Teachings of a Mom Mountaineer

Mountaineering played one of the most memorable experienced in my life and I even shared the goodness of it with my two kids. The mountains, the beauty of nature, the people we meet and the camaraderie of our group is a treasure to keep. It was such a great form of relaxation and physical activity that takes away worries in life and strengthens one’s health.

I was a very shy and quiet person before I decided to join a mountaineering group. Being a mountaineer diverts my attitude into a more shining personality. Before I settled down for marriage, I enjoyed my singleness while in mountaineering (a sport or hobby of climbing, hiking, trekking or walking up mountains). Nothing can diminish the unforgettable moments I’d experienced and the awareness of preserving and maintaining the beauty of nature God provided us.

I began introducing my two boys to nature by having a long walk or hiking in a low mountain slopes near our subdivision. They enjoyed it with enthusiasm, maybe because it’s in the blood…like mother...like sons…

Mountain climbing helps me to become more responsible in protecting the environment. Teaching my kids to be responsible with nature is one way of sharing what I’d learned from my mountaineering experiences.

Here are some great things or first steps I taught my two kids to become aware on protecting our nature and be a lover of it.

• Take a long walk or hike with nature along your vicinity. In urbanized areas, walking at the park with trees and flowering plants makes them appreciate the natural beauty and the breeze of nature. Along with it, walking exercises helps their legs and feet to be tougher.
• Have a family getaway or picnic to an ecotourism or adventure park. Teach them the importance of following rules inside the park like the no littering and no picking or destroying plants signs.
• Planting…planting. Have time with your kids to plant seeds on your backyard and watched for it as they grow. Also, joining tree planting activities will improve their social awareness on the benefits of it.
• Set a good example. Kids learned from us parents, they will do things the way they see it from us. Keeping trash while traveling and not just throwing it anywhere is a good manner. Explaining them the hazard effects of it to our nature will stick unto their minds as they grow.
• Set cleaning responsibility. Assign them to chores like watering the plants and cleaning the backyards/garden of falling dried leaves. Teach them the proper waste disposal like separating biodegradable to non-biodegradable materials.
• Show your kids mountain pictures or sceneries of nature. They will be amaze and inspired of God’s creation.
• Expand their learning on focusing the role of every living thing, (big or small) when the time comes that they will ask about it. Children tend to ask why God created ants, worms and other things bothering their minds. Be alert on answering them.

My kids kept in mind my teachings on the importance of maintaining the pristine beauty of nature. I’m not forcing my kids to be like me, it’s just a matter of building awareness with regards to the environment we are living in. Loving nature is like appreciating and embracing life worth living.