Name: What children want us to know about climate change | BBC Ideas
Uploaded: 2025-10-08T19:00:55.000Z
Duration: 3 min 45 s
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Gerund

If climate change were like an animal or a plant, I think it'd be some sort of parasite because it's the only thing that's actually growing and getting bigger while everything else starts dying off.

Modal verbs - A2

The environment is definitely very special because if we get rid of it, there's nowhere else we can go.

Like It's a very one in a million sort of planet.

A 10 year old some years ago got cross with me and said, you don't get it.

He said, you grew up thinking that polar bears would be there forever.

He said, I've grown up knowing they would go extinct.

I don't remember when I first became aware about climate change.

I don't remember a time where I didn't know what it was.

Children are growing up with this knowledge and this awareness, whereas anyone over the age of three, lets say 30, is having to wake up to this, realize it.

When we ask young people about how climate change made me feel 3/4 or more think the future is frightening.

So we know that it's having an emotional impact on children and young people all around the world.

I think climate change is like really scary and the fact that lots of people aren't doing much about it just sort of freaks me out.

8 out of 10 told us that people had failed to take care of the planet.

So this is young people and children looking to adults, looking to older people looking to people in power and saying, why haven't you done something about this?

It makes me feel angry to see such a clear issue and to see everyone knowing about this issue and still not doing anything that they really should be.

It's just, it's frustrating and I think it's also tiring to feel so sort of scared and angry.

One of the worst things we can do to children and young people is say, well, it's your responsibility Now.

I've heard this said to children, your generation will fix this.

Your generation is so inspiring and creative and innovative.

There is an idea by older people that it is sort of on young people to fix it, but

I think that's really unfair and I think it's a collective responsibility, not just on young people and not just on me.

One of the most worrying statistics was that 48% told us they were dismissed or ignored when they tried to talk about climate change, that we could do something about this afternoon, that we could do something about today.

In places like school, I feel like they don't really listen and don't really respect the fact that I've thought about it and tried to educate myself about it.

I kind of feel really angry and frustrated because I am actually saying something meaningful and if you're not prepared to listen to your children it's gonna have a big effect because we actually do have something to say and we are actually trying to make a change.

My advice to adults, parents, teachers is do not put it off.

Don't push it away, don't save it up and just have that big conversation.

That's crucial and it's okay for you to say to your children I don't have all the answers.

We're not sure exactly how to deal with all of this, but let's find out together.

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