How do you involve your kids in gardening?

Gardening and kids—it sounds dreamy, doesn’t it? But what if you are struggling with your kids in the garden? How do we find a happy place for you and your kids?

Many kids, especially when they are little, love to come out to the garden. The problem is that their attention span is pretty short; they touch and pick at things. At what age can you really expect them to help?

I am not a counselor or expert in this, but I have six kids, and we have been gardening and farming with them for a long time.

In this blog post, I will give you some tips and tricks for minimizing these problems with your kids. Every child and every family is different. Experiment with these different ideas and see what works for you.

Tips for gardening with kids.

1. Set Realistic Expectations

   Yep, look at the age of your child. What is their demeanor like?

   My children have a wide variety of personalities. When my oldest was little, he would sit in his stroller and just watch me water and work in my garden. I wondered what anyone’s problem was. And… then I had my second child. He was completely different. He was everywhere and into everything ALL the time.

   What I did with the first child, I could not do with the second.

   So, look at your children and set yourself some realistic expectations about what they are REALLY like, not what you want them to be like.

   This applies to their attention span, how and when they get bored, etc…

2. Fighting Boredom

   For most kids, the first 15 min of gardening is fun. After that, they are ready for the next thing. But you still have a lot to do. What can you do? ,

   Is there a spot in your garden where they can play, dig, create, and make a mess? Maybe a special place they can only be in when you are in the garden? Some kids love fairy gardens or Hot Wheels mud pits. You know what your child likes and what keeps them entertained.

   Depending on their age, they might get bored. Being prepared for that is your best defense. If you have a lot of work to do, it might be better to work in the garden without them, maybe during a nap or in the morning before they get up.

3. Curious Hands

   I can picture it in my head right now. An almost ripe tomato, your first bloom of the season, and a little hand plucking it from the plant.

   This can be extremely frustrating. Giving your kids their own “flowers” or vegetables to pick can help with this. Point out, “These are mommy’s, and these are yours; if you want to pick mommy’s, you need to ask.” And remember, they will not listen 100% of the time because that red tomato might be too tempting to pass up.

4. Unstable feet

   If you’ve ever been in my garden, I always tell my kids not to step in the bed, or you just smashed my plants, or watch out with that bucket, and mine are old enough to know better.

   When you are dealing with small kids, this might be a reality. This might be a place to check your expectations.

5. Little Helpers

   Let them grow a pot of sunflowers. Kids love sunflowers because they grow so fast and they are so happy!

   Kids love to plant seeds and pick strawberries, cucumbers, and flowers. As they grow, they learn to identify weeds and what is ready to be picked. But that comes with years and lots of time in the garden.

   I had my 14-year-old weed a garden bed for me. It had a lot of different flowers and plants in it. She quite literally cut down an entire hibiscus plant. Yep, she thought it was a massive weed. She cut the whole thing down and removed all the little new growth. I just smiled and said, oops, that was a plant.

6. What is your goal for your garden and having your kids involved

   Are you gardening as a place to connect with your kids, have them involved, have them learn?

   Or are you gardening more for yourself and the fruits of the garden?

   The answer to these questions is going to play a huge factor into how gardening goes for you.

   My goal for my garden is more for me than for my kids. Yes, they help me. But I have actually cut way back on that expectation for them. I pay my older ones to help when I need it, and my younger ones come and go. I don’t expect more than one project from them and it usually has to be small. I had to learn this reality. I want my kids to remember my garden as a good place, not a begrudging job.

7. Use what they love

   My kids love—and I mean love—making flower bouquets. They love the fruits of the garden, the fresh beans, and the flowers.

   When going to the garden bring them along to help with things that they are motivated by. Let’s pick beans for dinner! or water these flowers so we can pick them and arrange them. But make it rewarding, not just work.

8. Age Dependant

   Littles are going to need a lot of attention. Mine used to hit dirt baseballs while I was weeding my garden.

   As they get older, they can keep focus longer, and I always tell them how long we will be there—one hour, two hours, you get the point.

   Gardening with kids doesn’t have to be a fight, frustrating, or challenging. But your best bet is to be realistic about it.

   Keep it easy and simple. A great way to start is by growing flowers because they are so rewarding.

   So many of my customers tell me that’s why they grow my cut flower garden kit. It gets their kids in the garden with them and allows them to connect over a fun project.

   Try out these tips and share them with another mom of littles who might need this boost to overcome her gardening frustrations and concerns.