Kids and gardens – as a mom and a nutritionist, I love when these two forces of nature come together. Talking to kids about food and how it grows is one of the best ways we can teach our children to have an appreciation for real food.
Real food grows on a tree, in the garden, grazes in a field or swims in the ocean. Real food is not often found in boxes or packages. It is up to us to teach our children how to tell the difference. One of the best ways to teach this important lesson is to grow some food as a family.
You don’t even need to have an actual garden plot in the backyard to be able to have your own harvest. Many people grow their produce on balconies or decks in large pots and boxes with much success.
Neat things happen in dirt. Starting when my children were about three years old, one of their ‘jobs’ was to look for worms as we prepared the soil for planting. They were fascinated by worms. We would collect them in pails and watch them wiggle. There, they began learning about the importance of earthworms to the health of our garden and how to be kind to other living creatures. After the worm exploration, the boys would take turns planting the seeds, row by row. Each day after planting, there was much anticipation to run out to the garden and check to see if anything had grown yet. Here they began learning about how our seeds needed water and sun to grow. As the plants began to mature and produce tomatoes, peas and beans, the boys learned what real food tastes like and to value the work that goes into helping plants grow. They also learned patience by discovering what tomatoes taste like when we don’t wait long enough for them to fully ripen!
I encourage you to give gardening a try with your family. Some of the easiest things to grow are cherry tomatoes and peas if you are just starting out. The time commitment is minimal and the plants are fairly easy to maintain. Happy gardening!
Photo by Jonathan Kemper on Unsplash
Leave A Comment