Growing your vegetables is highly rewarding and can save you a boatload of hard-earned dollars. There is one group of people who can benefit more than just adults and our pockets.
Children. This can be such a fun-filled experience for them regardless of their age. They can eat healthier, and they can learn so much about the importance of healthy eating. Children will also come to understand the impact that mass-farmed vegetables have on the environment.
You might think that having rows which are not straight, or you are unsure of what you are doing yourself. How to grow a vegetable garden can take time, and this is your learning time, and in the beginning; the main thing is your kids are outdoor and learning and having fun, so your lack of experience should be one of the things that are firmly at the back of your mind.
Benefits of Gardening for Children
These tips and benefits can help to make your child’s gardening experience so much more enjoyable.
Learning about Health and Nature
Children are not as scared of creepy crawlies and small creatures in the same way as adults. It is only when they are told that these can be dirty or not very nice, they become nervous.
If you are with your child in your garden, it is worth you embracing all of the insects like worms, insects, grubs, and spiders and explaining the importance of these to the ecosystem of the earth. In this way, you can contribute to your child’s education.
Kids like to eat what they grow
Children are more likely to eat what they have had a hand in growing. As they grow, adults are always saying eat this, and eat that, now they can have a choice, especially with tomatoes grown in hanging baskets. These can be so easy to raise your children could take care of these on their own.
Curiosity and Communication
We all know, children, when they want to, will ask endless questions on about just any subject. One they are helping in the garden, not only will they have many more questions to ask, they will be in a prime location of how to find their answers to any problems they encounter.
To get them more involved, you can ask them to make signs for the individual vegetables, or they can be in charge of the weeding and watering. Alternatively, as we do not want to do it, you can ask your children to be on slug patrol.
Now is the time to also explain how the different forms of planting affect how your veggies grow, from the type of plants you grow in a row, to the varieties that you can just scatter. This helps them with organization and planning and how their actions cause a reaction.
Social and Emotional Development
When kids are out and about in the garden. They can get an insight into how to be more involved and be part of a team. Along with this comes problem-solving from dealing with real-world problems rather than just problems that are written in textbooks.
Weeds, the weather all contribute to real issues that children can see how they are affected, and how results are gathered. One of the most significant benefits in this section is that children are eating what they are growing, so, they will gain a great deal of self-purpose along the way to their project completion.
Having Fun
If you involve your children in your vegetable garden plans, you have to remember to have fun with them. Everything might be entirely new to yourself, yet this can be an opportunity to learn more when you explain things to your children.
Both of you will only learn over time, so keep it light-hearted. Whatever you do to engage your children into becoming involved is a good thing.
It is not often that kids receive much positive feedback from adults. If they get involved and can keep on top of the weeds and help tend to the various vegetables. They can only become empowered as you will be in the ideal position to tell them they have done a great job.
Any time you can spend in your vegetable garden will be beneficial, not just to your children, but also to you. By taking your time and starting on a small scale together. Your child will come up with ideas and also want to become more involved. As you nurture your veggie garden, you will see your child be nurtured and grow as well.
Author
Tim Graham from YardandGardenGuru.com
Tim writes about his passions in life yard care and gardening. Outside of writing for his blog, Tim usually finds himself knee-deep in lawn clippings, weeds, and grandkids.
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