Gardening with Kids

Gardening with your kids is an awesome way to teach them about their food.  BUT, even more important, it’s one of those things you can do that you BOTH enjoy.  I don’t know about you, but when the kids were little, there were only so many games of Trouble or Sorry I could play before I started to question my mental health.  Getting the kids out doing your hobby is a perfect solution.  They get to play in the mud, you get to play in the mud.  Everybody’s happy.

Studies show that when kids grow their own food, they are more likely to try new foods–that doesn’t mean they will love every bite, but at least it won’t be such a battle to get them to try it–and hey, maybe they will find a thing or two that they like.  Plus, they will be out getting vitamin D, exercise, and fresh air.  That can’t be bad, even if they don’t love every bite.

You don’t have to give the kids free reign over the garden to make it a hobby for both of you.  Give them a small section and pick a theme, like a salad bar garden for example.  Let them plant and care for all of the fixins in a salad:  a variety of lettuce, carrots, radishes, etc.  When it is time, let them help you pick, wash, and assemble the salad.  It will give them something to be proud of.

Teach them about the environment and how it relates to food.  I used to pay Monkey Boy a penny for every lady bug he caught.  I told him that they helped keep nasty pests out of my garden, so they were worth the money to me.  He had a blast hunting for lady bugs and then I would pay him once he released them into the garden.  The same goes for allowing them to pick out flowers that they love–teach them about the importance of bringing in the bees, and have them water the flowers they chose.  Make the flowers lives their responsibility.  Kids love to feel like they play an important role.

Make a craft out of gardening.  If you are growing beans, have them help you make a bean trellis.  Let them paint pots with chalkboard paint so that they can label what they grow.

Share your harvest with friends and neighbors.  Bring a big, home-grown salad that your kiddo helped assemble to the next family function.  When people ooh and aah about how great it tastes {and they will, because homegrown always gets that response}, your kids will take notice.

Let the kids deliver the produce they grew to the neighbors.  Try growing zucchini–they are easy to grow and plentiful, so kids will be able to deliver them to friends and neighbors easily.  I think kids LOVE to share what they’ve done–this gives them a chance to do that and experience the power of sharing food.

If you have the space, try a pumpkin patch just for the kids.  Promise them that come Halloween time, they can sell the pumpkins lemonade stand style.  All of the kids in the neighborhood can get cheap pumpkins and your kiddos will have something they worked toward and earned.  Holy cow, is it just me or is gardening the perfect parenting tool?  Ha!

However you involve the kids, you won’t regret it.  You will be providing them with a lifetime of usable skills.

Happy growing,

~Mavis