One of the things I love about gardening is that it is something we can do as a family, this hasn't always been the case though at one point both my children were uninterested in the garden and allotment, they didn't understand why i wanted to spend so much time doing more 'work' after just finishing work. After a day at school they just wanted to chill out in the house, usually on electronics.
I realised that they were not really understanding why i was gardening and as they had grown up from the toddler stage where they just loved messing about in the mud they no longer saw the fun side either. That needed to change, i needed to find ways to get them enjoying time with me out in the garden and at the allotment. So here are my top tips on how to get kids gardening:
1. Give them their own gardening supplies
By giving children their own personal gardening supplies it makes them feel special. I'm not suggesting here you go out and buy posh new gardening gloves and tools for them (though i will add some links to some great ones just in case you want to) you could just give them your older tools and gloves but once they become theirs they are solely theirs. This seemed to make my boys feel like they were special and that they were needed in the garden, by having their own gloves and their own tools they were able to help with jobs without searching for tools in the shed or in my gardening bag. They have their own tools to use and look after them themselves.
Here are some links to great younger children's gardening sets
Kids gardening tool set including gloves
Gardening tool set for unicorn lovers
Kids gardening set including seeds
1. Give them their own gardening supplies
By giving children their own personal gardening supplies it makes them feel special. I'm not suggesting here you go out and buy posh new gardening gloves and tools for them (though i will add some links to some great ones just in case you want to) you could just give them your older tools and gloves but once they become theirs they are solely theirs. This seemed to make my boys feel like they were special and that they were needed in the garden, by having their own gloves and their own tools they were able to help with jobs without searching for tools in the shed or in my gardening bag. They have their own tools to use and look after them themselves.
Here are some links to great younger children's gardening sets
Kids gardening tool set including gloves
Gardening tool set for unicorn lovers
Kids gardening set including seeds
2. Involve them in the whole process & a variety of jobs
Children get bored easily, well mine do. So i found that by getting them involved in a variety of tasks around the plot and the garden rather than the same tasks each day (weeding for example, has to be done every day but i don't get them to do that every time as they would get bored of the same task daily) Instead i encourage them to try different tasks. Getting them involved in the full process helps too, from sowing the seeds through to the harvest, of cut flowers or of edibles like salads, veg and fruits. Doing this has helped them to understand why i garden, they love harvest time as it shows what all the hard work has produced. One step further is to then involve them in the cooking and preserving too, this is not just interesting and fun for them but educational too.
Children get bored easily, well mine do. So i found that by getting them involved in a variety of tasks around the plot and the garden rather than the same tasks each day (weeding for example, has to be done every day but i don't get them to do that every time as they would get bored of the same task daily) Instead i encourage them to try different tasks. Getting them involved in the full process helps too, from sowing the seeds through to the harvest, of cut flowers or of edibles like salads, veg and fruits. Doing this has helped them to understand why i garden, they love harvest time as it shows what all the hard work has produced. One step further is to then involve them in the cooking and preserving too, this is not just interesting and fun for them but educational too.
3. Let them have breaks and have some fun
Try not to make time in the garden or at the allotment all about work, try to make things fun too. I know this can be difficult if you have a limited amount of time to get the jobs done but sparing just 5 mins to have fun can make a big difference to kids. If you don't have the time to spare then maybe just encourage them to take a break and play a game or have some fun. There are lots of different things you could encourage, you could take some colouring and drawing supplies and get them to draw things they see, you could give them a ball and a pot and challenge them to through the ball into the pot from different distances. You could use bean poles and set up a game of limbo. I'll be doing a post soon about easy garden and allotment games to entertain children so keep checking back if you'd like some more ideas.
Try not to make time in the garden or at the allotment all about work, try to make things fun too. I know this can be difficult if you have a limited amount of time to get the jobs done but sparing just 5 mins to have fun can make a big difference to kids. If you don't have the time to spare then maybe just encourage them to take a break and play a game or have some fun. There are lots of different things you could encourage, you could take some colouring and drawing supplies and get them to draw things they see, you could give them a ball and a pot and challenge them to through the ball into the pot from different distances. You could use bean poles and set up a game of limbo. I'll be doing a post soon about easy garden and allotment games to entertain children so keep checking back if you'd like some more ideas.
Bonus Tip
If you can, give them a small area, be that a small spot in the garden or a small raised bed maybe even just a few plant pots if space is really limited. Give them complete free reign on their own patch, let them grow whatever they want or just mess around in the mud (as long as they tidy up after themselves after) giving them this space gives them responsibility and freedom.
If you have any questions or any other ideas on how to get kids interested in gardening them please do let me know in the comments.
If you can, give them a small area, be that a small spot in the garden or a small raised bed maybe even just a few plant pots if space is really limited. Give them complete free reign on their own patch, let them grow whatever they want or just mess around in the mud (as long as they tidy up after themselves after) giving them this space gives them responsibility and freedom.
If you have any questions or any other ideas on how to get kids interested in gardening them please do let me know in the comments.
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