Going green is a family affair. And teaching your children at a young age to respect and protect the environment will establish healthy habits as they get older.

Here are some ways your kids can get involved in going green.

Recycle as a family. Find out what recyclables your city trash accepts or a local recycling drop-point takes. Your local Brookshire’s has recycling receptacles set up for your convenience. Set your recycling collection up in your garage with large plastic totes labeled for each type of collection. Let your kids make the labels using construction paper and crayons. Encourage them to draw pictures of items that will go in that bin.

Use more cloth bags. Send your child’s lunch to school in a cloth reusable bag from Brookshire’s instead of a plastic bag. These are also handy for toting school supplies or projects to the classroom.

Consolidate your driving. Have your children help map out a day’s shopping trip to find the most conservative route. Let them include their activities into the plan, like soccer practice or piano lessons. If your kids are reading-age, let them call out the next stop on your list.

Speak up. Let your children know that you're making conscious efforts to go green. If they don't hear you say it, they won't pay attention.

Published 02/06/09