Make energy saving fun for children

Having a family and raising children can take up a lot of energy both physically and mentally not to mention all the electricity they use!

Having extra little people in the home can mean an increase in electricity and gas bills, so it is important to keep a track of your family’s energy consumption and getting children on board can be the key in making this effective.

Sometimes, teaching children to be energy efficient can seem boring, but it doesn’t have to be!

Read on to discover four top tips on making energy saving fun for children and watch your energy bills drop:

1) Lead by example

Children learn by example and who better to give them a good example to follow than their parents?

Ensure that older family members are involved in all aspects of energy saving and not just children; if you’re not turning off lights when leaving a room then they will wonder why they should either.

Why not get children to let you know if you leave a light switch on in an empty room or leave an electrical device on stand-by? They’ll love the responsibility!

2) Start young

Make energy saving second nature by starting energy saving practices at home as early as possible.

Not only will this make it easier to create good habits from your children that they will have for life, but it will also help keep your bills lower so you can spend more money having fun as a family.

3) Get children involved

If your children are a little older and taking steps to control your energy consumption is new, it can be a great idea to get your children involved to avoid resistance.

Do a walk through the home with your children and ask them to write a list of things you can do in each room to use less energy as a family.

After this, ask your children to help you create a list of energy saving rules for the family to follow. Children will love this kind of responsibility and will be more likely to follow the rules if they played a part in creating them.

4) Make energy saving a game

Being a child is all about having fun, so why not turn energy saving into a game?

You could create a weekly chart to reward children for completing energy saving tasks around the home, children can then receive a small treat or reward at the end of the week for completing a certain number of energy saving tasks.

So there we have it, four simple ways to make saving energy fun for your children! Implement these ideas and watch as your energy consumption – and bills – drop.

Do you have any tips to add to this? Please share in the comments below.

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34 Comments

- - mom486197 said
  - 29 Dec 2023
    9:40 am
I love this and it is certainly true that kids do lead by example. We do small things in our house but I am sure it makes a huge difference

- - mom101628 said
  - 05 Feb 2017
    12:11 am
Good habit certainly help not only you but them in later life.

- - mom94378 said
  - 13 Nov 2015
    2:00 pm
Get them into these good habits early and its easier.

- - mom90758 said
  - 11 Nov 2015
    10:16 pm
Great article! I enjoyed it reading it!!

- - meedee said
  - 25 Oct 2015
    1:23 pm
My kids have been brought up learning how to cut costs on the electric bill.
Microwave is always turned off at the wall along with the tv, dvd player, dryer and washing machine.
My bill is usually just under $400 for a quarter.

- - mom113055 said
  - 20 Oct 2015
    4:13 pm
Having a family and raising children can take up a lot of energy both physically and mentally not to mention all the electricity they use!

Having extra little people in the home can mean an increase in electricity and gas bills, so it is important to keep a track of your family’s energy consumption and getting children on board can be the key in making this effective.

Sometimes, teaching children to be energy efficient can seem boring, but it doesn’t have to be!

Read on to discover four top tips on making energy saving fun for children and watch your energy bills drop:

1) Lead by example

Children learn by example and who better to give them a good example to follow than their parents?

Ensure that older family members are involved in all aspects of energy saving and not just children; if you’re not turning off lights when leaving a room then they will wonder why they should either.

Why not get children to let you know if you leave a light switch on in an empty room or leave an electrical device on stand-by? They’ll love the responsibility!
2) Start young

Make energy saving second nature by starting energy saving practices at home as early as possible.

Not only will this make it easier to create good habits from your children that they will have for life, but it will also help keep your bills lower so you can spend more money having fun as a family.

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3) Get children involved

If your children are a little older and taking steps to control your energy consumption is new, it can be a great idea to get your children involved to avoid resistance.

Do a walk through the home with your children and ask them to write a list of things you can do in each room to use less energy as a family.
After this, ask your children to help you create a list of energy saving rules for the family to follow. Children will love this kind of responsibility and will be more likely to follow the rules if they played a part in creating them.

- - 4littlemunchkins said
  - 12 Oct 2015
    10:19 pm
We try and get the kids involved with turning lights off after they used them.
- mom94125 replied
  
  23 Oct 2015 , 5:58 pm
  yes so do we and we also try to switch things off at the wall instead of leaving appliances on standby. i saved around $100 by doing just this one thing.
- - Toni Rowland said
  - 09 Oct 2015
    9:51 am
God article. Thanks

- - coastalkaryn said
  - 05 Oct 2015
    7:53 pm
agree Leanne – have to show the kids it is fun to keep the planet revolving

- - mom113055 said
  - 03 Oct 2015
    3:35 pm
life expensie we have to save
- Melanie replied
  
  06 Oct 2015 , 12:43 am
  Forgive me for saying this, but the majority of your comments mean very little. I believe you are only with MOM for the rewards. Still, it would be nice if you said something constructive once in a while.
- - mom81879 said
  - 30 Sep 2015
    9:26 am
Making it fun for kids is a great way to teach them and get them involved…..if they can remember. Mine seem to have short attention spans
- Leanne Dempsey replied
  
  30 Sep 2015 , 11:17 pm
  You’re right, children can sometimes have short attention spans when it comes to this kind of thing… although they always seem to remember when you said they could have a sweet treat? haha!
  Thanks for taking the time to read and leave a comment.
  – Leanne
  - mom94125 replied
    
    23 Oct 2015 , 5:54 pm
    
    lol yes! i have tested my kids before and asked them to pick up their toys…to no response. i asked them who wants chocolate and they all turned around and said ME, ME!. LOL CHEEKY BUTTS!
- - dbhall82 said
  - 24 Sep 2015
    5:36 pm
Great thanks! Since having kids and being home more my bills have gone up!!

- - mom113055 said
  - 16 Sep 2015
    3:32 pm
fun and enjoy with save
- Melanie replied
  
  06 Oct 2015 , 12:45 am
  And again.
- - jellybean01 said
  - 12 Sep 2015
    12:11 am
great article thanks for sharing

- - dannsbuild said
  - 08 Sep 2015
    11:08 pm
A really good article that makes sense!