Its no longer news that we waste energy so much without knowing it. So as we try to teach kids to be conscious of how we spend or waste energy, we also remind ourselves as adults that we need to curb bad habits that lead to energy waste. The two biggest motivation for being energy conservative is that we cut our energy bills and also help to save our precious planet earth from environmental pollution.

So here are five - there could be more - ways that kids can be taught to be energy conservative.

1. Turn off the Switches: We are all guilty of leaving our electronic gadgets running while they are not in use or even when we are not at home. These gadgets consume energy unnecesarily because they are not in use. So before you or the kids leave the house, check all the appliances - television, computers, lightbulb, etc. and make sure they are turned off.

2. Use other means of transportation: It must not be the car all the time, short errands can be done on foot or using a bicycle. Running the car or truck or family van consumes gasoline and leaves our air more polluted too. So when kids are trained to walk short distances or use the bicycle or other forms of transportation, they learn to conserve energy.

3. Use natural light on bright days: Especially during summer, the sun gives light that can illuminate the run. So instead of using bulb light, teach your kids to open the windows and allow natural light to provide illumination. They can then turn of the bulb and save energy in this way.

4. Dry the clothes outside: Again this works on days with bright sunshine. Instead of using electric dryers, teach kids to hang their clothes and towels outside. Over time, this can become a valuable part of their lives, eliminating the frequency of using dryers that consume electricity.

5. Put a timer on the shower: Wasting water during bathing is all too common and many families do not understand that this wastes energy too. When timers are used - for example set it to 6 minutes - the quantity of water used is known. But without showers, they kids may spend several minutes on the shower thereby wasting the gas energy used to heat up the water.

Conclusion

There are more than five ways to teach kids to conserve energy, but the above examples are just - well examples. Reading books more will reduce the time spent watching the television. And going electricity free for a period in the week is another way to reduce energy consuption. Overall, when we are energy efficient as adults, our kids can learn from us. And when we instruct them to reduce energy waste, they will listen!