Nearly four in five primary-aged children (78%) say they are worried about climate change while teachers say they face challenges in tackling eco-anxiety at school, a set of newly released surveys shows.
While climate anxiety is already well documented among older children, very little research has been done on younger age groups. Now a YouGov survey of over 600 children commissioned by Greenpeace UK shows worries about climate change are widespread among primary school children, with 78% saying they’re worried about it and over a quarter (27%) very worried.
A separate YouGov poll, also commissioned by Greenpeace UK, suggests that many teachers are finding it hard to deal with the emotional impact of this topic on children. 70% of primary teachers interviewed say they don’t have enough time in the school day to help students with concerns about climate change, and 82% say they would find lesson plans and resources to support students with these concerns useful.
To coincide with the findings and the start of Children’s Mental Health Week, Greenpeace UK has published new guides to help teachers and parents discuss the climate crisis with their pupils and children. Written by Caroline Hickman, a psychotherapist and leading researcher on eco-anxiety, the booklets provide simple advice on how to approach the subject in a way that’s both truthful and positive.
Singer Paloma Faith, who has two young daughters and is a long-standing Greenpeace supporter, said:
“Children are so naturally curious about the world around them, and they ask big, important questions about things like climate change. It can be hard to know how to answer in a way that’s honest but not scary. That’s why I think this guide is so brilliant – it helps parents and carers talk to kids about the planet in a way that makes them feel hopeful and capable, rather than helpless. We need to raise a generation that believes in change, and that starts with these conversations.”
Commenting on the guides, Caroline Hickman said:
“Homes torched by wildfires, flooded villages, people fleeing hurricanes – pictures of climate impacts are coming in thick and fast and our kids are watching. Parents want their children to have a worry-free childhood – it’s a natural instinct to shelter them from scary truths. But this is neither feasible nor helpful. When it comes to climate change, ignoring the problem would only put them at a disadvantage. Our children will come of age during a climate crisis so building their emotional resilience is one way to prepare them. But we know this can be a challenge for parents and especially teachers, who already have a lot on their plate. This is where these guides come in. They give some simple tips on how to start the conversation and make sure that it strikes the right balance between problems and solutions.”
Greenpeace UK’s co-executive director Areeba Hamid said:
“Children hear frightening information about our changing climate from many different sources. Helping them to make sense of it all, and emotionally preparing them for the big role climate change will play in their lives, can be a challenge for parents. They’re often torn between being honest about the scale of the threat we face and avoiding giving their kids another thing to worry about. But the reality is that the climate crisis will be one of the major forces shaping the world they’ll grow up in, and it’s good to give them the tools they need to make sense of it. This is the aim of this guide – to help parents meet the responsibility of being truthful to their children in a positive and supportive way.”
