6 Ways to Help Your Preschooler Understand Sustainability

If you have heard that the rules around mobile phones and electronic devices in early childhood settings have changed, you are right. If your child attends a childcare centre in NSW, these changes are already in effect.

Here is a plain-English breakdown of what changed, why it happened, and what it means for your family.

Why Did the Laws Change?

The changes were introduced as a child safety measure. In 2025, Australia’s Education Ministers agreed to amend the Education and Care Services National Law to address concerns about the potential for personal devices to be used to capture, store, or transmit images of children in care without authorisation.

The intent is straightforward: children in early learning settings deserve an environment where their privacy and safety are actively protected.

What Changed Nationally

From 27 February 2026, amendments to the national Education and Care Services National Law took effect across Australia. Under these changes, educators and staff who work directly with children are restricted from using personal electronic devices in care settings.

Before this, from 1 September 2025, all early childhood education and care services nationwide were required to have written policies in place addressing the use of digital devices.

What Changed in NSW

NSW moved ahead of the national timeline. The Education and Care Services (Supply, Authorisation and Use of Devices) Order 2025 took effect on 6 November 2025, applying across NSW’s 6,000 or more early learning services, including long day care centres, preschools, and family day care.

Under this order, educators and staff must use service-issued or service-authorised devices rather than their own personal devices when working directly with children.

What Counts as a Personal Device?

The definition is broad. A personal device is any device owned by an individual (not the approved provider) that is capable of capturing, storing, or transmitting an image. This includes:

Mobile phones
Smartwatches
Cameras and tablets
iPads and laptops
Hard drives, USB drives, and memory cards
Wearables such as camera glasses

Who Does the Ban Apply To?

The restrictions apply to anyone working directly with children at a service, including permanent and casual educators, students on placement, volunteers, contractors, and allied health professionals delivering programs on-site.

Parents, carers, and other visitors are not covered by the ban. In NSW, parents and carers remain free to use their personal devices during drop-off, pick-up, centre visits, and events involving their own children. There are also authorised exceptions for essential purposes, including emergencies and health or disability support needs.

What About Screen Time for Children?

These new laws specifically address staff device use, not children’s screen time. Screen time limits for young children are not mandated within childcare regulation at a national level.

The relevant guidance comes from the federal Department of Health and Aged Care’s 24-Hour Movement Guidelines, which recommend no screen time for children under 2 years, and no more than 1 hour per day for children aged 2 to 5 years. These are health guidelines, not regulatory requirements.

What This Means for Your Family

If your child attends a childcare centre in NSW, their service is already required to operate under these rules. Any educator or staff member working directly with your child should not be using a personal device to take photos or videos. Only service-authorised devices should be used for that purpose.

If you have questions about how your centre handles digital devices or image capture, you are well within your rights to ask. Most services will have a written policy in place that covers exactly this.

At Clovel, the safety and wellbeing of every child in our care is at the heart of everything we do. If you would like to know more about how we support your child across our centres, we would love to have that conversation with you.

Children have a natural attraction to and love of the outdoors. Spending time in nature helps children better understand the world in which they live and their own place in it. And there is no such thing as a child being too young to learn how to care for the natural environment.

Though it may sound like a heady word, sustainability is exactly that—the notion that one can make small changes in their daily life to help care for the planet. And children can most certainly be a part of that. Today, we’re sharing 6 ways you can help your child understand the concept of sustainability and activities to help put what they learn into practice.

1. Read About Sustainability

Books geared specifically toward young children are a wonderful way to introduce the concept of sustainability. The key here is to keep the explanation simple.

Old Enough to Save the Planet by Loll Kirby is as informative as it is beautiful and is packed full of stories from real-life children who are making a difference in caring for the planet.

For younger children, Change Starts with Us by Sophie Beer is a sturdy board book that can stand up to endless wear and tear and helps preschoolers understand that big change can happen from small efforts made by young children (things like turning off the lights when leaving a room).

Reading together is an easy way to transform an abstract concept into concrete knowledge your child can understand and apply in their daily lives.

2. Teach Your Child About Recycling

Your child may know that glass and paper are sorted into their own bins in your home…but do they understand why?

Talk to your child about the recycling you do in your home. Explain to them how it can be beneficial when conducted the right way. If you aren’t currently recycling, now is the perfect time to start. If your city does not provide recycling bins, let your child help you create labels and affix them to bins. Sorting between rubbish and recyclables is a wonderful activity for young learners.

3. Head Out for a Clean-Up Hike

Kids love spending time outdoors, so why not take a walk with a purpose? Head to your local park or favorite nature trail and hike with the express purpose of hunting down loose trash. Give your child a trash bag to carry and encourage them to hunt for rubbish other hikers leave behind—beverage bottles or cans, food wrappers, and other bits of trash.

As you hunt, explain to your child that, by removing the waste from the environment, they are protecting the wildlife that lives in the area and preventing the trash from making its way into nearby rivers or oceans.

4. Consider Composting

Much of the food material we throw away can be composted and turned back into nutrient-rich soil that benefits the planet.

If you have the space, consider starting a small, backyard compost bin. Your child will be fascinated watching eggshells, veggie scraps, paper, and other materials slowly transform into soil.

And if you don’t have the space for a formal compost pile, your child can still learn about composting. Consider helping your child make a mini composter you can keep in the home.

No matter how big (or small) your composter is, be sure to ask your child questions about the experience. What does the compost look like today? How has it changed from last week?

Once the composting process is complete, your child can use the soil to grow plants of their own….which brings us to…

5. Grow a Garden

Growing fruits or vegetables is a fantastic way to help children understand where their food comes from and the life cycle of plants.

While most people think of sprawling rows when they hear the words “backyard garden”, the truth is many veggies grow quite well in either a raised bed or a container. And container gardens are perfect no matter how little space you have.

If you’re looking for a little guidance on starting your own garden, check out this article for ideas and tips.

6. Collect and Use Rainwater

Conserving water is a part of sustainability, and teaching children how to collect and use rainwater is an easy way to help them understand just how valuable water is.

Once again, books on the subject are a parent or caregiver’s best friend. We love Drop: An Adventure Through the Water Cycle by Emily Kate Moon.

And this site is a great resource for parents who want to harvest rainwater with their children. By offering simple explanations and relevant activities, parents can help children appreciate the importance of caring for our planet and empower them to make a difference in their own corner of the world.

Lyn Connolly

Founder and Company Director

Lyn Connolly is the Founder and Company Director of Clovel Childcare & Early Learning Centres, a family‑owned group of eight centres across Western Sydney established from her first service at Merrylands. Active in early childhood education since 1977, she also serves as President of the Australian Childcare Alliance (ACA) NSW, representing providers in state and federal consultations, media, and public hearings.

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