Creating energy conscious children

I asked my 4 year old what he would do to stay warm this winter and his answer was “Put on my Spiderman pj’s and get into bed”. Pretty solid advice! Other tips from some of our team’s mini-mes range from “Give warm hugs” to “Build a big fire in the living room”.

Not sure the last one is quite so safe, but it would definitely generate heat.

It’s not often that we associate energy saving with children, but getting them involved could not only help you save on your energy bill but also build energy conscious humans who will take this knowledge with them as they grow up.

Now you may be asking yourself – how would I do this? Well…here are some tips and tricks to get the young ones involved.

Turn-it-off competition

I don’t know about your children – but as soon as my son gets wind of something being a competition that he can win he goes into it guns blazing! Especially if there is a reward at the end, generally in the form of a chocolate frog. Get them to run through the house and turn off any lights that you’re not using and for the older ones throw in turning plugs off at the outlets and unplugging charging devices not currently being used.

No power hour

In our house we do one hour a week where we turn off absolutely everything in the house (except the fridge). This not only helps us save energy, but also gives us that uninterrupted quality time together that so often gets clouded by screens.

Close it up

One great way to retain warmth in the winter is to close those curtains! Another great competition idea for children – a race to see who can close the most curtains.

This or that

Making good choices when it comes to saving energy is something that can be taught from a very young age. Get your children thinking about ways in which they can make small changes to help save energy. This could be putting on a jumper instead of turning up the heat pump, opening up windows and doors to let a breeze in instead of cranking the aircon, making an energy free meal instead of using the oven, hanging up clothes on the clothes line instead of using the tumble dryer.

Shower sing along

We all love a nice long shower, especially in the winter. But water heating costs are one of the main culprits when it comes to using too much energy. Getting your kids to pick one 4 minute long song for their shower will help you save. The song of choice for us at the moment is “I like to move it” from Madagascar. And yes – you need to sing along while taking your shower.

Power of aurora+

Do the aurora+ challenge, try to beat your usage with the aurora+ app – compare last week’s usage to this week and any $ saved can be put in a piggy bank or used for a treat on the weekend!

There are so many great ways to get your children involved in helping you manage your energy usage in an easy and fun manner. And if all else fails – put on your Spiderman pjs and get into bed!