Even though I’m an eco-friendly mom, I try not to be the “Paper Police”. Access to paper is an important part of life for kids.
Top Reasons to Make Paper Available to Kids:
1. They get to be creative with crayons, markers, paints, pencils, pens, etc.
2. It gives them fine motor practice. Even if they draw the same thing over and over, it’s good fine motor practice.
3. It keeps them busy in a screen-free way. They may not always be at an age where a stack of paper is such a fun thing for them. Take advantage of this unique time in their lives.
4. It’s fairly inexpensive if you buy a ream of paper instead of the paper pads they sell for kids that may have thicker paper, but not as many sheets. White is my favorite because it’s usually less expensive. But, a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors of paper is also good.
Giving kids somewhat free access to paper is usually not eco-friendly. But, I try to do other eco-friendly things to make up for it. One way to save trees in general is to cut up stained t-shirts into reusable rags to lessen paper towel use. Also, using cloth napkins sometimes instead of paper napkins is helpful.
One last tip: Pick a spot in your home and put a stack of about 25 sheets of paper. When that’s gone, refresh it with another pile of 25 so they don’t get too wasteful. The kids will always know where to go if they need to write a list or if they feel like drawing a picture.
Agree or disagree? I’d love to hear your experiences with paper and kids.
~Carrie
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