How to Talk to Parents about Climate Change

By Andre Rapoport

There comes a time in every child’s life, whether it be in elementary school, middle school, high school, college etc, where young adolescents are introduced to the topic of climate change. Most of the time this topic is either discussed very briefly or made out to be not as problematic as it really is. There are also many instances where the children try to bring up the topic of climate change with parents and the conversation never seems to be effective, or even turn out to be a productive conversation.

Attending the online Youth Climate Change Conference here at Ramapo College, I viewed the discussion, “How to talk to your parents about climate change?” As climate change becomes a greater threat to our environment every day, I decided to take the initiative and understand how I can partake in effective conversations, as well as be able to get my points across in the most compelling manner.

During this session, co-hosted by Professor Harriet Shugarman, the activity began with Professor Shugarman giving a brief summary of the three main components associated with starting discussions on climate change, which are telling the truth, peer reviewed data, and trusted media sources. Professor Shugarman then transitioned the conversation to students from her class to briefly explain a situation they had with an adult discussing climate change, and the steps they proceeded to take, ensuring the most effective and beneficial conversation. The activity then proceeded to a Q&A, where people from the audience were able to ask any questions regarding the topic of the discussion that was not touched upon during the presentation.

During this activity, there was a portion of extremely important information and facts children can use to start conversations with parents, or older adults regarding the topic of climate change. As each of the students presented their solutions and tactics, I first learned that you cannot convince everyone. This first thought needs to be understood, because not everyone is as open-minded as we wish them to be. I then learned that to talk to our parents, we need to educate them.

As young adults, we need to provide our parents with evidence and true statistics that will allow them to understand the atrocities of climate change. I also learned that when having a discussion, we cannot present a one-sided argument, such as only discussing the facts. Young adults need to blend evidence, heart, and emotion together to create a balanced argument and not overwhelm our parents with straight facts, or straight emotion, this can become very overwhelming for our parents. I then learned that it is very important to source the information we present, as this can play a huge role for parents to take interest in our facts or statistics, we present them.

Another important detail I learned is to point out the future impact climate change can have on their own kids. The reason I found this tactic important is that when situations start to become personal for people, they begin to take more interest in the subject. From the facts presented by Professor Shugarman, she states that children need to have conversations on climate change with parents with a level head. People do not enjoy getting lashed out against, which can even be very counterproductive. Going the route of being feisty or rude, the person will shut down, and nothing of use will come from the conversation.

The last point I learned during this activity was to point out to parents that climate change is in the school curriculum and is a real topic with real consequences. Stating that climate change is in the school curriculum will give an image to parents that climate change is a serious matter, and that schools teach subjects to students that are a matter of importance and are needed for future knowledge.


From attending this activity, I was personally able to understand the most beneficial tactics to discuss climate change with my parents and identify certain scenarios where different tactics may work better than others. I was able to learn about other students’ experiences and the tactics that worked best for them when discussing climate change. From the knowledge gained at this presentation, I am now truly prepared to have effective conversations, as well as create strong compelling evidence supported by statistics, facts, and emotions. This activity provided the building blocks needed in everyday conversations and has allowed me to truly understand the different thoughts and perspectives revolving around climate change.