This article will discuss the benefits of kids gardening and children gardening as a recreational activity for children. Before delving into the benefits of gardening for children, however, let us reminisce about the old days.
 If you are interested in this topic, you can also read
 <<Do Gardening With Toddlers>> and  <<Kids’ Gardening Kits>> articles.
Why Children Gardening
For a moment, think about your childhood memories. It does not matter whether you grew up in a small village or a big city; you may probably remember happy memories, such as playing with ants and butterflies, catching baby frogs, collecting snails, watching bird nests, and roaming through plants.
Unfortunately, today, with the growth of urban and machine life, we are witnessing our children grow up without the profound connection with nature that characterized previous generations. As a result, they spend most of their time engaged in indoor activities such as watching TV and playing computer games.
Children gardening is among the most exquisite pleasures in life, and it is one of the easiest ways to connect children to nature. Children who have witnessed their parents gardening from the earliest years of their lives or engaged in gardening activities themselves benefit from improved mental health and grow up to have more positive relationships with the environment.
Unfortunately, in modern life, many children live in apartments and, as a result, do not have enough space to foster their own gardens. Despite such hindrances, psychologists recommend that parents create a space for their children to undertake indoor gardening activities. If parents are unable to arrange a specific area for their kids to garden, they may consider purchasing several flower pots for their children to plant some elementary seeds in pots so they can watch and enjoy the natural growth of their plants at home.
How Does Gardening Help A Child’s Development?
According to experts, gardening is among the professions that engage all five human senses. As a result, it is one of the most valuable activities for children, which helps them learn the basics of art, mathematics, and experimental sciences. By engaging in gardening, children obtain a great deal of knowledge about plant growth and needs. They acquire a better understanding of school lessons compared to students who only study science theoretically. Additionally, these children feel more responsible and are more intellectually mature than their peers.
Kids Gardening is an educational activity that, apart from being enjoyable, has a vast number of benefits for children that ultimately lead to the development of new skills and abilities. The benefits of gardening for children are listed below.
Benefits Of Gardening With Children
Responsibility
Children gain a sense of responsibility by looking after the plants they grow, and because these plants are the result of their effort, they are motivated to take care of them as we
Patience
When children sow seeds, they must wait several days before watching them sprout. After sprouting, to see their plant’s flower or fruits, they have to wait for weeks or months until their efforts pay off. This process builds their patience and teaches them that pursuing any goal in life requires patience.Â
Stress Reduction
Gardening and greenery scenes can decrease stress in children who are overly stressed. More significant improvements are seen in locations like nature schools which have more plants, greener views, and access to natural play places.
Power Of Comprehension
In kids’ gardening, when children take care of their plants, they become acquainted with the cause-and-effect relationship in the growth cycle of plants. They learn how bees help flowers bloom, understand the relationship between plant life and water, light, and soil, and understand how weeds hinder their plants’ growth.
Self Confidence
When children achieve their desired goal in gardening, which is to achieve the final product, such as fruit, vegetables, or flowers, they rejoice and grow confident that any goal is within their reach.
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Physical Activity
kids gardening, especially outdoors, pushes children to be more active, a crucial benefit that no parent can ignore. These activities can thus reduce the risk of health issues stemming from a sedentary lifestyle.
Creativity
Children gardening fosters creativity, as children think outside the box to try new and diverse methods to grow their plants.
Consumption Of Fruits And Vegetables
Children’s commitment to planting and harvesting vegetables leads to an increase in children’s desire to consume fruits and vegetables. Kids’ gardening increases children’s nutritional knowledge and thus makes them more aware of the benefits of eating vegetables and fruits as healthy snacks. Practical experiences show that children who refuse to eat vegetables will be more inclined to consume fruits and vegetables by planting, caring for, and watching their own plants grow.
Respecting The Nature
When children engage in children gardening, they grow more aware of the world around them. In addition to learning about biological and environmental sciences, they develop a closer relationship with nature. This enhances their appreciation and respect for nature, a sentiment that is often maintained into adulthood.
Decreasing Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) Symptoms
Exposure to nature can significantly improve attention deficit disorder symptoms in kids as young as five.
Academic Performance
According to research in the United States, outdoor classrooms and other forms of nature-based experiential education encourage considerable student improvements in social studies, science, language arts, and math. Students in outdoor science programs saw a 27 percent increase in their science test performance.
Improving The Immune System
In horticultural activities, children interact with the soil. There are beneficial elements and bacteria in the soil that strengthen kids’ immune system against diseases. Children should be allowed to walk and play barefoot in the dirt and not have to wash their hands while eating. The reason is that the soil contains elements such as microorganisms, the absence of which in children’s bodies at an early age can impair the immune system later in life.
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How To Do Gardening With Children Indoors?
You may wonder how to reap the benefits of gardening for children without the space in your small house or apartment to accommodate an entire garden. The answer is that parents can encourage children to engage in gardening by buying several small flower pots and allowing their children to sow their seeds in these pots. Parental support is an incentive for children to start and continue gardening. Of course, it would be much better if parents also taught their children how to grow and care for plants besides providing a suitable environment for gardening. The important point about teaching gardening to children is to avoid limiting them to specific methods and let their creativity flourish instead.
Planted flower pots could become children’s gardening gifts to their friends for different occasions. By doing so, children find a great sense of self-worth. Another essential point about indoor kids’ gardening is that the family should introduce vegetables that children have grown to their meals. This encourages kids to devote more time and energy for gardening and producing more fruits and vegetables.
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