Top 5 Benefits of Getting Your Children into Gardening
Getting your children excited about gardening has lots of benefits. It's not only fun, but can also strengthen their connection to food, help them eat more vegetables and set them up with a healthy hobby for life.
As well as exploring further afield, we believe that the great outdoors can also be enjoyed from the comfort of our own gardens. Read on to find out about some of the top benefits of getting your children into gardening - now is the perfect time!
1. Learning new things
Gardening is a great and inexpensive way to teach your little adventurers about nature and the environment. Digging in muddy soil and watching their own little plants grow can encourage children’s love of the outdoors and foster their curiosity about the surrounding world. Taking care of their tiny seeds and plants will teach little gardeners responsibility and patience and will improve their organisational skills.
2. It’s fun
Working in the earth and soil has a high mess factor that children love. With endless activities to choose from, such as making mud pies, mixing their own compost, digging, looking for bugs, identifying seeds, building a wormery or planting flowers and vegetables, your children will find something to keep them busy and entertained. All you need is a spade (or even a big spoon) to get started with the digging.
3. Wonderful hobby for their whole lives
Gardening can be a satisfying, ongoing project for the whole family. According to research, children involved with gardening perform better at school. It engages all their senses when they touch, feel and take care of plants and is great for their motor skills. Gardening is also an all year-round activity and is exciting and fun whatever the weather – there is plenty to do even during colder months. Encourage your children to build a den or a DIY greenhouse to shelter the plants – they will have lots of fun regardless of the temperature outside.
4. Something for the little gourmets
No garden? Don’t worry, you don’t need one to grow your own vegetables or herbs. Herbs such as mint, chives, basil, oregano or rosemary can be grown indoors in containers (indoor temperatures are usually good enough for them), in the kitchen or in a sunny room. Simply place them in a cosy spot near the window and let your little gardener check on them every day. Start with quick-sprouting seeds (such as cress), so that impatient little ones can see the results of their hard work without too much waiting around.
