Between school, family and media: do the children carry energy-saving messages and practices?

Françoise Bartiaux, Institute of Demography, Université Catholique de Louvain, Belgium

Keywords

networks (social), children, practices (of energy use), households, families, school, education, sensitisation campaigns, coordination, Belgium

Abstract

Today, children are the focus of communication and sensitisation measures to increase their environmental concern and their energy saving behaviours. This paper aims at exploring whether, with whom and how children may be actors relative to these environment and energy issues. In particular, this paper identifies the sources of information and influence of the children and shows whether the children influence other actors, especially their family, to save energy in their daily life. This paper is based on a qualitative research that has been realised in French-speaking Belgium in 2007-2008; data were gathered in 13 families whose elder child is 10 or 11 years old. In-depth interviews were realised with at least this child (and sometimes with younger brother(s) and/or sister(s) too) and one parent. Topics covered included energy-related practices and knowledge of the children as well as the network of actors surrounding them. Results indicate that the child is neither powerful nor passive, nor a trustful carrier of energy-related ‘good' practices. The necessary conditions for the child being such a good carrier are shed into light and depend on the relations within and between the different organisations the child belongs to (family, school, pairs) or has access to (media, Internet).