(the benefits and what it will teach you & your child)
Without a doubt, where possible I believe every child should garden. Whether it’s a small patio with a couple of pot plants, growing herbs inside your home, or tending to a larger garden on your property, or wonderfully, tending to a local community garden in your neighbourhood, there are so many benefits to gardening (some may even teach you a few things!).
So let’s get into some solid reasons why it’s a wonderful activity for young and old:
- Engaging Senses – through gardening, children will engage all of their senses – touch, smell, see, hear and taste.
- Development of fine motor skills – through activities such as planting seeds or putting seedlings into the pots/ dirt children are practicing their fine motor skills which is important in their coordination and body growth. Playing with soil, water, bucket, spades and other tools will help strengthen hands and fingers (and this isn’t just for the little ones but the old ones too!).
- Reduces stress – like a lot of hobbies, gardening and planting or tending to plants is a wonderful way to distract and divert attention from other things in our lives and focus on a task, such as watering, repotting, dusting leaves. In what is called the “zone” is where we have our most creative thoughts, allowing the everyday to slip out of our minds and step in a ‘genius’ zone. It’s not only important for us to have these sorts of moments, it’s actually imperative! In a world where we are constantly distracted and bombarded with pings and messages our brains need time to relax and zone out.
- It’s rewarding (and good for your self esteem) – gardening, no matter what the size, is very rewarding and increases our self esteem. It has been proven that when we say positive words of encouragement to ourselves, our brains rank it higher than if we were to receive it from someone else. So take a moment once you have tended to your plants or garden, whether it’s a simple tidy up/ repot/ dusting of leaves/ or watering – say well done to yourself and get the feel good moment! (sounds a bit whacky, but trust me – it works! If you still need convincing pop on over to Mel Robbins High Five habit where she has all the stats!). Not to mention also, the reward for watching something grow and thrive.
- Learning where food comes from – for young children (and older!) it has the beautiful benefit of teaching them a few things – firstly, how plants & food grow (herb gardens are great for this or tomato plants in summer)- kids can see the tiny bud grow from a seed; tending to it with water, sunlight and weeding; to picking the leaves to eat and sample or cook with, or fruit/veg for an even better experience. Growing your own herbs and veg is incredibly rewarding. I love the fact that my kids understand that we can grow a lot of foods we eat, rather than always purchasing it from a shop.
- Eating greater variety (& healthier) – when children grow their own herbs, for example, they are more inclined to eat them and thus try different foods. My children have always been interested in what we grow, they nibble different leaves and have such interest in the tastes and textures (not to mention the amazing gut biome benefits!). Plants such as rocket, basil, thyme, sage, parsley and cherry tomatoes are awesome for kids to grow. They can be grown in pots on balconies or in window sills.
- It makes you happy – connecting with earth through digging and soil movement is a way to ground oneself with nature. There is also the benefit of getting that good bacteria under your nails which apparently contributes to our happiness! I’m just happy to dig around the dirt and distract my mind from the everyday (and to get away from a computer screen!).
So there you have it – just a few reasons why your kids will love gardening and you just might enjoy it too!