Parenting in a Changing Climate: Tools for Cultivating Resilience, Taking Action, and Practicing Hope in the Face of Climate Change

by Elizabeth Bechard

I, too, felt utterly overwhelmed by what parenting two small humans required of me on a daily basis and how hard this made it to live into my own environmental values. One respondent had written: “I have found that I have made a lot more compromises in terms of my environmental impact as a parent than I ever thought I would. I’ve used disposable diapers. I’ve driven my kids around to get more sleep. I’ve purchased cheap plastic party favors and bought cheap processed food. This is due to exhaustion and general lack of support. Time and time again, I’ve chosen convenience in order to preserve some level of sanity in motherhood. My twenty-two-year-old self would be appalled.”