How to help kids feel confident about saving the planet

This guest post on how to help kids feel confident about saving the planet is from wellbeing author and psychotherapist Becky Goddard-Hill. It’s an extract from her new book *Create Your Own Confidence, which is a fun activity book packed with simple, practical ideas that help children to feel confident, strong and happy.

Create Your Own Confidence activity book cover

The book contains 50 topics, such as making friends and facing challenges. Each topic is supported by science and research, and includes an activity for kids to put their learning into practice and have fun.

This is the fourth book in Becky’s series of emotional health activity books for 6-12 year olds. All of the books in the series are designed to help children develop robust and positive mental health strategies. You can check out the other three books here: Create Your Own Happy, Create Your Own Calm, Create Your Own Kindness.

How to help kids feel confident about saving the planet

Here Becky shares an activity from Create Your Own Confidence which is all about helping kids realise they can make a difference to the world around them.

help kids feel confident with Create Your Own Confidence activity book for six to twelve year olds

(You can) make a difference to the planet

Sometimes the tiniest of actions can be super powerful and have varied, long-term benefits.

When you plant wildflower seeds you make the world look prettier. You are also providing insects with shelter and food from leaves, pollen and nectar. In autumn, wildflowers drop their seeds, which will either be carried away by the birds and dropped or simply grow where they land. Your wildflowers will spread far and wide and multiply.

How it works

Every action you take may inspire someone to do something similar, which could in turn inspire someone else. For example, if you started a free bookstall outside your home, someone may take a book, think ‘What a great idea!’ and start a bookstall outside their home.

What you do to help the planet has much more impact than you might imagine. Have confidence that you can make a difference and take positive action to look after the planet and help it bloom.

Activity: Make an egg box bird feeder

Bird feeding is a good thing to do all year round but it is most important in late winter or early spring, when natural seeds are scarce. Birds might go hungry then, so let’s give them a hand and make them a feeder.

1. Cut the flat top off an egg box and pop it in the recycling bin. (If you are vegan you might want to use a margarine carton or hummus pot.)

2. Punch holes in each corner of the box.

3. Tie string through the hole in each corner and then gather the ends up and tie a knot at the top.

4. Fill the compartments with bird seed and hang your feeder in a tree.

Create your own confidence… by taking action to protect the planet.

Isn’t that a great way to make kids feel empowered and inspired to do their bit for the planet?

Create Your Own Confidence is published by Harper Collins and is out now. You can find out more and order a copy *here.

You might also like these earth day activities for kids, earth day quotes and nature quotes to help kids celebrate our wonderful world.