If you’ve got a curious tot at home, what better way to further stimulate their imagination than by planting a garden together, and making your child an active partner in that pursuit.
Helping plan, plant and tend a garden isn’t just great fun; equally important, it’s a life exercise that helps cultivate important life skills such as responsibility, independence, leadership empathy/caring, teamwork and problem solving. Plus it exposes children to what may be their first relationship to the natural world; as they grow and mature, they’ll be prepared to make wiser decisions about it.
Ready to get growing? Here are a few suggestions to help get you started and make the effort a genuinely rewarding experience for both you and your child:
- Start small, and build on success. A 3’x3′ plot or raised bed is plenty for a young gardener. As their success and interest increases, enlarge the garden. And if you have little room, a couple of pots on a terrace or under a grow light indoors will do just fine.
- Involve children in the planning. Give each child his or her own plot. You’ll see their interest blossom when they care for something that belongs to them.
- Grow plants kids love. Combine vegetable plants with bright colored flowers so your garden “explodes” with a variety of colors, fragrances and tastes while attracting all kinds of butterflies, birds and insects. For the most part, kids everywhere are quite fond of pole beans: cherry tomatoes, sunflowers and zinnias, just as a few examples.
- Let your children help: Children enjoy imitating you and like to feel that their “work” is important. Find a space in your garden for them to plant, dig, rake and weed as soon as you feel they’re up to the challenge.
- Keep your garden safe. Whenever your children are with you in the garden, make sure there are no fertilizers, pesticides or manure within reach. Keep any sharp or motorized tools out of their way, and keep a close watch on what they put into their mouths!
You know what else helps a garden grow? Water, and plenty of it. So if gardening is relatively new to you and you could benefit from a new outdoor faucet, contact LBA today and we’ll make it happen. In fact, we’re the only plumber you need for any indoor or outdoor plumbing need at all.
