How Gardening Helps Your Kids to be Better Individuals

Being a fervent gardener myself, I recognise that gardening for many people, started as an activity enjoyed with their parents from a young age. Consider how great a gift you would be handing over to your children, whatever their age, if you taught them the joys, satisfaction and achievements of gardening. Added to this, you’ll provide them the opportunity of healthy, progressive living. Gardening means that kids are more inclined to eat the healthy fruits of their own labour, to indulge in light outdoor activity without even realising it, get a head-start in science, experimentation and the habits of small animals, and eventually learn to cook the vegetables they’ve grown.

 At the same time, they’ll be acquiring the skill of nurturing, patience and achievement of planned outcomes, based on time dedicated. Spending time with their siblings and parents to achieve something is also fun and very rewarding. You don’t have to have a massive garden for this to work, as potted plants on a veranda will do just fine if this is all you can spare. Gardening with kids fulfils a number of their needs for an all-rounded childhood. It’s also a perfect way to teach what being ‘green’ is all about by illustrating the practises of Reusing, Reducing and Recycling.

Doing Something Fun

Kids don’t care that gardening helps them develop the fine motor skills needed for writing. They need to see it as entertainment, so make sure they’re wearing plenty of sun cream and some old clothes, because part of the fun of gardening is being free to get dirty.

Add interest to the garden by letting your kids help make a scarecrow. In the theme of gardening ‘green,’ recycle old clothes for the body, and a pillowcase for the head. Pick out unused, sparkly buttons and even old shoes/Wellies for his feet. You can use leaves from your garden, old newspaper or rags to stuff him with. I’ve also allocated a place in the garden where my kids are allowed to dig up, because finding worms and bugs is half the fun.

 Doing Something Worthy

 Encourage wildlife in your garden. When temperatures drop, the population of indigenous birds goes with it. A bird can eat up to ten percent of its body weight trying to keep warm in the winter. We can teach our children from an early age – something we hope will stay with them throughout their lifetime – that the wildlife needs our help to survive. Let your children hunt around the garden to find fun places to leave fat balls or leftover food like potatoes, pastries, or bread. Birds will eat many types of berries so take your child to the garden centre and have him/her choose a shrub that provides winter berries for our feathered friends, and help to plant it in the garden at a place which is easily viewed from a favourite place inside the house. Bird watching can be a fun thing to do on a cold day indoors.

Also, leave your summer sunflower plants standing throughout the cold months, or provide a feeder with other types of seeds and nuts. Don’t forget water. If you have a bird bath, your child could be in-charge of adding some warm water from the kettle every morning, if temperatures had been below freezing overnight. Bird baths provide not only drinking water, but a place for them to clean their wings to facilitate better flying. If you need more information on how you can teach your child to help birds survive the winter months, go to the RSPB’s (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds – UK) website. If you’re going to keep a flourishing garden, you have to remember that Hedgehogs are very helpful in keeping the unwanted pests at bay. Help your child to build ‘shelters’ (piles of old wood) around the garden where the hedgehogs can live. These provide shelter and food (snails, worms and insects feed off the old wood, which provide the hedgehog with juicy munchies). Talk about how important different insects and animals are to our gardens.

Doing Something Important

Image via Wikipedia

Kids love to have their own space. This is why it’s a good idea to give them their little ‘piece of land.’ This space can be anything from a potato bucket to a small vegetable patch. We all know how difficult it is to get kids to eat vegetables. Therefore we have to devise ways to get them interested enough to sample them – which is the most difficult hurdle to cross. Having them take part in growing their own is a start, but it’s important to begin with plants that are not too needy. You don’t want them becoming despondent before they’ve even reaped their first harvest. 

Show them how to grow easy, brightly coloured plants like sunflowers, wild strawberries, primrose, runner beans, forget-me-nots, carrots, etc., and don’t forget to take pictures of them and their plants at different stages. Buy them their very own watering can and tools and show them how to use them. Gardening comes hand in hand with composting. Show them how to compost by doing so yourself and by explaining why it’s so important. Have colour coded bins inside and out, to make it easy for your kids to get involved.

Doing Something Imaginative

Your child’s garden is not complete without plants and objects that allow and encourage them to explore. Grasses that dance and rustle in the wind, aromatic herbs, tasty fruit and vegetables, plants that attract butterflies, all stimulate your child’s imagination while helping them to learn more about their surroundings. Remind your children to smell the scented plants, and ask them what the smells make them think of. Tickle their taste buds by allowing them to explore the various flavours of the food they grow. Don’t forget to add stones (a water feature if possible) and other objects in the garden that’ll warrant exploring and touching. Always be careful to leave out poisonous plants like Foxgloves, Lily-of-the-Valley, Lupins etc.