If you are like other parents with children that participate in seasonal recreational sports, you may have bought foods and drinks at these sporting events. Parents with two or more children that are participating in one or multiple sports will feel the burden the most. When you spend most of your Saturdays, and some Sundays, at these events, it could be costly just to watch your children have fun and mingling with their friends. Like at the amusement parks, stadiums, airports, and other sport arenas, foods and drinks at these recreational sporting events can be pricy. Some people feel it’s an obligation to buy in order to support the leagues and some are just in the habits of buying everything on impulse—and grumble privately. One way we can teach children to live within their means is to not succumb to the pressure of buying these expensive foods and drinks. I believe in the economic force of “demand and supply.” I also believe in environmental-friendliness. Since this is not an economic lesson I will stick with environmental issues which, by the way, do affect economic forces. Why would anyone spend $1 for a bottle of water (week in, week out) when you can buy a reusable, eco-friendly water bottle? Why not carry your own tap or filtered water from your home? This will reduce the plastic bottle wastes that are not recyclable wrecking havoc on the environment. Plus, most of these playgrounds will have water fountains and you can always carry a water bottle with filter if you are not comfortable drinking from the fountains. You may think that kicking the plastic water bottle habit might be an insurmountable effort if you are addicted to buying bottled water. But think about how much you will save, and how much you will help the environment if you kick this habit. So buy an eco-friendly reusable stainless steel bottle or glass water bottle, or a water bottle with filter. Fill and refill it throughout your time at these sporting events, or in the gym, at your office or away from home. The steel water bottle and the bottle filtration system is one great answer to making your participation in these sporting events less costly, and environmentally-friendly. | 
