5 Benefits Of Introducing Your Children To Gardening

Before buying a house, living in our old flat, I was thinking about getting a little allotment for us. I thought, a year rental for my husband as a Christmas present may be a good idea, as he absolutely loved gardening. He still does. We lived in a flat by the river with fantastic views to Hampton Court Palace and the park and we loved it. But we had no garden. Why is this important to me?

Why teaching the children gardening from early is important to me?

When I was in primary school, as a child we’ve had gardening lessons: two hours a week spent in the school’s kitchen garden. We’ve learned how to use garden tools, how to make a compost, what a green house is for, when to plant and what and how to harvest. We picked up lots of very useful and relevant knowledge. I still remember these because it wasn’t just something theoretical what we’ve read about in the books, but something we’ve learned in action, by doing it. I think this practice is not all that common anymore.

I know a lot of people who have allotments and they really enjoy their time spent there. And back then, I was thinking it would be something great to do together as a family, like a hobby.

So I gathered a few reasons why it’s good for the children to take part in looking after the garden or allotment or helping with the vegetable garden.

1. Educating them where the food comes from

Children these day could grow up by seeing vegetables only in the supermarket. They don’t know what it takes to produce crops, how much work is behind getting all that food on the table. By helping with gardening, they will be able understand the concept of food production.

2. It encourages them to try to eat more vegetables

My children doesn’t eat nowhere enough vegetables. Growing your own vegetables will encourage them to try more varieties. They will be proud, what they have produced, so there’s a good chance that they will eat them too. Homegrown veggies taste better too! Remember the real tomatoes from your grandparents garden? They are so much tastier than the Ines you can buy in the supermarket!

3. It teaches them to respect nature

It’s never too early to teach them how to live environmentally friendly. Gardening is definitely a good starting point. It also teaches them to be responsible for their plants. They will learn how to look after them by watering regularly and weeding.

4. Stress relief

A lot of children can get anxious and stressed about our hyper fast lifestyle. The pressure in the school, the information overload, and the lack of time spent outside all adds up. When visiting the allotment or doing gardening chores they can get some fresh air and some extra exercise. There’s a number of studies out there supporting the theory of when we have contact with soil during gardening it improves our mood.

5. It can be family fun!

It’s great when the whole family is being involved. Decide together what to plant: everyone picks a few favourites, like strawberries, tomatoes, even spring flowers. When it’s muddy and raining, just put wellies on and turn it into a messy fun. It’s a fantastic sensory activity too: they can use all their senses: smelling the flowers, feel the soil, taste the vegetables, hear the bees buzzing around, see the wonderful colours of the garden.