Learn Russian: Почему дети вредят природе и не подчиняются родителям? - Why do children harm nature and disobey their parents?

In Russian, verbs that mean to harm, hinder, or help require the Dative case without a preposition. You can think of вредить as "to do damage TO something." Therefore, природа changes to its Dative form, природе.

Does the verb подчиняться (to obey) also follow the rule of taking the Dative case?

Yes! Verbs involving yielding, communicating, or submitting to someone usually take the Dative case. You can think of it as submitting TO your parents. Here, the nominative plural родители becomes the Dative plural родителям.

Why does подчиняются end with the reflexive particle -ся?

The non-reflexive verb подчинять means "to subjugate" or "to force into submission," which takes a direct object in the Accusative case. By adding the reflexive particle -ся, the meaning shifts to "to subjugate oneself" or "to submit/obey."

Why is the ending for "they harm" вредят and not вредют?

The infinitive is вредить, which is a Second Conjugation verb because it ends in -ить. For these verbs, the "they" (3rd person plural) form always ends in -ат or -ят, rather than the -ут or -ют used for First Conjugation verbs.