What are benefits of gardening for children? Gardening is not only good for parents to do, but the act of gardening or farming is also very good for children. So occasionally take the children to grow crops in the garden while teaching them about nature. Maybe you’ve heard a song that says “Hoe, hoe, hoe deep. Plant corn in our garden”. This indicates that the children also need to be taught to grow their own plants so that they can get the most from this kind of interaction with nature.
So, gardening activities can not only be done by parents but also can be done by children. In fact, not only that, but inviting children to garden has its own benefits such as fostering a sense of responsibility, training their motor skills, fostering love for food and fruit so that they don’t feel that fruit just comes to those with a lot of money so they can waste of food.
Not only that, the benefits of inviting children to garden are also several other benefits as we will describe below.
Benefits of Inviting Children to Garden
1. Foster a love for nature
One of the benefits of introducing gardens to children from an early age is to make them love the environment and the natural surroundings. So, we don’t need to give theories to those who are still children, but just by inviting them to garden, we can provide extraordinary knowledge to them. By plunging directly into nature by farming, for example, children will have a love for nature.
This method of practice works better than we have to lecture children who don’t necessarily know what we mean.
Through gardening children will learn how to care for plants, fertilize them and protect them from attacks such as animals, etc.
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2. Foster a sense of responsibility
The next benefit of gardening for children is to foster a sense of responsibility in our children. Gardening does not only invite children to plant but also teaches children to care for plants to grow healthy and well. This includes watering plants, fertilizing and so on.
For the initial stage, as parents we can simply teach children to water the plants, if they are used to it then we can ask them to pull weeds or fertilize the plants. With gardening activities like this every day, children will feel they have a responsibility to look after and care for plants.
So, gardening for children is a big and extraordinary responsibility that can be taught by parents. So it is highly recommended to include the children when their mother or father is gardening beside the house or behind the house.
3. Teach children to appreciate food
The next benefit of gardening for children is to teach them to appreciate food. When children are invited to garden together, our children will pay attention to the process of growing plants until they bear fruit, and from fruiting it also takes a lot of time to be big and mature. Gradually they understand that the fruit takes a long process so that it brings them to appreciate food and fruits more.
It also teaches children not to waste food such as the food served to them, they tend to finish the food served or not waste it.
4. Teach children to live healthy
The benefits of inviting children to garden can also provide students with a healthy life. When gardening we teach or introduce children to healthy fruits or vegetables that are healthy and fit for consumption.
In fact, some studies have shown that children who garden often tend to have fruit as their health food or daily snack. They prefer to eat fruit rather than buy sweets or candy.
5. Increase the child’s immune system
Gardening makes children often covered with soil and dirty and it turns out that this is good for children’s health. There is even a phrase that we often hear “it’s good to be dirty, you know”. It’s true like that, children who dare to play dirty from an early age and are often exposed to microorganisms, they tend to have better immune system.
So, from now on there is no need to prohibit children from playing on the ground, because this is good for them as well as children who like to play mud in the fields. But if this place is really dirty, don’t let them play around.
6. Improve children’s motor skills
The benefits of gardening for children can also hone their motor skills, most gardening activities require concentrated movement such as planting seeds, digging the soil, pulling grass or watering plants and moving pots. When children do this unconsciously their motor skills are honed and developed well.
When the motor skills are honed, the children’s motor skills will be more active and grow into smart children. Motor skills can provide children’s abilities and skills in various ways. So, children who are more active will be more creative in various things including painting, writing in good writing, or others.
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7. Reducing dependence on gadgets
This is a huge benefit of gardening for children. Children are now very dependent on gadgets, even most of them are always struggling with games on their cellphones. This is very bad for their development, so gardening can at least reduce their time in front of the gadget.
So, we can give more positive things to our children than they have to play gadgets all the time and it’s not good for their brain growth at all.
Gadgets can not only damage children’s eyes but also make children inactive. By getting children to gardening, we have avoided bad things that make them move less.
Those are some of the benefits of gardening for children, so take your children now to come to the garden occasionally and introduce them to various plants and fruits in the garden. Even in the garden there are also many animals and small animals that can be introduced to children. In this way the children will be more active and know more and get acquainted with various types of plants, animals and fruits and other foods.