The Green Parent

Far from being raised with a silver spoon in her mouth, Laura Seydel, (daughter of CNN founder Ted Turner), was raised with dirt under her fingernails and deeply-rooted love for the environment. Today, this mom of three balances green parenting with ball games, PTA meetings, and her work for the Captain Planet Foundation, a national nonprofit organization that funds eco-projects for schools and community groups across the country. Here’s what Green Parent Laura Seydel had to say about gardening, fast food, and what her youngest daughter is doing to save the frogs.

TGP: Why are you a Green Parent?

LS: I was very close with my grandparents who were raised in the depression. Part of being a good environmentalist is not wasting and creating a lot of excess and my grandparents didn’t waste anything. They also didn’t use chemicals the way we do now; they were very conscious about things like that.

My grandmother had prize-winning roses in Birmingham and she never used any chemicals on them. She would take what was leftover in the kitchen…coffee grinds, orange peels, and egg shells, and mix it together to put on her garden. Those were all lessons that I grew up learning.

My father was born on the tail end of the Second World War. He was raised with a very strong work ethic and a very strong conservation ethic and he imparted what he learned to us. He felt that nature and natural resources were very important. If there was trash on the ground then he would pick it up. We did not waste energy. We did not waste anything. And this was for both environmental and financial reasons. My dad didn’t make money by wasting it or spending it, he made it by saving it and investing it wisely. He led by example and now my siblings and I are doing the same thing; trying to raise our children with the same values.

You can’t go through a day now without reading an article or hearing something on the news about what is happening on the planet, especially in relation to climate change. And I think we all have a great responsibility to our children, our grandchildren, and everyone in future generations to take care of the planet.

TGP: And now you try to raise your kids to care about the planet?

LS: Yes! I have three kids; my son is 15 and I have two daughters that are 13 and 10.

I have always raised my kids to love the outdoors, so they play sports and love to be outside. They’re also very resourceful and they don’t like to waste. They make holiday birthday cards and presents out of things that we’ve saved. My daughters make jewelry out of seashells and buttons. My youngest daughter even wrote a book on frogs that will be published soon (http://www.lenaturegirl.com/). She wanted to make kids fall in love with frogs because she knew that if they did, they’ll want to do something to help save them.

TGP: As a mom, how do you handle situations where your kids face peer pressure about something that is not good for the environment or their health?

LS: I can give you an example…We used to eat a lot more fast food than we do now. But there’s a lot of MSG in fast food as well as fat and calories. I’ve talked to my kids about how unhealthy fast food is and the result is that now they simply will not eat it. Sometimes I actually think it would be nice, especially when we’re in a hectic rush to or from a game. It would be nice to just pick up something quick and easy at a drive through. But my kids would rather not eat than eat that stuff. Once they understood how bad that stuff is, they were happy to pass on it.

TGP: What do you think is the best way for parents to teach their kids about nature?

LS: Gardening. It’s such an easy way to help kids learn about nature. Kids can prepare the soil, plant a seed, tend it, and watch it grow. The other good thing about gardening is that it helps kids learn about the food they eat. I think it’s all tied together…the understanding of the natural systems that allow us to grow food and the understanding of nutrition. Because kids are so much more apt to eat healthy food if they helped to grow it than if it’s just thrown on their plate.
Fishing, hiking, canoing, visits to nature centers…these are other great ways that parents can get their kids involved in nature.

TGP: Do you think it’s difficult to be a green parent?

LS: Nowadays I think it’s more difficult than it used to be because there are so many distractions. Kids want to spend so much time on their cell phones, iPods, video games or watching TV. And if you live in the middle of a city (or a concrete jungle) it’s even harder to get to nature. But it’s really important to get kids out there understanding, learning about, and enjoying nature. If parents can teach their kids to love nature, their kids will learn to respect and care for it as something that they understand and connect with.

Photo Credit: Spark St. Jude