As I’m researching where to start with gardening, I can’t help but think that getting my little girls involved in gardening will have lots of positive affects! I think gardening is such a cool hobby and I wanted to list out the top 10 reasons (I can think of) to get your kids gardening with you.
1. MAKE MEMORIES
I would love nothing more than to have my kids reflect on their childhood and have some of their happiest memories be of gardening outside with their mom. I think that a shared activity like this can have such a powerful impact! Hopefully, they will develop a love of this lifelong hobby and develop a green thumb that will serve them later. What a great accomplishment in my opinion.
2. LEARN ABOUT FOOD
How great will it be if this little passion project gets your kiddos to eat more fruits and vegetables? I believe that if kids have an understanding and appreciation for where food comes from, they will eat more good things. It is kind of like cooking… you see kids who are involved in the process becoming much better eaters because they were invested. If this is the only result of gardening with my kids, then I see it as a success.
3. RESPONSIBILITY
I believe that, even at a young age, it’s important to instill responsibility into our kids. What better way than to give them a plant to care for? They will understand that it is up to them to keep it alive! They need to provide water, care, and make sure it is getting the right amount of soil and light to survive. It’s easy and obvious to show kids what happens when they don’t care for plants (i.e. showing them a wilted leaf or a browning flower). Sometimes seeing is believing and I think this will drive home the concept.
4. PATIENCE
This is something adults are still working on (I know I am!). But in a world of instant gratification, it’s good to have something for kids that’s not immediate. You can’t just plant a carrot seed and expect a carrot. You need to take the time to nurture your plants and allow them to grow strong! This is a powerful life lesson and I’m excited for my girls to see that not everything happens instantly. In fact, the best things in life are worth waiting for!
5. LEARNING
We all know that kids learn best when they are playing and having fun. So many of the parenting books I’ve read have stressed the importance of play for young children. Kids are also the best learners on the planet and if you expose them to the right things (and lots of things) they will absorb it like a sponge! That is why I think that exposing them to gardening will teach them about nature and introduce them to scientific subjects. I am confident that because we are outside, moving around, it will feel less like learning and more like just having good old fashion fun.
6. SCIENCE
Speaking of introducing them to scientific subjects, I wanted to highlight this one because it’ll be amazing for tiny children to understand something like photosynthesis! Gardening will surely introduce kids to the sciences. As you explain about what plants need to survive, you find yourself in a science lesson. As you notice a bee or butterfly flying by, that is a lesson in how plants pollinate. When your little baby seeds germinate and become strong seedlings, you find another lesson.
7. BE ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS
I sincerely hope my kids love the planet and ultimately make it a better place to live! What parent wouldn’t want that for their kids? Afterall, it’s going to be where they live and where their children live after us… I believe that having a respect, understanding, and appreciation for the planet will create environmentally conscious citizens of the world. They will understand that our plants need water, so it is important to keep our waters clean. They will learn to understand it’s important to recycle and throw trash away correctly, because it helps the planet stay clean and healthy. The list goes on…
8. SENSORY
From a sensory perspective, I am excited to get my kids outside! I’m happy to get their hands dirty and for all of us to get fresh air and sunshine. We spend way too much time inside and it is healthy for little kids to play outside. I know when I was a kid, I spent a ton of time outside and some of my favorite memories were of my sisters and I playing around the neighborhood (here we go back to memories 😊).
9. LESS SCREEN TIME
This one is gold! As a mama to two little girls, I can tell you that we watch a lot of screens. We love Netflix, we love Disney+, we love YouTube Kids, we loveeee our screens. In fact, it’s my little secret to getting much-needed housework done. If I need to unload the dishwasher or prepare the next meal, BOOM, screens on. If I need to put the little one down for a nap but want something my older toddler can do (safely) for 20 minutes… BOOM, screens on. I’ve never been super strict about screens and I don’t monitor how much time we spend on them (please don’t judge me), but I definitely can do a better job in this department. I’m excited to have an activity we can all look forward to that does not involve a screen.
10. HAVE A BEAUTIFUL GARDEN
finally, I’m looking forward to having a beautiful garden at home. I am excited to have something pretty to look at and something that we can be proud of making. I am so jazzed about this new passion project of mine and there is so much I want to grow and make!
Well there you have it! My top 10 benefits to gardening with kids. As you can see these are all worthy reasons to get outside with your little one(s). I hope that this inspires you to take action and start a little garden of your own.