Has your child heard about climate change and are starting to ask questions? Or do you want to broach this difficult topic but don’t know where to start? Here are good ways to talk to kids about climate change.

“We’re going to tell the people who make the rules that we want clean air and water for everyone,” I told my then three-year-old as we made signs for the People’s Climate Mobilization. As we got ready for the march, I struggled with what to say to him about it. In the end, I settled on the vague “air and water” statement. A clear mom fail at avoiding the issue.

Or was it? After all, three is awfully young to face the fact that our everyday choices could affect everyone on the planet in both in the present day and hundreds of years from now. There are plenty of adults who can’t grapple with that reality. Climate change activism is my personal passion, but it’s not right to force it on him before he’s ready.

Since then, I’ve thought a lot about explaining climate change to our kids. More than a year later, we still haven’t directly explained it. But now I see it as more of a process than a one-and-done conversation.

In addition to my personal interest, my professional background is informing a lot of my approach. As a science and environmental communicator, talking about climate change and related issues is one of my specialties.

Here are some big principles to consider if you are going to  talk to kids about climate change:

Think about what your child is able to handle

In communications strategy, I always tell people “know your audience.” Understanding people’s level of knowledge and perspectives can help you provide helpful information and perspectives.

In the case of kids, it’s essential to consider your child’s emotional maturity and stress level before talking to them about climate change. Introducing it too early or the wrong way can cause unneeded stress and anxiety. It’s a big burden for someone who’s only been on Earth for less than two decades! Science writer Michelle Nijhuis has a great piece at The Atlantic about how she’s allowing her nine year old daughter to set the pace on the topic.

Introduce related concepts first

One of the ways I’ve been building up to this conversation is by introducing simpler but related environmental topics.

A lot of this is simply discussing basic ecological concepts, like the water cycle, carbon cycle, habitats and populations. Understanding the impacts of climate change won’t make any sense without this foundational knowledge.

Some of it is introducing the idea that humans can cause environmental harm. We’ve discussed how dirty water and air can hurt people and animals. But in this process, be aware of how little kids can take very different meanings of things than what you meant. The other day I had to clarify to my son the meaning of “dirty” water. I explained polluted water doesn’t necessarily have dirt in it and that water with dirt in it isn’t necessarily polluted.

These conversations naturally lead to talking about what we as a family can do to reduce our negative impact. We discuss that we try to save energy and drive less so we don’t produce as much pollution. I’m realizing more and more the foundations we lay for these conversations can be more important than the exact moment we say the words.

Use images and metaphors to describe the science

The science of climate change can be challenging. A good place to start is the EPA’s website for students on climate change, as is NASA’s Climate Kids.

While the traditional metaphor is a greenhouse that traps heat, metaphors that relate to your child’s experience can be even clearer. One possibility is comparing the earth to how a car heats up in the summer. In the spring, the glass holding in the heat makes the car pleasantly warm. But as the temperature rises in the summer, it gets uncomfortable and even downright dangerous.

Visualizations can help too. There are some great graphics and interactive features that illustrate the science and impacts of climate change. NASA’s Images of Change show before and after photos of the same location, illustrating climate change in action. Similarly, their Climate Time Machine uses maps to illustrate changes over time in four major areas.

Ground the discussion in concern for our neighbors

Too often, climate change communication focuses on polar bears. After all, they’re cute. Sad polar bears are very sad indeed.

But emphasizing the impacts on animals vastly underplays climate change’s impacts on people. Climate change is poised to worsen floods, increase the intensity and extent of large fires, ramp up blizzards, make summers hotter, and raise ocean levels to the point where millions (and potentially billions) of people could become “climate refugees.” That’s both essential to communicate and hard to comprehend.

Instead of dumping statistics on your kid, you can say something to younger kids like, “Climate change could make certain things that hurt people, like ice storms and hurricanes, worse. We have a responsibility to limit how much it hurts people.” For preteens or teenagers, you can go into more detail, especially about how it could affect kids like them.

Relate the impacts to their interests

One of my favorite articles on climate change communication is “When I talk about climate change, I don’t talk about science.” It’s about how the author connects climate change to the person’s interests instead of assuming they’re inherently interested in it. (Most people aren’t.)

Similarly, preteens and teens may have zero interest in discussing climate change or going along with their parents’ “green” stuff. Discussing how climate change could affect them personally, whether that’s by changing beloved mountain biking trails, causing football games to be canceled due to snow, or potentially flooding Manhattan, can pique their interest.

Focus on the positive vision

Climate change is a drag. That sounds facetious, but it’s true. Discussing it too often can be depressing and disempowering for adults and kids. Burnout among climate change activists is huge. Although you should definitely talk about the impacts, don’t stop there.

Instead, talk about how great a sustainable world could be. Positive visions are both more motivating and more encouraging than negative ones. A world where we relied on clean power, got our food from sustainable sources, had more efficient homes, and threw away less trash would be pretty fantastic in terms of quality of life. In addition to reducing greenhouse gases, the air would be cleaner, water would be less polluted, and people would focus more on living life together. A world where we learned to support and rely on each other instead of corporations would be so much more fulfilling. Plus, it could be more fun!

Connect the local and global when explaining both the causes and solutions to climate change

On one hand, we want kids to feel like their choices make a difference. On the other, we don’t want to paralyze them into feeling like it’s all their fault. (I know I suffer from debilitating eco-guilt at times. I don’t want to pass that on to my kids.)

One way to balance it is to talk about the larger systems that uphold the policies that lead to climate change. Because cities emphasized building roads for cars rather than for people on bicycles or foot, many places lack sustainable transportation infrastructure like sidewalks and bike lanes.  With older kids, you can talk about corporate power and corporations’ interaction with the government.

Carry out practical, empowering actions with real impact

The worst thing that can happen as a result of talking about climate change is giving the impression that we’re helpless in the face of it. It’s essential to follow up the talk with action. As parents, we’re the role models for our kids.

Most importantly, the action has to have real impact. Some possible things to do with real punch are buying or installing renewable energy to power your house, significantly cutting back on car use, installing insulation in your house, calling your Congressional representative to support limits on carbon pollution, and going to a climate change march. For things that make a big difference but don’t take that much time, check out 10 Easy Tips to Go Green that Make a Big Difference.

For more insights on how to tackle this big challenge, Sightline has wisdom from 10 climate change activists and communicators about how they talk to kids about climate change. The National Ocean Service under NOAA and The Rainforest Alliance also have some good tips.

To see posts like this, check out A Call to Action for Parents on Climate Change. If you want to join a group of like-minded people, join our Green and Sustainable Parenting Facebook group.