The National Wildlife Federation is launching a new website called the Climate Classroom. Check it out at www.climateclassroom.org. It has great guidelines for discussing global warming with your children, including pointers like these:

• Let your child guide the conversation.
Listen carefully to his or her questions and concerns. It may be hard to hold back, especially if you know a lot or are passionate about this subject, but it’s important not to overload your child with information he or she isn’t ready for.

• Keep info age appropriate.
Of course, you would not speak to an eight-year-old about the causes of global warming, or its possible solutions, in the same way that you would talk with your 13-year-old. The website offers guidelines for talking to kids at various ages and stages, from their Preschool and Early Elementary years (when simply fostering a love of nature is perhaps the best thing parents can do) through Upper Elementary grades (when kids are likely to ask more questions and will feel comforted by family activities that help the planet), all the way into Middle School and Beyond (when they can start discussing some of the issue’s scientific aspects and their actions can start to extend beyond the home, into school and community projects).

• Think (and act!) positively.
It is extremely important to speak positively about the solutions and opportunities associated with global warming, so kids won’t be overwhelmed. Listen to kids’ concerns then reassure them that many grown-ups are working hard to solve climate problems. Talk about ways, as a family, you do things to help the environment (whether it’s limiting energy consumption, recycling, or giving to an environmental charity), and help them identify ways that they can contribute to saving the planet, all by themselves as individuals (whether it’s riding their bikes instead of riding in the car, “adopting” an endangered animal or simply remembering to switch the lights out when they leave a room).

The website offers others tips, for parents and teachers too, as well as answers to kids’ most common questions about global warming and ways you can take action as a family to help solve the problem. As parents we have the power to shape the planet’s future, not just through our own actions, but through our children too, so that one day global warming will no longer be a worry.