As a parent I think most parents may struggle to find effective ways to help children understand the responsibility, cooperation, care for the environment and the cycle of life…. oh dear that conversation with Beth will forever haunt me! However, gardening with your children is a great way to educate them about these core values and its lots of fun too.
Responsibility
It goes without saying that responsibility is one of the most difficult values to instil in your children. Through gardening though, it can be explained to them very simply. A garden has to be planted, cared for and maintained with regular weeding, watering and feeding. Naturally, this takes some commitment and a great deal of responsibility. So involving your kids in each of these processes is a great way to inspire them to appreciate the value in taking responsibility in life.
Cooperation
Most children seem to have a natural ability to work together as a team. But not all do. Therefore, providing a fun and purposeful task in the garden (such as erecting a new Garden Store Direct greenhouse) By making them a part of any gardening project, you can encourage them to take an active role in working together or even with you (ideal for turn taking and sharing with toddlers!)
Care for the Environment
In terms of gardening, the use of pesticides for example, is a hot topic. By encouraging organic gardening, you’ll help your children to understand the value of gardening without chemicals. What’s more, because organic gardening takes time and care, you’ll also help them to appreciate the fact that good things are worth working hard for.
The Cycle of Life
A garden can provide the perfect setting for metaphors about the cycle of life. Through the crops in your garden, you can have conversations about birth, growth and death – something that some parents will struggle to achieve in a way that makes sense to their children. What could be more valuable?
Helping Your Children to Grow
Educating your children about the important values and processes in life is always going to be difficult. But by involving them in a host of different gardening projects, you can in fact begin to tackle some of the big questions and help them to grow as little people…. and who knows maybe our sunflowers will actually grow this year!
Disclaimer: This post is a sponsored collaboration in which I have received compensation for sharing with you.
Fabulous articles, couldn’t agree more. And apart from all that getting mucky in the garden is just fun.
lol it sure is Heather! 😉
I think it’s lovely to do gardening with kids. I did with my mum and had so many fab memories of those times . I still remember the first lettuce she grew, so tasty
awww what a really fab memory! i love that jill .. my mum had an allotment and i so wish i could have that now .. joshua would be in his element!
Next Summer gardening with the kids will be pretty high on my list of things to do, it is so, so important! Great post! x
yay cant wait to see how you get on with your garden lovely x
Just moved in here in the UK and I am gardening with my little miss. I couldn’t agree more on this article! Great one, Jaime. xx
awww thanks Melody .. happy gardening 🙂
I really enjoyed reading this as my wife and I are encouraging our son (who’s almost a year and a half) to take an interest in the garden. He already seems to enjoy exploring it and going to see our chickens. I hope it continues like this!
what fantastic fun that you guys have Chickens!! i would love a garden full of them but hubster wont have it! x