Raising socially conscious kids who care about the Earth and its resources can be a daunting challenge. After all, we’re all pretty much making this up as we go along. We are the first generation of people that has looked to the future and actually taken responsibility for it. It’s both a burden and a wonderful opportunity.
So how do we pass along the values of sustainability and conservation? Leading by example is essential, but here are a few other ideas to help your family GO GREEN:
· Foster Curiosity. Plant a vegetable garden, install a bird feeder, explain the circle of life, and celebrate nature at every opportunity.
· Get Outdoors. Walk whenever possible, go camping, have picnics, visit a local farm, and take a trip to a National Park.
· Holistic Helpers. Get kids involved in recycling, compost, picking up litter, turning off lights, and other eco-friendly habits.
· Conserve with Creativity. Do you know how many things you can make out of cardboard? Save materials, which you would normally trash or recycle, for craft time.
· Grow Green Together. Whether you’re reading a green book or playing with a green toy, going green should bring you closer together as a family. It’s only natural, isn’t it?
Eco-Friendly Fun
Learning Express offers many products that can make going green and whole lot of fun—items made from recycled or sustainable materials and science kits that foster curiosity about conservation, just to name a few. Look for our green toy icon in our catalogs (shown above) and check out the suggestions below. (NOTE: Availability may vary by store.)
Tea Set by Green Toys, Inc.
60-Piece Unit Block Set by Melissa & Doug
Tin Can Robot Kit
by Toysmith
Smencils (made from recycled newspaper) by International Arrivals
I’ve been very intrigued by First Lady Michelle Obama’s recently announced cause of choice—childhood obesity. This is an issue that was first raised three decades ago, but, like most things, it’s only when the consequences are in full swing that we start paying attention. For several years, Learning Express has addressed the topic with a program called the Bunny Buffet™, which is a healthy alternative to the typical Easter basket. Regardless of whether you’re the First Lady, a franchise of educational toy stores, a medical professional, or a neighborhood parent, I think this is a battle we can all fight.
Some Facts
Childhood obesity or excess weight threatens the healthy future of one third of American children, hence why it has been called an “epidemic.”
We spend $150 billion every year to treat obesity-related conditions, and that number is growing.
Obesity rates tripled in the past 30 years, a trend that means, for the first time in our history, American children may face a shorter expected lifespan than their parents.
The average teen eats fast food twice a week.
Only 3 out of 10 high school seniors report eating green vegetables “nearly every day or more.”
In a study of 200 neighborhoods, there were three times as many supermarkets in wealthy neighborhood as in poor neighborhoods, leaving fast food restaurants as the most convenient meal option for many low income families.
Almost one in four children does not participate in any free-time physical activity. (YIKES!)
92% of elementary schools don’t have daily physical education classes year-round. Less than a quarter of high school students take daily physical education classes.
A typical American youth spends approximately four to five hours a day watching TV, using the computer, or playing video games.
Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move Campaign
I think the most positive part of this campaign is that it brings media attention to an issue that is (clearly) in desperate need of it. While the program has now officially launched, it is still in the developmental phase. At the moment, the supporting literature says that Let’s Move plans to give parents the support they need, provide healthier food in schools, help our kids to be more physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available in every part of our country.
The website is already up and running and has some useful resources for parents available. The “Healthy Choices” section in particular includes how to make a healthy start when feeding your infant, how to create a healthy family home, healthy eating for different age levels (there’s a chart with estimated calories requirements by gender, age, and physical activity level, see link below), healthy cooking and shopping made easy, and facts about healthy weight and BMI.
So where does Learning Express fit into all of this? Well, we certainly think that learning should be fun (that’s the smarts part), but we also believe that the healthy part should be fun too. There’s no question that Easter is a sugar-dominated holiday, and that’s why so many of our stores offer the Bunny Buffet™ as a one-stop shopping alternative. We like to “think outside the basket” as it were.
Basically it’s a three step program. You go into the store and choose from the selection of colorful buckets. Second, you fill the bucket with $25 worth of gifts from the “buffet” of educational toys and gifts. Finally, once everything is rung up, you receive the bucket for FREE, and the Learning Express staff will personalize it with the child’s name. Voila! A meaningful gift that will last much longer than a sugar high.
I really hope that the First Lady is able to keep childhood obesity in the limelight as the Let’s Move campaign moves forward. I for one would love to see an entire generation of smart, healthy kids. Wouldn’t you?
Check out the scene at Toy Fair 2010 with these local news footage of one of our owners. Rick Grossman owns the Learning Express stores in Branchburg and Hillsborough, NJ. More video from Toy Fair coming soon (as soon as I figure out why iMovie is acting glitchy).
Exploring the Toy Fair in New York for the next great thing
