Water Conservation Tips for Your Children & Family

Posted on Dec 23, 2011 in Water Conservation by Anh Speer, Ph.D. 0 Comments

As we become more aware of the environmental impact our daily activities have on the Earth, we need to teach our kids, the up and coming green generation, to participate in sustainable living initiatives. This will help our future generations become more conscious about the environment and become accustom to a sustainable lifestyle. Proving this foundation will make them responsible for their actions and any impact on the environment they may cause while transitioning from children to teenagers and then finally adulthood. There are many sustainable lifestyle topics you can teach your children, many of which will help save money for the family. Topics range from saving water to energy efficiency and recycling to green product purchasing and many more. Being parents of two kids, we are currently focusing on teaching our children how to help conserve water and therefore lower water bills with the following tips and we encourage you to do the same.

Save money by turning of the water while washing hands and brushing teeth

Our children can be taught that it is wasteful to have the water running the entire time when washing their hands or brushing their teeth. By showing the children to turn the water on just too wet their hands or tooth brush, then turn it off until it’s time to rinse would save gallons of water from going down the drain. This will also help make them more conscious about our precious water resources and that it is up to them to conserve it. This bit of encouragement and establishment of new habits will also help mommy and daddy to save money. Recent studies show that on average, turning off the water while brushing your teeth, twice per day, can save up to 8 gallons of water. This means a family of four can save up to $72 per year, just by conserving water while brushing their teeth.

Conserve water by taking a shower instead of a bath

Kids often love to take baths because they can splash and play in warm water for a long time. Normally, as they get older, a gradual shift to taking a shower will occur. As an eco-conscious family you must realize that showers use far less water than a typical bath. Showers use between 10 to 25 gallons of water while an average bath can takes up to 70 gallons. For small children that like to take a bath, only fill up the tub to about 1/3 of the capacity. Another tip is to plug the drain immediately and adjust the temperature while the water is filling up; this avoids sending perfectly good water down the drain. Encourage your older children to take a shower rather than a bath and start them early with the habit of keeping showers short. Taking a tip from the Europeans, teach your children to turn off the water after getting wet and while soaping and scrubbing. This effort will focus on getting clean and keeping the time in the shower short, therefore helping conserve water and money. With two kids taking a shower rather than a bath, you can save about $85 – $105 a year in your water bill.

Children can be inspired and more easily taught than adults to go green. Teaching them simple conservation methods that can be accomplished on a daily basis will help the family save money and keep the Earth beautiful. Your children will become very responsible when they’re exposed to the sustainable lifestyle and will set the stage for future generations.