Earlier this week the high temperatures smashed records and resulted in the first ever issue of a ‘red-warning’ from the Met Office.
The heat is making headlines now, but in 25 years these high temperatures are predicted to be a regular occurrence during the summer.
Many parents and students alike are keen to learn more about fighting global warming and as part of generation Thunberg, school strikes, and Extinction Rebellion, Britain’s cohort of teens have shown increasing consciousness finding solutions. Research from MyTutor, the UK’s most trusted tutoring platform, has unveiled that over a quarter of parents throughout the UK agree that their child has become inspired to pursue a career in STEM to aid greater sustainability. In light of this demand to pursue a greener way of life, MyTutor highlights ways to encourage your child to adopt sustainable practices and get them interested in doing their part to fight the climate crisis.
Talk about the climate crisis openly
It can be hard to know where to start the conversation about climate change with your child. One of the best things you can do is listen – they may know more than you think. Use it as a chance to hear them out and listen to their fears about the planet and how the issue is disproportionately affecting young people. It’s important to create a safe space as many young people are suffering with ‘climate anxiety’, an overwhelming anger or sadness regarding the future of earth or a ‘chronic fear of environmental doom’. Incorporating this topic in a safe space and mopped up way, hopefully this anxiety can be turned into strategies and constructive problem solving!
Reduce energy use at home
This is your turn to lead by example, and save some money on energy bills as you do so. A very easy way to teach your child to lower their energy use is by unplugging devices once they are fully charged, not only will your battery thank you, but you’ll stop the superfluous use of electricity. Make sure that when they’re showering, they’re not having a boiling hot one, and don’t stay under the water until their fingers look like prunes. Make sure to set an example, if your child sees you saving energy, they will follow. After a while it will fall into routines and be the norm in your household.
Enrol them in courses they care about
As teens today have shown they are tuned into the issues facing the world, they can often spend a lot of time worrying about what the future may look like for them. In light of this, MyTutor has added new environmental and sustainability summer courses to their summer groups list at a discounted price, costing £12-18 for a 2-hour session and £90 for a 5-day course, allowing students to find new passions, start thinking about the future of the world they’ll live in, and to supplement their learning. MyTutor is offering courses which can harness teens climate anxiety and put it towards a passion for learning how to solve the problems they care about. In “Science to Save the Planet”, teens will learn about environmental science and sustainability.
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