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<h1>How to Raise Climate-Resilient Kids</h1>

<p>Climate-related disasters are on the rise, and carbon emissions are <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.co2.earth/daily-co2" target="_blank">soaring</a>. Parents today face the unprecedented challenge of raising children somehow prepared for a planetary <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/11/05/more-than-scientists-around-world-declare-climate-emergency/" target="_blank">emergency</a> that may last their lifetimes. Few guidebooks are on the shelves for this one, yet, but experts do have advice. And in a bit of happy news, it includes strategies already widely recognized as good for kids.</p>



<p>First, consider that a child born today enters a world growing progressively hotter, where recent weather extremes have displaced <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/06/lets-talk-about-climate-migrants-not-climate-refugees/" target="_blank">tens of millions</a> of people. Scientists say displacement may swell into the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimdobson/2019/10/30/shocking-new-maps-show-how-sea-level-rise-will-destroy-coastal-cities-by-2050/#6195a2a9456c" target="_blank">hundreds of millions</a> in the years ahead, as the rapid <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2019/12/05/alaska-climate-change-glacier/" target="_blank">melting</a> of glaciers now underway drives sea levels upward. The resulting <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/issue/mental-health/2018/10/18/climate-change-and-its-staggering-refugee-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="migrations (opens in a new tab)">migrations</a> will likely trigger conflict, hunger, and political instability. As we already see in the children pressed against the U.S.-Mexico border, many of them fleeing drought in <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/418976-migrant-caravan-shows-the-destabilizing-effect-of-climate-change" target="_blank">Central America</a>, migrations may also lead to hardened borders and xenophobic or <a href="https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/8/7/20756775/el-paso-shooting-trump-hispanic-invasion">racist</a> impulses. All this causes military analysts to call climate change a “<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/06/why-climate-change-is-a-threat-multiplier/" target="_blank">threat multiplier</a>” that can exacerbate existing social problems.</p>



<p>Parents today must brace
kids for both the direct physical impacts of climate change and the humanitarian
crises they will trigger, which may be worsened by human behaviors. Whether
kids experience the events personally or in the context of world news, experts
say kids will need strong foundations in resilience, positive thinking, compassion,
and other skills to maintain mental health and inform their responses.</p>



<blockquote><p>It’s a lot for parents to think about.</p></blockquote>



<p>“It’s a lot for parents
to think about,” says Tracey Wiese, an advanced nurse practitioner who
specializes in family practice and psychiatric mental health in Alaska. As warming
brings <a href="https://www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/new-report-highlights-alaska%E2%80%99s-last-five-years-dramatic-climate">transformative
change</a> to Alaska, upending landscapes, cultural norms, and nutritional
resources, Wiese sees growing anxiety among parents.</p>



<p>“I hear about it every
week now,” she says from her office in Anchorage. “Parents are worried about
existential stuff, like clean water, a livable planet for their kids, even
catastrophic environmental events.” </p>



<p>Wiese says parents can
use a range of strategies to help children, but that kids first require a
supportive relationship with one or more caregivers. </p>



<p>“That connection is
vital for helping children develop skills such as resilience,” she says.</p>



<h2>Positive Stress and Strong Support Networks</h2>



<p>Wiese defines resilience as the ability to manage stress and adapt to change. Her words are backed by a 2017 American Psychological Association <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/03/mental-health-climate.pdf" target="_blank">report</a>&nbsp;on the mental health impacts of climate change, which also emphasizes strong caregiver support and the value of resilience. For parents, the report’s authors recommend cultivating belief in a child’s own resilience, fostering optimism, and teaching children to control emotional responses to change. These are common tenets of modern parenting the report says are made especially important by climate change.</p>



<p>Psychologists also describe the value of “<a href="https://center.uoregon.edu/StartingStrong/uploads/STARTINGSTRONG2016/HANDOUTS/KEY_49962/TypesofStress.pdf">positive stress,</a>” which may include public speaking, making new friends, and other experiences that can briefly increase heart rates but that help wire young minds to adapt to change. Parents who provide supportive coaching through these normal life experiences help kids develop resilience.</p>



<p>“Parents also need to
model positive and appropriate responses to stress,” Wiese says.</p>



<blockquote><p>Strong social support networks give children a better foundation in resilience.</p></blockquote>



<p>Like many things, what
happens earliest in life matters most, but teens and even adults can still
improve resilience. The APA offers an online <a href="https://www.apa.org/helpcenter/resilience">guide</a> with age-appropriate
strategies for parents.</p>



<p>In contrast, stress
related to poverty, malnutrition, violence, or abuse can weaken a child’s
resilience, acting as “threat multipliers” of their own for children born into
the climate change era. In such cases, climate can compound existing stress,
potentially increasing odds for substance abuse, anxiety, or depression,
according to the authors of the APA report.</p>



<p>Especially where
caregiver support is lacking, coaches, teachers, and other mentors can help
young people manage these negative stressors. It’s a reminder that entire
communities, not just parents, will have a hand in raising climate-resilient
children.</p>



<p>That community focus is
an important factor according to Susan Clayton, a psychologist at Wooster
College in Ohio and co-editor of <a href="https://www.elsevier.com/books/psychology-and-climate-change/clayton/978-0-12-813130-5"><em>Psychology
and Climate Change: Human Perceptions, Impacts, and Responses</em></a>, which summarizes
psychological research tied to climate change.</p>



<p>“Strong social support
networks give children a better foundation in resilience,” Clayton says. She
lists teachers, clubs, and faith communities as good examples of social
networks that become “sources of meaning” for kids.</p>



<h2>Connection to the Outdoors</h2>



<p>Connecting youths to
the outdoors is also important when it comes to climate change.&nbsp;<a href="https://www.parentingscience.com/outdoor-learning.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Research</a>&nbsp;shows
time outdoors, especially at an early age, can reduce childhood stress and anxiety,
while strengthening confidence, imagination, and physical health—all
characteristics that will help tomorrow’s adults adapt to a changing world.</p>



<p>“Nature-based education [and] therapy are real sources of strength and resilience for young people,” Clayton says.  </p>



<p>But not everyone grows up with access to the outdoors, and both climate change and population growth are driving greater&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/03/climate-migrants-report-world-bank-spd/" target="_blank">movement</a>&nbsp;to urban areas worldwide. It means more kids live in developed areas with limited time in nature.</p>



<blockquote><p>Nature-based education is good for older kids, too, and can spark interest in science and other fields that will be crucial in the decades ahead. </p></blockquote>



<p>Fortunately, concern over how much time kids spend hitched to phones and computers has already sparked a&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2019/12/13/nature-based-education/" target="_blank">revival</a>&nbsp;in nature-based education. Parents and teachers today can access a growing network of tested programs. Some, such as <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.plt.org/about-us/" target="_blank">Project Learning Tree</a>&nbsp;and the&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.neefusa.org/nature/water/benefits-environmental-education" target="_blank">National Environmental Education Foundation</a>, are active across the country, but an expanding galaxy of others function at the local level. At the movement’s cutting edge is a growing number of outdoor-focused <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/04/early-childhood-outdoor-education/558959/" target="_blank">preschools</a>&nbsp;and <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.rei.com/blog/news/are-outdoor-preschools-the-wave-of-the-future" target="_blank">kindergartens</a>&nbsp;that provide formative experiences in natural settings, including within urban areas.</p>



<p>Proponents say nature-based
education is good for older kids, too, and can spark interest in science and
other fields that will be crucial in the decades ahead, as people engineer
solutions to climate-related challenges. Such programs may steer teens toward
promising careers. But in the short term, learning about science and nature can
instill optimism in the face of discouraging climate news.</p>



<h2>Discuss and Model Solutions</h2>



<p>But what about day-to-day
actions in the home? Experts agree that discussing climate change and modeling
behaviors that reflect climate solutions are important, too. Discussions need
to be <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/family/archive/2018/04/raising-kids-climate-change/554969/">age-appropriate</a>
to protect young children from unnecessary stress and anxiety. But exhibiting climate-positive
behaviors such as energy conservation and avoiding single-use plastics carries
value at all ages. According to Wiese, it shows kids that parents are engaged
in trying to better the world, and it fosters resilience by channeling energy
toward tangible action.</p>



<p>Mary DeMocker, author
of <a href="https://www.marydemocker.com/"><em>The
Parents’ Guide to Climate Revolution</em></a>, agrees. As the mother of two
young adults, DeMocker spent more than two decades raising kids with climate
change in mind, and she believes in empowering young people to create
solutions.</p>



<p>“Anything that gives
kids a sense of agency is important,” she says. “Maybe they help put together
the family’s emergency plan or evacuation kit. For older kids, it might mean
writing letters to Congress.”</p>



<blockquote><p>Teaching kids to think critically about the issue helps them avoid despair and instead empowers them to create change. </p></blockquote>



<p>DeMocker’s book contains 100 short, action-oriented chapters with ideas on greener lifestyles, getting kids outdoors, and promoting solutions to the climate crisis. She is attentive to the science of climate change and the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/09/1046972" target="_blank">urgent need</a> for a swift transition to clean energy. That drives her belief that children growing up today must feel empowered to create change. In addition to strong support networks, time outdoors, and positive thinking habits, she says, empowerment comes from solid foundations in both civics and climate science.</p>



<p>“I encourage parents to
push for climate literacy in schools,” she says. “Climate change is the biggest
thing that’s going to affect their children’s future. Kids need to know the
science and causes but also the solutions. And it needs to be taught free from the
constraints of political interests.”</p>



<p>DeMocker says young
people should not be told “<em>what</em> to
think about climate, but <em>how</em> to think
about it.” She believes teaching kids to think critically about the issue,
including in geopolitical terms, helps them avoid despair and instead empowers
them to create change. A grounding in civics and democracy then informs kids
how change can occur.</p>



<h2>Foster Compassion</h2>



<p>Compassion is also a
theme in DeMocker’s work. She says it’s an important emotional response for
parents to exercise while listening to a child’s fears about climate change,
which may include concerns about wildlife, natural disasters, or the well-being
of friends, family, and even pets.</p>



<p>In Alaska, Wiese also sees
the importance of compassion. She says parents foster compassion when they
provide a safe emotional place for kids to express their feelings and where
feelings are respected. For younger children, she also sees value in <a href="https://www.pbs.org/parents/thrive/raising-includers-5-tips-to-help-your-kids-be-kind-and-compassionate?gclid=Cj0KCQiApaXxBRDNARIsAGFdaB9Dp67VmyJHY5kke0ptpDapbSc767cVtYMrs-05ZI0DtfKRAKVgRw8aArYCEALw_wcB#disqus_thread">compassion-based
play</a>.</p>



<p>Exercising compassion models behaviors young people will need in the future, too, as they emerge as adults into a world undergoing significant physical and societal change. Global experts <a href="https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/06/1041261">predict</a> low- and middle-income people—and especially children—will continue feeling the brunt of weather extremes, food shortages, and other climate-related events. Tomorrow’s adults will need to know the value of compassion to promote responses that alleviate suffering, foster social justice, and decarbonize the economy. That provides a check against intolerance, nationalism, and other negative reactions that can compound suffering and civil unrest. Practicing compassion also carries mental health <a href="https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/the-compassionate-mind">benefits</a> that can help tomorrow’s adults weather the climate disruption they will experience.</p>



<p>Like climate change
itself, the prospect of raising children on a warming planet is daunting. When
it becomes overwhelming, Wiese says, parents should focus on what they can
control: Practice self-care. Provide kids with safety and support. Teach resilience
and compassion. And model planet-healthy choices that orient children away from
anxiety and toward solutions.</p>

<p>This article originally appeared in <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a> at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2020/02/18/climate-change-kids">https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2020/02/18/climate-change-kids</a>.</p><link href="https://www.yesmagazine.org/environment/2020/02/18/climate-change-kids" rel="canonical"/><p>Yes! Magazine is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of ... . Learn more at <a href="https://www.yesmagazine.org">Yes! Magazine</a></p><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://www.yesmagazine.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=77185&ga4=G-74QJNNY44Z" style="width:1px;height:1px;">

How to Raise Climate-Resilient Kids

Climate-related disasters are on the rise, and carbon emissions are soaring. Parents today face the unprecedented challenge of raising children somehow prepared for a planetary emergency that may last their lifetimes. Few guidebooks are on the shelves for this one, yet, but experts do have advice. And in a bit of happy news, it includes strategies already widely recognized as good for kids.

First, consider that a child born today enters a world growing progressively hotter, where recent weather extremes have displaced tens of millions of people. Scientists say displacement may swell into the hundreds of millions in the years ahead, as the rapid melting of glaciers now underway drives sea levels upward. The resulting migrations will likely trigger conflict, hunger, and political instability. As we already see in the children pressed against the U.S.-Mexico border, many of them fleeing drought in Central America, migrations may also lead to hardened borders and xenophobic or racist impulses. All this causes military analysts to call climate change a “threat multiplier” that can exacerbate existing social problems.

Parents today must brace
kids for both the direct physical impacts of climate change and the humanitarian
crises they will trigger, which may be worsened by human behaviors. Whether
kids experience the events personally or in the context of world news, experts
say kids will need strong foundations in resilience, positive thinking, compassion,
and other skills to maintain mental health and inform their responses.

It’s a lot for parents to think about.

“It’s a lot for parents
to think about,” says Tracey Wiese, an advanced nurse practitioner who
specializes in family practice and psychiatric mental health in Alaska. As warming
brings transformative
change to Alaska, upending landscapes, cultural norms, and nutritional
resources, Wiese sees growing anxiety among parents.

“I hear about it every
week now,” she says from her office in Anchorage. “Parents are worried about
existential stuff, like clean water, a livable planet for their kids, even
catastrophic environmental events.”

Wiese says parents can
use a range of strategies to help children, but that kids first require a
supportive relationship with one or more caregivers.

“That connection is
vital for helping children develop skills such as resilience,” she says.

Positive Stress and Strong Support Networks

Wiese defines resilience as the ability to manage stress and adapt to change. Her words are backed by a 2017 American Psychological Association report on the mental health impacts of climate change, which also emphasizes strong caregiver support and the value of resilience. For parents, the report’s authors recommend cultivating belief in a child’s own resilience, fostering optimism, and teaching children to control emotional responses to change. These are common tenets of modern parenting the report says are made especially important by climate change.

Psychologists also describe the value of “positive stress,” which may include public speaking, making new friends, and other experiences that can briefly increase heart rates but that help wire young minds to adapt to change. Parents who provide supportive coaching through these normal life experiences help kids develop resilience.

“Parents also need to
model positive and appropriate responses to stress,” Wiese says.

Strong social support networks give children a better foundation in resilience.

Like many things, what
happens earliest in life matters most, but teens and even adults can still
improve resilience. The APA offers an online guide with age-appropriate
strategies for parents.

In contrast, stress
related to poverty, malnutrition, violence, or abuse can weaken a child’s
resilience, acting as “threat multipliers” of their own for children born into
the climate change era. In such cases, climate can compound existing stress,
potentially increasing odds for substance abuse, anxiety, or depression,
according to the authors of the APA report.

Especially where
caregiver support is lacking, coaches, teachers, and other mentors can help
young people manage these negative stressors. It’s a reminder that entire
communities, not just parents, will have a hand in raising climate-resilient
children.

That community focus is
an important factor according to Susan Clayton, a psychologist at Wooster
College in Ohio and co-editor of Psychology
and Climate Change: Human Perceptions, Impacts, and Responses, which summarizes
psychological research tied to climate change.

“Strong social support
networks give children a better foundation in resilience,” Clayton says. She
lists teachers, clubs, and faith communities as good examples of social
networks that become “sources of meaning” for kids.

Connection to the Outdoors

Connecting youths to
the outdoors is also important when it comes to climate change. Research shows
time outdoors, especially at an early age, can reduce childhood stress and anxiety,
while strengthening confidence, imagination, and physical health—all
characteristics that will help tomorrow’s adults adapt to a changing world.

“Nature-based education [and] therapy are real sources of strength and resilience for young people,” Clayton says.

But not everyone grows up with access to the outdoors, and both climate change and population growth are driving greater movement to urban areas worldwide. It means more kids live in developed areas with limited time in nature.

Nature-based education is good for older kids, too, and can spark interest in science and other fields that will be crucial in the decades ahead.

Fortunately, concern over how much time kids spend hitched to phones and computers has already sparked a revival in nature-based education. Parents and teachers today can access a growing network of tested programs. Some, such as Project Learning Tree and the National Environmental Education Foundation, are active across the country, but an expanding galaxy of others function at the local level. At the movement’s cutting edge is a growing number of outdoor-focused preschools and kindergartens that provide formative experiences in natural settings, including within urban areas.

Proponents say nature-based
education is good for older kids, too, and can spark interest in science and
other fields that will be crucial in the decades ahead, as people engineer
solutions to climate-related challenges. Such programs may steer teens toward
promising careers. But in the short term, learning about science and nature can
instill optimism in the face of discouraging climate news.

Discuss and Model Solutions

But what about day-to-day
actions in the home? Experts agree that discussing climate change and modeling
behaviors that reflect climate solutions are important, too. Discussions need
to be age-appropriate
to protect young children from unnecessary stress and anxiety. But exhibiting climate-positive
behaviors such as energy conservation and avoiding single-use plastics carries
value at all ages. According to Wiese, it shows kids that parents are engaged
in trying to better the world, and it fosters resilience by channeling energy
toward tangible action.

Mary DeMocker, author
of The
Parents’ Guide to Climate Revolution, agrees. As the mother of two
young adults, DeMocker spent more than two decades raising kids with climate
change in mind, and she believes in empowering young people to create
solutions.

“Anything that gives
kids a sense of agency is important,” she says. “Maybe they help put together
the family’s emergency plan or evacuation kit. For older kids, it might mean
writing letters to Congress.”

Teaching kids to think critically about the issue helps them avoid despair and instead empowers them to create change.

DeMocker’s book contains 100 short, action-oriented chapters with ideas on greener lifestyles, getting kids outdoors, and promoting solutions to the climate crisis. She is attentive to the science of climate change and the urgent need for a swift transition to clean energy. That drives her belief that children growing up today must feel empowered to create change. In addition to strong support networks, time outdoors, and positive thinking habits, she says, empowerment comes from solid foundations in both civics and climate science.

“I encourage parents to
push for climate literacy in schools,” she says. “Climate change is the biggest
thing that’s going to affect their children’s future. Kids need to know the
science and causes but also the solutions. And it needs to be taught free from the
constraints of political interests.”

DeMocker says young
people should not be told “what to
think about climate, but how to think
about it.” She believes teaching kids to think critically about the issue,
including in geopolitical terms, helps them avoid despair and instead empowers
them to create change. A grounding in civics and democracy then informs kids
how change can occur.

Foster Compassion

Compassion is also a
theme in DeMocker’s work. She says it’s an important emotional response for
parents to exercise while listening to a child’s fears about climate change,
which may include concerns about wildlife, natural disasters, or the well-being
of friends, family, and even pets.

In Alaska, Wiese also sees
the importance of compassion. She says parents foster compassion when they
provide a safe emotional place for kids to express their feelings and where
feelings are respected. For younger children, she also sees value in compassion-based
play.

Exercising compassion models behaviors young people will need in the future, too, as they emerge as adults into a world undergoing significant physical and societal change. Global experts predict low- and middle-income people—and especially children—will continue feeling the brunt of weather extremes, food shortages, and other climate-related events. Tomorrow’s adults will need to know the value of compassion to promote responses that alleviate suffering, foster social justice, and decarbonize the economy. That provides a check against intolerance, nationalism, and other negative reactions that can compound suffering and civil unrest. Practicing compassion also carries mental health benefits that can help tomorrow’s adults weather the climate disruption they will experience.

Like climate change
itself, the prospect of raising children on a warming planet is daunting. When
it becomes overwhelming, Wiese says, parents should focus on what they can
control: Practice self-care. Provide kids with safety and support. Teach resilience
and compassion. And model planet-healthy choices that orient children away from
anxiety and toward solutions.

Republish this content

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