{"id":1803,"date":"2013-05-06T09:00:31","date_gmt":"2013-05-06T14:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com\/blog\/?p=1803"},"modified":"2021-02-09T22:48:00","modified_gmt":"2021-02-10T04:48:00","slug":"kids-in-the-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ahblog.activityhero.com\/kids-in-the-garden\/","title":{"rendered":"Kids in the Garden: 5 Ways for Parents & Children to Grow Together"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Gardening
Photo by Flickr user DigitalBreakout<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the main challenges in engaging children in healthy activities is finding activities that you can do together.<\/p>\n

With a house to keep clean, errands to run, and projects to work on\u2014in addition to parenting,\u00a0\u00a0it can be difficult to find time to do everything we need (and want) to do.<\/p>\n

Getting kids in the garden can be a fun and rewarding experience that also teaches valuable lessons. But getting them in the garden isn\u2019t always easy. Here are just a few tips:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0Start small and be creative<\/h2>\n

Gardening with kids should not be a hassle. Don\u2019t overwhelm them, or yourself, by giving them too much to handle.<\/p>\n

A whole garden can be a lot of ground to cover. Assign them small rows one at a time. Help them prepare the soil and show them how to plant the seeds.<\/p>\n

The key is to start small and be creative. If you don\u2019t treat it like a chore, it won\u2019t become one.<\/span><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Let them choose what to grow<\/h2>\n

Gardening will be much more fun for your children if they have a say in what they grow.<\/p>\n

Whether you are growing flowers or produce, they will feel more ownership and attachment to a plant they chose themselves. They will get excited about watching their plant\u2019s progress and look forward to seeing the end result.<\/p>\n

\"Gardening
Photo by Melanie Hargrave<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

3. Teach them to garden year-round<\/h2>\n

Part of gardening is teaching your children a skill. Show your kids that gardening doesn\u2019t have to be just a seasonal activity.<\/p>\n

With technology today like grow lights<\/a>, you can do a lot of gardening indoors\u00a0to get a head start on planting season.<\/p>\n

Show your kids how they can grow useful plants all year long. It will save you from finding a new activity in the winter months and teach them valuable skills and lessons in sustainability and responsibility.<\/p>\n

\u00a04.\u00a0Connect it to their interests<\/h2>\n

Gardening is a wonderful hobby because it can apply to so many personalities.\u00a0Kids are more likely to enjoy an activity if it relates to their interests.<\/p>\n

If your kid likes science, teach them about the science and biology of plants. If \u00a0your daughters enjoy dressing things up, show them how plants can beautify a space and be used for decorating or landscaping.<\/p>\n

You can also show kids how to cook with plants you grew from your garden. That creates a great opportunity to teach them cooking skills while also keeping them occupied in another activity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Gardening
Photo by Flickr user kurtknock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u00a05.\u00a0Give them their own garden plot to use just for them<\/h2>\n

Give your kids their own plot either in your garden or in a space set aside. If you have an old sandbox, you can transform it into a mini kids\u2019 garden pretty easily. Be creative, and include your kids in the process.<\/p>\n

Gardening is something that kids and parents can enjoy together. It helps encourage good habits and teach them new skills.<\/p>\n

Melanie Hargrav<\/a>e is a wife and homemaker from Idaho whose pride and joy is her family. In addition to spending time with her family, she loves being outdoors, gardening with her kids, playing sports, and sharing her experiences with others.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Kids<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One of the main challenges in engaging children in healthy activities is finding activities that you can do together. With a house to keep clean, errands to run, and projects to work on\u2014in addition to parenting,\u00a0\u00a0it can be difficult to find time to do everything we need (and want) to do. Getting kids in the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1806,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"templates\/template-cover.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_eb_attr":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[214],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-active-healthy-kids"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1803","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1803"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/ahblog.activityhero.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1803\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9417,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1803\/revisions\/9417"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1806"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.activityhero.com/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}