Kid power - 5 fun activities to slash your family’s electricity bill

Are your kids glued to everything from the family TV to their “I promise I will use it for homework” laptop and you just keep watching those power bills soar?

It may be time to introduce some fun power saving activities, which will not only help your hip pocket by reducing your electricity bill, but also give Mother Nature a much needed helping hand by improving your family’s carbon footprint.

Here are 5 fun power saving activities to help you get started:

1. Create energy saving games

Turn your power saving attempts, into fun power saving activities to play with the kids. You can download a range of fun games at Energy Kids , including riddles, puzzles, plus a power saving activity book. By making energy saving fun, you will encourage your kids to think about ways to save energy and you can reward them for their efforts with things like a walk down to the shops for a scoop of icecream. Win, win!

2. Plant a tree 

Once you’ve switched off the electronics at home, you’ll soon find your kids may actually love to get out of the house and get their hands dirty. Planting a tree in your front or back garden is a great Saturday afternoon activity and the fact is tree coverage will shade and cool your home. So on hot summer days you will probably be able to survive without turning up the aircon to fullblast and save yourself from a high power bill. 

3. Play “I spy” an energy waste 

All kids love the game “I spy”, so why not try it with a power saving twist? So rather than spying something starting with a letter, your kids will be given the challenge of spying the energy sucks in the house e.g lights left turned on in an unused room and technology and appliances still plugged into the socket. And again for their energy saving efforts a nice little reward like some chocolate is always the way to go. 

4. Make Earth Hour a monthly event

While Earth Hour is usually held in March (when environmentally conscious people across the globe switch their lights off to help the Earth) we propose you turn this eco-friendly event into a fun thing to do with the kids on a monthly basis, by having a candlelit picnic in the backyard, a BBQ at sunset or even going camping for the weekend.

5. Reward chores 

If you find your children being energy efficient, say by turning their bedroom lights off when leaving the room, taking shorter showers, brushing their teeth with less water and helping the environment through taking part in your family’s recycling initiatives, make sure you reward them. It could be as simple as creating a chart on the fridge, with a gold star next to their name for each time they have actively been energy efficient.

Once you’ve taught your kids the tricks to saving power through the above 5 fun activities, the end result should be a more informed child, a lush outdoor garden, a lower electricity bill and more money in your pocket.

For more power saving tips, try our switch and save energy tool to see if you could switch to a cheaper energy plan.