It grinds me that we waste so much?

Question

I'm a live in babysitter for my uncle 's girlfriend in England. However, I come from South Africa where I have spent time with people dying of hunger and malnutrition. Also at home we have recycling and compost which doesn't really happen here. She is aware of it but just couldn't be bothered, and the kids are really fussy eaters. I really wanna do something about it, but in a way that doesn't cross personal boundaries? Some suggestions would be really appreciated

Answer 1

i guess you could leave information about waste, and if she gets up set tell her you didn't mean any harm.

Answer 2

Uncles girlfriend? - at least he's happy.

I think trying to get children to eat healthily is very difficult, but just keep trying different things untill you find a good mix and produce a mental list of things you know they'll like.

The real key is to educate them. Get them to read the back of cereal boxes regarding vitamins, and try and make the link between friut and vegetables that are high in vitamin C - to help them fight colds and sniffles, and Iron to make them strong.

I've found if you play on Iron building muscles, then they are usually proud to show you how strong they are - and green vegetables help this so...........  It usually works.

Try broccoli cheese.

Reduce portions, they ask for more of what they like. Educate on the benefits of certain foods.

My brother with a university honours degree and his own business -ate only bread, jam, green apples, cheese and milk till he was 17 - so the body decides what it likes.

Answer 3

is there a hidden corner of the garden to put a compost bin in? or better, a wormery, all kids are interested in worms ime.

our local council does collect recyclables and also sell really cheap (subsidised) compost bins, i got mine through this site;

http://www.recyclenow.com/compost/

type in your post code and it shows you your local council's deals.

as for waste, i agree, its verging on immoral what we waste in this throwaway culture.

my parents were little in the war so had waste not want not trained in, and there were things like the biafra famine when i was small which reinforced the lesson for my generation. nowadays that one doesnt seem to work anymore, people have od'd on famine pictures.

Answer 4

i guess in this country we take things fr granted- such as food , homes , health and even things like waste collection etc, so when you come from another country you would see things differently , it will be hard to get your views across unless this person has been to your country and seen the difference herself

you could just try explain how things are in africa and how you value things like food and health , perhaps explain to the children how people are starving and they should be grateful , but without seeing it first hand it will be hard to enforce it

Answer 5

Let them learn by your example.You go about your daily life doing all the right things and hopefully they will come round to your way of living.

Answer 6

Make a little competition of it between the kids if there is more than 1 kid.  If you can add a little competition and make it fun, you have a better chance of getting them to do it.

The main difference is the environment that you grew up in versus the enviroment they have grown up in.  So you will see things differently than they do.

Answer 7

They might be willing to let you recycle, even if they don't want to take the time to do it.  My boyfriend refuses to recycle, but he's willing to put plastic and glass in separate containers from our trash (since it's not really any extra work for him) and then I take those containers to recycle once a week.

Do they garden at all?  A compost pile is good for keeping stuff out of the landfills but if you don't garden it can be hard to convince a person to let stuff decompose in their yard.  If they do garden maybe you could show them how it's a good way to fertilize their plants without costing anything.

Not wasting food is a hard thing to change behavior-wise because there aren't obvious benefits to the people involved.  The saved food can't just be shipped to other people who need it, so I doubt they'll see why they should do it.  That one might be a lost cause unless they start really caring about what they're doing.  

Answer 8

The best thing you can do is lead by example.  Don't let their lifestyle affect yours, keep doing the right things you've always done.  They'll take notice and maybe ask questions. This is your opportunity to share your experience.  As you spend time with them work in stories about home. If you're close and comfortable with the family you may just sit down and let the adults know how it's affecting you and why.