Raising Consumption Conscious Young People in the Age of Extreme

Raising Consumption Conscious Young People in the Age of Extreme

Six years ago, we sold, donated or threw away most of the property we owned. It was a decision based on our discontent with our present lives. We were tired of living from salary to salary and could never go forward. And because of the energy and effort that material goods received from us, we were always increasing fatigue and weariness. We realized that we had very little resources left for what was important to us.

(Items) Not only did they not add joy to our lives, they also distracted us from what they did.

When we began the life-giving journey, we found that this style echoed in many people introduced to such a life. Most of us know we have a lot of things. We saw that the pursuit of minimalism transformed the lives of young couples, parents and older generations. But our greatest desire is to inspire young people to become conscious consumers and build a better life with less.

Of course, there are important challenges in reaching out to young people with the message of having less:

Our world is becoming materialist.

Young people value acceptability and harmony among their peers.

Advertisers regularly and consciously choose to target the young adult population.

Young people are beginning to discover that they make their own decisions. As a result, stimuli from others - especially those from parents? They care less. Difficulties too much. Nevertheless, we have realized the benefits of reaching out to students through conscious consumerism messages.

The decisions that are important to them are still ahead of them. The message of simplicity also helps them to make wise decisions.

They are not indebted - yet. As a result, they are not prisoners under the weight of lenders (especially housing, automobile and student loans).

Spending habits have not yet formed. They are undoubtedly shaped, but it is not yet fully explored.

We must first recognize the difficulties. But as parents, we also understand the importance of protecting young people from years of financial burden and unfulfilled promises. We also provide young people with an important opportunity to inspire their lives for greater value.

As parents, mentors and community members, you can look at 10 important tips to educate young people as conscious consumers in this age of extremism.

1. Make the model. The clichés tell the truth, “Life lessons are better than what is taught”. The first (and most important) step in raising minimalist youth is to become a role model that demonstrates the benefits and pleasures of consciously living with less.

2. Encourage idealism. Many young people embrace idealism and desire to find a reason to change the world. But often youth idealism is misunderstood or / or discouraged. This should be encouraged. Encourage your children to dream bigger than comfortable homes, cool cars and white fences, no matter what their age.

3. Volunteer as a family. Be active in allocating time to the community by participating in a local food bank, soup house, or organizations that help deprived of social rights.

4. Watch less TV. It's not as difficult as you think, and it has immediate visible positive results for you and your child.

5. Young people should pay for the expensive products they buy themselves. Every parent is responsible for food, dressing, shelter and basic needs. And every mother and father should give their children good gifts. But if you ask your young child to buy expensive things with their own money, it will create a stronger sense of ownership and a better understanding of the relationship between work, money and consumerism.

6. Encourage young people to understand the messages underlying ads. The ads don't go anywhere, and they're not completely negligible. I often ask your child ne What are they really trying to sell with these ads? Do you think this product can fulfill the promises? Asına Help him read the message behind the marketing message. Even if you are lucky this can become a fun game played in the family.

7. Find an ally. Over time your children became adolescents and your role as a parent changed. In many families, young people begin to express their independence in their relationship with parents… but that does not mean that they will never listen to them. Find someone in the community who embraces your values, creates opportunities for you to talk to your young child.

8. Stop doing their work. Most of the time, as parents, we are trying to give our children a significant advantage in the work they need to do by paying the full price. But what we do in the meantime is to risk not being ready for life, neglecting to teach them the truth of responsibility. It is difficult to maintain the work of this life (mowing the lawn, washing and maintaining cars, doing laundry, collecting rooms). Introduce this to young people as early and as often as possible.

9. Travel to less developed countries. This world is large and has a wide variety of cultures. The moments I learned the most during my youth came when I visited the third world countries, experiencing the living conditions of those who lived there with very little (6 billion people live with less than $ 13,000 a year). Their joy and peace have helped me as a source of inspiration even to this day.

10. Teach them that what matters is not who they have, but who they are. A great male or female character has a greater value than those who value the property. Believe this truth. Experience this truth. And remind young people in your life as often as possible.

We pursued the pursuit of happiness, joy and completeness for a long time in search of wealth and wealth. (This is a tweet.)

Now is the time to raise generations that value larger things as consciousness.