Teaching Your Kids About Eco-Friendly Practices at the Beach

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A trip to the beach is an exciting day for any age group, including your children. This location is actually a critical, biological region that requires some tender-loving care from its visitors. As you enjoy the sun and sand, teach your kids about eco-friendly practices that they can practice so that the world's beaches benefit for generations to come.

Observe, Don't Destruct

Show your children that the beach and ocean are important elements by leading by example. Take them out to the tide pools, and show them the small animals living in the water. Don't harm or disturb the habitat in any way, however. Treat the animals as gently as possible, such as holding a sea star for a few seconds and placing him back in the water. By respecting the critters, your children will emulate your actions well into adulthood.

Pack the Trash

If you've ever walked onto a beach with a lot of trash strewn across the sand, it's a sad and unsettling sight. These items eventually end up in the ocean where they can harm the water's quality or an animal. Demonstrate that packing up the trash is just as important as throwing it in the garbage can. Secure any lightweight items that might fly off with the breeze. Literally pack the trash at the end of the day so that you can haul it out of there. In essence, you don't want anything to remain after a fun day at the shore.

Wear the Right Sunscreen

As a parent, you want to protect your child's skin from sunburns. Lather on the sunscreen every two to three hours that you're at the beach, but choose an eco-friendly type, such as reef friendly sunscreen. Products with parabens, zinc oxide, octinoxate, benzophenones and titanium dioxide are known to harm the ocean environment. Read over the ingredient list with care as you decide on the right sunscreen. Protecting your kids and the ocean should be a top priority.

Report Questionable Practices

You may be diligent about caring for the environment, but others around you may overlook its importance. If you see blatant violations taking place, such as pollutants entering the water, report your observations to the lifeguards on hand. These professionals can deal with the situation so that everyone is updated with the proper information. The questionable behaviors may be due to lack of information about the habits.

Recycle Those Bottles

Drinking soda and other treats at the beach usually leaves you with many bottles and cans that are ready for the trash. Rethink this habit by showing your kids that recycling is the best answer. Grab a trash bag that's reserved for just recyclable materials. Collect cans and bottles at your beach site, and even look around for any discarded items. You can usually turn in these items to reputable recyclers who pay you a small amount for the effort. Saving the ocean alone should be payment enough.

If you're driving to the beach, park in the designated spots in the lot. Don't park directly on the sand. This strategy saves the sand from being saturated with any vehicle liquids. Oils and other synthetic substances aren't healthy for the beach or surrounding oceans. Maintaining a healthy beach will only improve the world's oceans with one person's effort at a time.