How can we support future generations?
This Saturday, we celebrated ‘World Children’s Day’, a United Nations initiative, which got me thinking about what we owe future generations. What can we do to ensure the Wholistic Wellbeing of our children? Which particular aspects of their wellbeing will be challenged more than others, and what can we do to help them overcome these challenges?
As a parent, I am both eager to take action, and feel anxious about the task at hand. Planetary Wellbeing is where my main concern lies. The wellbeing of our planet is so closely linked to our own; and if scientific predictions are accurate, with rapidly rising temperatures causing hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and tropical storms, there is no justification for us to wait. If we care about the future of our children, we must act now.
The topic of climate change can often be perceived as complex, overwhelming, and anxiety-inducing. I understand that, for many parents, it may be difficult to find the right advice in the ocean of information. So, in practical terms, what can be done?
As I mentioned in my recent article on Planetary Wellbeing, calculating your carbon footprint will help you better understand the types of daily activities you can restrict if you want to lead a more sustainable life. These simple actions will have the potential to influence the quality of air our children will breathe.
And the quality of air is a vital piece of the puzzle. I attended a recent UN virtual event: “Freedom to breathe: A Child’s Right to Clean Air”, which saw 29,674 children worldwide push for the recognition of “access to clean air” as a fundamental Children’s Right. Until recently, “access to clean air” was present amongst Human Rights, but was not included in the children-specific convention. I found this deeply moving and poignant.
The Vice-Chair to the Committee of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, Philip D. Jaffé, confirmed that:
“We need an air quality revolution […] the Committee of the UNCRC will work on including every child’s right to clean air in the upcoming General Comment (no.26) […] I will do my part and I will do everything I can with my colleagues to support you in what you are doing”.
This is a big win for children worldwide.
Besides climate change, we face another challenge. Nowadays, children have less contact with nature than ever before. If we want a clean, sustainable Earth for all, we must not forget about showing the health and wellbeing benefits of being in nature to our children. They need to experience the bountiful beauty of nature first-hand. I believe in making classrooms more interactive and, above all, active: teaching children about our world by acquainting them with the beauty of the outdoors. As parents, we also should make time — no matter how busy we are — to spend quality time with our kids, playing outdoor sports, having walks at the beach, climbing mountains, and swimming in the sea; all simple pleasures of life.
How can I look my children in the eye in, say, ten or fifteen years, when the world is crumbling, when our planet is hurting, if I do nothing now? Let’s think about our children, Let’s protect them. We owe them that because everyone deserves to live a joyful and fulfilling life of Wholistic Wellbeing. And without Planetary Wellbeing, that will be impossible.
