Gardening is more than just a fun hobby. It’s a way of life. But how do you go about including your kids in the garden when today’s world would have you plop them in front of a screen? What if they simply don’t want to go outside?
Trust me, once your kids have been stung by a wasp or two, or accidentally stepped in an ants nest, they don’t like going out to the garden with you.
But there are so many lessons in gardening that go way beyond basic self sufficiency. Patience, dedication, consistency. Learning how to deal with loss, frustration and disappointment when the seeds they’ve planted for the nth time get eaten up again.
Here’s what I’ve learned over the course of several years when it comes to including my kids in our garden. Hopefully you’ll find something here that can help you out as you try to teach your little ones this rewarding skill.
Including your kids in the garden shouldn’t be a fight
Don’t force them to go out with you every single time.
For a while, my kids loved following me around the garden to see what I was up to. But once they got bit again and again and again, that interest quickly dissipated. Fire ants in Florida (or the south anywhere) are absolutely menacing. And then there’s the wasps. Almost all of my boys have been stung once and they remember that for a looong time.
It was totally understandable why they didn’t want to go out anymore. Still, I tried to make them go with me. It didn’t take long to learn that fighting with my kids was one of the fastest ways to take out the fun, peace and relaxation from gardening.
I came to the conclusion that at least for a time, my example was going to have to be enough. Showing them my love for gardening would have to do for a while.
Share your excitement with your children
For you gardening nerds out there, you know how exciting it is to get your beloved seed packets in the mail. Watching those little sprouts pop up and then finally being able to harvest your long cared for plants… It’s better than any present at Christmas!
That excitement is contagious. Your kids will quickly pick up on that. When you are rummaging around in the soil and pull out a whopper of a sweet potato, your kids will think you are on a treasure hunt. The excitement and joy you express will be enough to at the least peek their interest.
Let your kids help out with garden planning
When those seed packets arrive, allow your kids to look through the packets and enjoy the pretty pictures on the front. They will love looking at all the yummy things you will be growing right in your own backyard (or front yard cause why waste space?) If your kids are especially sour towards gardening, perhaps the prospect of homegrown watermelon and strawberries will help spark an interest.
Work together, (with your knowledgeable guidance), to decide where to plant all of your seeds. If you are starting in trays, let your kids help fill the trays with soil. If they are capable of a bit of precision, you can let them sow the seeds in the trays, too.
This is a great opportunity to teach about seasons as well. You can’t grow carrots through the heart of our Florida summers, but you sure can grow beans 🙂
Let them have their own garden space
My oldest was probably the pickiest child I’ve ever known. He would induce vomiting anytime he ate something that was too much for his discriminating palate. That completely changed when he grew his own small little patch of carrots.
He grew about a pound worth of small to medium sized carrots. He loved pulling them out to see how they were growing. 😂 Once they were out, all he wanted was to cook them up. When we had enough we roasted them with some sweet potatoes. To my surprise my super picky son was bringing his plate to me asking if he could have more carrots. Now year after year carrots are his favorite plants to grow.
Don’t worry if they sprinkle their seeds haphazardly all over the ground or harvest their crops a little too soon. They’ll learn quickly that those carrots won’t have a root worth eating if you don’t give them time to grow.
You can help them with the watering at first, but as they get older, they’ll need to learn the consequences of neglecting plants during a dry spell.
Let them harvest
Remember how exciting Christmas was when you were a kid. Struggling to sleep because you knew Santa was coming and then running out before the sun to see all the gifts he left behind? One of the best parts of childhood 🙂
But now as a parent, watching the delight on your children’s faces when they see those gifts under the Christmas tree. That’s an even greater gift than any toy you got as a kid.
So you’ll understand just how wonderful it is to see your kids jumping up and down at the ripe melon they just found. Or running around with their sugar snap peas. Digging up sweet potatoes with an excited “I got one!”
Those are some of the moments that make all the struggling worth it.
Giving more responsibility as they grow
A lot of these tips are especially helpful for young children. Introducing them to the concept of growing something from seeds, tending to the soil and the young plants until it’s time to harvest.
As your kids get older, they will need to take on more responsibility. It is perfectly okay to make garden tasks – weeding, watering, pruning, harvesting and preserving – part of the regular household chores. They are participants in your family economy, not free loaders.
One of the most useful things we get to teach our children is a good work ethic. We get to choose to raise our children differently than how we were raised. Typical suburban kids don’t have much purpose in the world aside from the basic household chores. Giving your kids more meaningful work means giving them more purpose.
They are actively contributing to the food that gets set at the table. They are learning patience and discipline as well as gratitude. They will know better than most kids how food gets to their plates, “by the sweat of your brow”.
If you have older kids, how do you go about including them in the garden? I’d love to hear any recommendations in the comments below!
Happy Gardening 😊
Leave a Reply