It’s not uncommon to see children hooked on their gadgets playing video games or watching videos on YouTube but you should really limit children’s screen time. Keep them engaged with other activities. As a working mom who likes gardening, I made an effort to get my daughter involved in my garden. Did you know that gardening with children has a lot of benefits?
Make Them Understand The Importance of Plants
For starters, it’s important to let children know why plants are important for the ecosystem. They’ve been taught this in school but it still helps to teach them at home as this will help your children take the lesson to heart. Here are the reasons why plants are important.
- Provides oxygen and purifies the air
- Produces food
- Supports other species
- Used as medicine
- Can improve mental health
- Helps in regulating the water cycle
- Helps to fight against climate change
- Plant products are used in many industries
- Helps improve soil quality
Benefits of Gardening with Children
Gardening Can be a Bonding Activity for the Family
Gardening with children is not just about having an engaging activity. You can turn it into a family activity you can all bond over. Children can learn many things when caring for plants.
Gardening Encourages Children to Eat Healthy Food
Planting vegetables and other fruits bearing plants is a great opportunity to encourage them to eat healthy and fresh organic food. Sure enough, children will be excited to eat produce that they labored for. Remember, if you are going to be planting vegetables with your children, don’t use any chemical fertilizer. Use organic fertilizer. You can make your own. Organic is always better.
Gardening Teaches Children the Value of Hard Work
Planting vegetables with your children will help them realize the value of the work they put in. They will learn that they can harvest when they plant and put in the work.
You can let your kids maintain their own garden bed or planter box. Teach them how to plant, teach them how to prepare the soil for planting. Teach them how to sow the seeds. And task your children with watering the plants every day
Gardening Teaches Children the Importance of Protecting the Environment
Gardening teaches children where food comes from. From this, they will learn the importance of protecting the environment. They will come to know that protecting the environment is important for keeping the food supply up.
Gardening Teaches Children the Value of Responsibility, Hard Work and Patience
Let your children know that gardening never stops after sowing the seeds. Plants, especially crops, require a lot of after-care. Make your children understand that it is their responsibility to care for the plant.
Taking care of plants can be a fun activity for children. Teach them to water the plants regularly. Teach them how to make compost to use as fertilizer.
Gardening requires hard work and patience. Make them understand that when the plants are not cared for, they will not flower or bear fruit. When it’s time to harvest, your children can take pride in their hard work bearing fruit (literally).
You can make a to-do list for your kids to help them with the tasks. Here’s a sample to-do list in the garden.
- Water the plants daily
- Aerate the soil
- Check for pests
- Remove weeds
- Put all organic waste in the compost pile
- Fertilize the plants
Giving them a treat for successfully completing all their tasks will also boost motivation.
Gardening Stimulates Curiosity and Improves Focus
Children never run out of questions. Be prepared to answer them. Q&A while gardening makes it more interesting. Don’t dodge the questions. Answer them all to keep the children engaged. Teach them about sustainability and the importance of growing your own food. Keep your explanations simple. Use analogies so they can better understand concepts.
If you have space in your yard, use it to garden with your children. You can plant either vegetables or flowering plants. Don’t waste your space when you can use it to create an amazing and stimulating experience for your children. They will forever remember the time you spend with them while gardening. Even if you don’t have a yard, it’s not a problem. You can plant in pots and use potting mix. Take advantage of the plethora of benefits gardening provides for your children.
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