or with other bonus ideas such as tickets to the movies, a DVD on global warming or a downloaded song of their favorite artist.
• School Credit – Speak to their teacher(s) and see if they offer a going green at home credit toward their grade. You would be surprised how this may have been in existence without your knowledge given that many teens seem to go mute when it comes to communicating school info (or most anything else). If it is not a possibility, speak to the principal and pioneer a program yourself.

Ego

We all know that a teenager’s ego is at its peak when it comes to dressing, eating, breathing, etc. so why not hone in on some ways to use it to your advantage. If you notice their friends sporting over-priced, retro-style fashion bring your teen to a thrift shop to get the real deal. It is less expensive and will re-use clothing and accessories. Re-use is one of the cornerstones of an ecologically responsible society. It just may place a seed in the back of their heads to maybe, one day, get them to stop and think before they fall into the consumer driven cycle.

Encourage an Eco-Mob

If you cannot get your teen off social media suggest setting up an eco-mob. This is similar to a flash mob but instead of dancing around for attention they actually help clean up a local park or beach. They can also do an eco-shop-mob where they patronize a business that sells green friendly wares or has implemented environmental changes.

Convincing your teen to go green will not only add to the current movement but it just may perpetuate a future generation that uses it and passes it on.