Waste.... what’s it got to do with me?
In this situation of the climate change we are going through we need more than ever to realise our impact, daily, on the environment and this is just the tip of the iceberg as it were, because the issue is bigger than anything humans can do without supporting each other.
So first of all each of us create waste, obviously. So our nail cuttings, hair, skin, and bodily fluids; we also have waste from inside our bodies manifested in excrement (poo) and urination (wee). These are essentially shedding all the time beyond our control it’s a fact of life that we are not the same person we were when we were born and all our cells replaced each five to ten years, we are literally clones of our selves! Bonkers eh?
Babies and toddlers are in need of supporting to manage their waste but we haven’t actually dealt with waste disposal ourselves so all we do is ‘dispose’ of waste products in the bin, from a nappy, the packaging of the nappies and the cleaning products used in the name of ‘cleanliness’ when in reality we dirty up the world polluting the planet with substances and plastic that will not ever be broken down even in the lifetime of one human being. Even potties of plastic! Even the flushing of products down the toilet does not ‘disappear’ it goes into the oceans polluting the waters where dolphins, fish and other life forms inhabit, they have nowhere else to go except swim in oceans filled with particles of plastic and excrement.
In fact waste is everywhere to see, on the streets where people drop litter, spit out gum, and cigarette butts discarded and food and packaging thrown on the pathways. It’s essential to be aware, and I see many parents enabling their children to pick up litter in public spaces, particularly places of greenery like parks and fields or nature reserves and they learn by helping nature and they feel good so that is a lesson they carry for life, they learn responsibility for their actions and other people’s actions.
So three ways to engage iccle ones into learning about waste that will help them to be the solutions for the future. Before we go through these items it’s essential to be careful if you are squeamish so brace yourself!
What is waste? Ask them this question and chat about their ideas, they are keen observers of the world this will help them vocalising their observations. Try creating artworks, modelling and collages with packaging or waste food in a nice and creative way that can be recycled or carefully ‘disposed’ of.
What’s Poo? And What is wee? So this is a discussion about poo and wee, it’s basically a science, biology and chemistry lesson, your child can ask questions and I’d recommend with the information creating a board of post it notes and playing with them into what the science is; and then of course you need to have a completion to this and that is asking how everyone in the world ‘dispose’ of their waste, historically as well, and this will conclude the exercise.
The next thing is what are the solutions to dealing with waste, let them use their imaginations and nothing is limited or being ‘realistic’ it’s all about asking, “what solutions can be made to waste disposal?” And let them create some drawings or paintings of those ideas.
Concluding the exercises enable your child/ren to feel like they took part in something interesting and they will have a better understanding of the world around them.... as Whitney Houston sung “the children are the future, let them lead the way” and that is key, empowering them to be well armed for the new future from learning from this present soon to be the past, just like waste, our humankind will soon be replaced as we leave our trace.
To conclude, our waste is not rubbish to eliminate, our waste is, us, we are disposing of ourselves, irresponsibly the key is how do we manage our past? In fact our waste is our past and in years gone by people can know what our ancestors ate and their health by their waste traces. They left themselves and new life from seeds and life they once ate.
(Sorry it’s a bit of an essay, these are my own opinions from clues left behind and our impact of the world around us I’m keen to share).
