At six years old, my son Travis surprises me fairly often. Last month, as we planned his birthday party, I got a surprise that made me really proud of him, and reminded me that our kids are sometimes way more ready to grow than we realize.

His birthday is close to Earth Day, which happened to fall on a Sunday this year. As we talked through possible themes, dates, and times for the party, and who to invite, we realized that Earth Day was the optimal date, and we found a great location in a park we like. We talked with Travis about Earth Day, and what it means. My wife, Carrie, came up with the idea of doing a park clean up as part of his party, and he loved it. We decided to call it his “B’EarthDay” party.

Later, Carrie asked me what I thought about asking Travis to forego presents, and instead ask people to donate. I thought it was too much to ask – he’s only six. We talked more and decided to float the idea to see how he would respond. If he resisted – no big deal, we would do presents like any normal birthday party.

I went into the conversation convinced that he would be upset. We had planned to talk to him about not needing a lot of new toys, and how the money for toys could be used in other ways. We would suggest that people could donate to an organization that helps the Earth locally and another organization of his choosing. We would explain about the problematic nature of plastic packaging for new toys, and tell him we could invite guests to make homemade presents, give him a toy they are finished with, or make a donation. We would tell him that if he wanted to do his party this way, he would (of course) still get presents from his grandparents, and we would take him to the toy store to let him pick out one nice, new toy for himself. Finally, we would be very clear that the choice was up to him, that we would be happy either way.

Before we got through our points, he was excited about the idea. In addition to our idea of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, he wanted people to donate to his school (perfect!).

Although we couldn’t do the park clean up because of a torrential downpour, the party was great. Kids made their own trail mix, which they took home in reusable snack bags. They got to decorate flowerpots, and took home some potting soil and seeds. They competed in a recycling relay, and somehow both teams won. They ran around like crazy. And most importantly, Travis had a blast.

Since then, he has thought a lot about the amount of plastic we use, and how to limit it. It has been fascinating to watch. I have re-learned that kids have incredible capacity to grow. So much so that they sometimes take ideas that we over-think and adopt them with ease. Let’s give more children a shot at learning to help the Earth, and learning how to give back to their communities.  

The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, kicks off in a few weeks in Rio de Janeiro. Join in this worldwide conversation —tell us what you think are the greatest challenges the world is facing today. Improving global health, protecting our environment, promoting sustainable energy for all, empowering women and girls, creating livable cities or access to clean water...all these issues are on the agenda, and they need your voice to help build momentum and find smart, innovative solutions.

Want to learn more about what Rio+20 means for you and the rest of the planet? Join us Thursday June 7th 1pm ET here in the Million Moms Challenge for a LIVE CHAT with the United Nations Foundation. Chat details here.