In the past few decades, childhood has become a world of imagination dubbed in with input from television, video, game, and handheld screens. Children no longer recognize a world devoid of electronic devices, which can lead to anxiety if electricity is not available. This can make explaining electricity consumption to children a daunting task. Your Dallas electric company, Pronto Power, has the following tips on how you can help your children learn about how energy is consumed and how they can decrease their usage.

Why?

A toddler’s favorite question is “Why?” Feed that curiosity as it pertains to electricity by looking online for a short, child-friendly video or a children’s book explaining how electricity flows from electrons to their final destination through the power of positive and negative charges into your appliances. As batteries dissipate, they are literally losing their charge, and not as much interaction between the charged particles exists, which slows connections. The physics behind electricity is amazing, and you will probably learn something about measuring energy in watts and ohms as well!

Next, use your phone to show how the light blinks on to show the phone is charging. That means the connection from the power source to your phone is complete and electricity is now flowing through your phone, charging the batteries. Show what happens to your television if it is not plugged in, and let your child attempt to turn on the television when it is unplugged and again when it is plugged in.

Now that the idea of electricity is established, ask how you can use less electricity.

Game time!

Gather your children around you in any room in your house, and ask them what they see that uses electricity. Change rooms and have them count other energy consuming items. Keep track and determine which room has the most items requiring electricity. For older children, ask whether all these items need to be plugged in all the time. Talk about how you yourself conserve energy every day by using a programmable heater or air conditioner, turning off lights when they are not needed, and unplugging the phone after it is charged. Ask them what else you can do to save energy, then turn the tables and ask what they can do to save energy.

Another interesting game is to go online to the U. S. Department of Energy to peruse each appliance and determine how much energy it consumes and talk about how long you use that appliance in your home every day. This can give you a daily, weekly, or monthly total on the kilowatt-hours your home consumes. Write down last month’s kWh consumption and challenge your family to use fewer kWhs this month. Every month the kilowatts decrease, treat your family to a fun event.

Go online to find inexpensive methods to save energy, such as smart outlets and LED bulbs, and let your children install these money-saving appliances. If you have an app to track your energy usage, show how turning on the dishwasher affects power consumption and ask how you can use the dishwasher more effectively (only turning it on when it is full and using it during non-peak hours).

Anything you can do, I can do also

The easiest method to teach energy conservation is by practicing the same conservation tactics. Make a game of it one afternoon, finding activities that do not consume electricity: read a book, play a board game, take a walk, ride a bike, et cetera. As you begin each activity, ask how it is saving energy. Choose to walk to a park rather than driving a car, and ask how that conserves energy. Does it affect your home energy? Why or why not? (If you have an electric car, this could stimulate a whole different conversation!)

Payoff

When you catch your children actively saving energy, reward them with a hug and a smile. Reinforce their actions with incentives, such as family game night with the game of their choice, or a new, energy-saving appliance in their bedroom to replace an old appliance.

Pronto Power has more stimulating methods for you and your family to save on your energy bills. Call your Dallas electric company at 888 621-2852 for more information.