And yet, to them, the world revolves around their needs and their desires. That's just the way young children are. Just as naturally, they live in the present and for the present. Nevertheless, adults' concern for the environment reflects our thoughts about the future of many tomorrows. No wonder it's difficult for children to understand that we need to care today about some far-off time.
Children know best what they can see and touch and experience right now.
Even though caring for the environment can be hard for children to grasp, there's much we can offer them. The greatest thing they can learn from us is our attitude. When we turn off lights and when we turn paper over to use the back of it, when we gather newspapers for recycling, and even when we marvel at a sunset, we send loud and clear messages to our children that caring for our planet is important to us. They'll take in those messages because children want to be like the important adults in their lives. They watched grownups that they loved, and they began to imitate them.