Let my kids help in the garden? Why not?

Share your love and passion for gardening with your kids by bringing them into the garden to discover the pleasure of growing food. Gardening may be the solution for parents struggling to find ways to encourage their kids to eat a healthy and balanced diet. Allowing your child to pick fresh produce from your garden will increase their desire to eat fresh vegetables. Tomatoes warm from the sun are delicious. My son loved green onions and once harvested and ate an entire row! Fresh peas are so delicious.

 

Give them a small piece of ground that is their own, along with gardening tools and gloves. Provide instruction on how to plant seeds and plants. Show them the flowers, bugs, worms, and growing plants. Let them dig a hole and plant something!

Show your child the difference between weeds and plants, pull and cultivate weeds, water, fertilize and care for their plants. Don’t forget to show them the importance of bugs in the ecology of gardening. Observe the bees and teach them about making honey and pollination of plants.

Kids who participated in gardening projects scored higher in science achievement than those who did not. Seeing a garden grow may spark your kids to ask questions like: Why do the plants need sun? How does the plant “drink” water? Why are worms good for the plants? Why are spiders needed in the garden? The questions your kids will ask will provide plenty of subjects for discussion.