How to Look After the Planet - Starting at Home
Looking After our Planet
In a world where climate change, pollution, and environmental damage are growing concerns, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by it all. But real change often starts in the smallest places, including your own home.
As parents and carers, we have the unique opportunity to model thoughtful, sustainable behaviours for our children. By making a few mindful changes to our everyday routines, we can teach our little ones that looking after the planet is simply part of how we live. And the best part? It’s often simpler (and more fun) than you’d think.
Here are some practical and child-friendly ways to care for the planet from the comfort of your own home.
Reduce Food Waste - Together
Food waste is a huge issue in UK households, but it’s also one of the easiest habits to change. Start by planning meals, getting creative with leftovers, and encouraging your child to be part of the kitchen process. Our Baking Academy at The Early Years Academy inspires children to cook from scratch, understand where ingredients come from, and respect food – why not continue that at home?
Top Tip: Make a weekly “leftovers night” fun by creating your own mini buffet and letting children name the dishes themselves.
♻ Sort, Reuse, and Recycle - Make It a Game
Recycling becomes second nature when introduced early. Create simple, colour-coded bins at home and turn sorting items into a game. Even toddlers can help identify where things go, building early awareness of materials and waste.
Try saying, “Where does the yoghurt pot go?” and cheer them on when they get it right.
You can even repurpose old boxes, egg cartons, or jars for arts and crafts, encouraging both creativity and a love for reusing what we already have.
Grow Something - No Matter How Small
You don’t need a big garden to get your hands dirty. Whether it’s herbs on a windowsill, strawberries in a hanging basket, or sunflowers in a recycled tin can, children love watching things grow.
At nursery, our Growing Academy sparks this same excitement by encouraging little gardeners to plant, nurture, and harvest their own food. It teaches patience, responsibility, and a natural connection to the environment.
Why not mirror this at home with a mini gardening project?
Save Water - One Splash at a Time
From bath time to brushing teeth, young children love water. Use this as an opportunity to talk about where water comes from and how we can use it wisely. Simple habits – like turning off the tap while brushing or using a washing-up bowl instead of running the tap, add up quickly.
Bath time challenge: Who can catch the most water in a cup and reuse it to water the plants later?
Switch Off and Power Down
Energy conservation is something even preschoolers can understand. Make a game out of spotting switches and plugs left on. Introduce a “lights out” helper role each evening or reward them for turning off screens and choosing an outdoor play alternative instead.
Bonus: Less screen time often leads to better sleep and more active play, win-win!
Choose Sustainable Clothes and Toys
Fast fashion and plastic-heavy toys often come at a cost to the planet. Shopping second-hand, swapping with friends, or choosing natural materials can make a big difference. Many local charity shops in Derby, Stone, Shrewsbury, Ibstock and Loughborough now have excellent children’s sections, and little ones love a good rummage!
Involve your child by donating their old clothes and toys and explaining how it helps another family, and the planet too.
Explore Nature - Respectfully
Time in nature builds deep respect for the environment. Whether it’s collecting leaves in the park or visiting a local nature reserve, getting outdoors helps children learn that the Earth is worth looking after.
This ethos is central to our Forest School Academy, where children build dens, climb trees, and develop a genuine love for the natural world.
Why not pack a zero-waste picnic, take your reusable water bottles, and head to Beacon Hill or Shipley Park for a family nature walk?
Let Your Child Take the Lead
The most powerful lessons come when children take ownership. Ask your little one what they’d like to do to help the planet. You might be surprised by their ideas, and how seriously they take them.
A reusable sandwich wrap, a nature scavenger hunt, or remembering to feed the compost bin, these small actions help them become confident, responsible citizens of the future.
It All Starts at Home
At The Early Years Academy, we’re passionate about creating a generation that grows up with care, curiosity, and compassion for the world around them. Sustainability isn’t just something we teach, it’s something we live.
And by starting at home, we give our children a sense of pride, purpose, and hope.
So next time you sort the recycling or water the windowsill plants, smile. You’re not just helping the planet. You’re planting seeds that will grow into something far greater.
