Kids are very impressionable. It's easy to instill good habits in them when they are young that they will carry with them throughout their lives. Like Whitney Houston sang, "I believe the children are our future." They are, which is why we should teach them to take care of and respect the earth. Not only will it help them for future, but it will also create good spending habits as well. The decisions that we make today will affect our kids in the future, so we should educate and include them in the decision making process. Here are 10 simple ways that we can go and save green with our kids to serve as role models for them to help conserve the planet and be fiscally responsible.

Video Game System

Instead of buying games right away, rent them first. This will allow your kid to test the game out to see if they really like it. Renting games is a great example of the second "R" - "reuse." With online renting sites, such as GameFly, you can easily rent games online without having to go to the store. If you were to buy two games a month for a year, this could help to save you at least $500 for the year. It's good for the planet because it will help to cut down on the energy resources that go into making new video games and the waste associated with them.

Use the Public Library

We're constantly trying to get our kids to read more. Utilizing the local library is a great way to find books, authors and genres that your kids will like to read with no risk associated. If you are too busy to spend hours at the library, most will allow you to view their catalog online and put holds on books. That way you can just go to pick up the books when they are available. By getting books from the library you'll be conserving trees, water and energy that go into making and shipping the books. Can you believe that Americans throw away two million books per year? For a family of four, borrowing your books from the library will help to save about $200 per year.

Make Your Own Play-Doh

There is no need to buy the stuff in the stores when you can make your own at home. By making your own, you'll save about $15 per multicolored pack bought. You'll also spend some extra quality time with your kid and cut back on the resources and plastic that goes into the making of Play-Doh. Here's one recipe to make your own Play-Doh (courtesy of SimplyMoms).

1 cup of flour

1/2 cup of salt

1/2 cup of warm water

Mix well until it forms a ball. Knead and add food coloring if necessary. Extra green points if you reuse a yogurt container to store the Play-Doh.

Pack a Waste-Free Lunch

Don't use any disposable or individually packaged foods when making lunch for your kid. For a family that has

two kids, you can save about $400 per year by doing this. In addition to the money, you'll also reduce your waste by close to 100 pounds per year by getting rid of the excess plastic packaging. Some things you can do are use a reusable lunch box or bag instead of a brown paper bag, use a thermos or non-BPA water bottle instead of an individually boxed juice and buy snacks in bulk and pack in reusable containers.

Use Cloth Diapers

By using cloth diapers you'll help to restrict the amount of resources and that go into making disposable diapers and keep them from the landfill. You can save close to $2,000 per year for up to three years by making the switch to cloth diapers. Besides the resources exhausted and waste generated by disposable diapers, they are generally contain bleach, which is harmful to the baby and environment.

Buy Secondhand Clothing

Instead of shopping at the department store, hit up the local thrift stores. The new clothing that you buy from the department store will likely be outgrown in a few months anyway. Buying secondhand clothing can save you at least $250 per year. It will also help to conserve the energy and materials that go into producing and shipping new clothing. This is another example of reusing for kids.

Sell Your Secondhand Toys & Clothing online

Once your kid has outgrown his toys and clothing, sell them online. You can easily put them up for sale on eBay or Craigslist. Selling your secondhand items can earn you some extra cash, depending on what and how much you sell. It also helps to conserve the energy and materials that go into producing new items. Get your kids involved to show them how business and making money works.

Buy Mechanical Pencils

When buying your kids pencils for school, get them refillable mechanical pencils instead of the wood ones. You might end up breaking even if you were to do this, but wooden pencil production has been linked to the destruction of our environment and animals.

Make Your Own Baby Food

Instead of buying the jarred baby food, make your own. If you were to make your own, you can save upwards of $1,500 for the year. You'll also conserve the resources and materials that go into the production of the single serve jars. Additionally, you'll know exactly what's going into the food and how it's being treated. You can make it in large batches and store in the freezer by pouring into ice cube trays.

Use a Reusable Cloth

Ditch the baby wipes and use a reusable cloth instead. You can wash them in the same load as your cloth diapers and save around $100 for the year in the cost of baby wipes. By using reusable cloths, you'll help to keep the one-time use baby wipes and their packaging out of the landfill.

These are 10 simple ways that you can help the environment, put some extra money in your wallet and instill long lasting values in your kids.

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