In this day and age, it’s more important than ever that every one of us, no matter how young or old, does our part to protect and save our beautiful planet. And this includes reusing, recycling and reducing our waste. Households with children will generally get through huge amounts of paper, from toilet paper and kitchen roll to paper used for everyday activities, as it’s especially easy for children to waste and use too much.

When children waste paper, it could be that they simply don’t understand it to be problematic. If this is the case, try to explain in your own words where paper comes from, namely trees, wonderful trees that take in harmful carbon dioxide and produce the oxygen we need to breathe. And when we waste paper, we contribute to the cutting down of more wonderful trees and the production of more carbon dioxide! So, in order to take care of our lovely world, it’s very important that we use only as much as necessary.

Other children will use an excess of paper simply because they have found it to be a good way of getting attention from the adults around them. We, as adults, know that paper should be used sparingly if possible, and in turn, we scold and lecture our kids when they waste it, reinforcing their belief that it is an effective attention-getting device.

So, how can we teach our kids to appreciate paper and prevent them from wasting it?

How do we keep our kids from wasting paper?

Encourage paper activities

Often, a child’s habit of paper wastage may be prompted by their simply enjoying the feel of paper. If your little one demonstrates a fascination with paper of all different types, try to come up with and encourage activities that allow for tearing, cutting and even scrunching up paper. Get your hands on a few different types of paper, from tissue to newspaper - a whole range of different colours and textures - and work together to make a collage or papier-mâché sculptures. Encourage your child to rip, scrunch, glue, cut and fold, and convey your approval as they play!

Prevent paper-wasting where possible

The next step is to keep an eye out for any opportunities your child has to waste paper and do all you can to prevent it. This will include trips to the bathroom where toilet paper is so often wasted, art activities, such as painting, and liquid spills. When they’re using the bathroom, allow them to take the necessary amounts of toilet paper before putting your hand on the roll and preventing them from pulling off anymore. Tell them, ‘Good! That’s just the right amount of paper.’ If your child tries to flush yet more toilet roll, say, ‘You may not waste paper’ and direct them towards an activity that will occupy them.

For artistic activities that use paper, set quotas for the amount of paper they can use in a positive and exciting way. For instance, you might say:

‘You get to paint five whole pictures today! Here is your first piece of paper. I‘m really excited to see what you paint!’

If your child asks for more paper, let them know that they have reached their quota for today, and if they’ve left any blank spaces on their work, suggest that they fill in the gaps. When it comes to liquid spills, provide reusable cloths, sponges and mops, as opposed to kitchen roll.

Praise eco-friendly paper use

When your preschooler does use paper appropriately, make sure to offer plenty of praise. For example, you might tell them, ‘I like the way you used different colour paints on every part of the canvas!’

Or if they’re using the bathroom, you could say, ‘You’re getting really good at using just the right amount of toilet paper!’

As the behaviour begins to decrease, gradually give less attention to proper uses of paper, but let them know every now and again how well they’re doing.

Ignore the wasting of paper

If you have determined that your child wastes paper for attention, it’s important that you try your hardest to ignore this behaviour. So, if you come across your child scribbling all over a small stack of paper, go to them and remove the pencils and paper, telling them ‘No! You may not waste paper.’ Following this, turn away from your child and do your best to ignore them for a couple of minutes before finding them something fun to get on with.

How can I discourage my child from wasting paper?