We’ve all heard the phrase April showers bring May flowers, but what do May flowers bring? Gardening with your children, whether it is flowers or vegetables can bring a variety of benefits from learning how to work to reducing stress.
Family bonding
Gardening with your children gives you a time to be together without outside distractions. In Texas researchers Alexander and Hendren found that growing a garden helped foster family relationships.
Reduce Stress
We often forget that our children can experience stress. But they often do. In Horticulture as Therapy the authors show that working in a garden “enhances mental health, reduces stress, as well as reducing muscle tension and lowering blood pressure.” Gardening also helps build self-esteem, as children are able to see the rewards of their efforts and feel a sense of accomplishment.
Learn to work
Many children today are not given opportunities to work and do not learn this valuable skill. Having a garden helps teach your child to work. As a child I hated weeding the garden, now I am grateful that I learned that skill. Now that I'm a parent I work with my children while gardening and make the weed the garden as well.
Nutrition benefits
Of course as parents we know that it is important that our children eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. The challenge of course is getting our children to actually eat them. Studies across the country have shown that children who participate in a school garden as well as homegrown gardens are more likely to eat fruits and vegetables. Because they had a hand in growing the fruits and vegetables they have more value and have a more positive attitude toward fruit and vegetable snacks. Last year we grew corn and my children ate more of our homegrown corn than they ever did when I bought it from the store.
Appreciation of environment
Growing a garden gives your child a chance to appreciate their environment. They learn what is necessary to keep green things alive. When writing about a children’s garden project author M. Hefferman said, "Gardens are often the most accessible places for children to learn about nature's beauty, interconnections, power, fragility, and solace."
Science know how
Planting a seed and then watching it grow is a scientific process and seeing this transformation first hand can really benefit children in the classroom. One study found that elementary students who participated in a school garden scored significantly higher on science achievement tests than their peers who did not garden.
May flowers do provide a lot of benefits for children.
Who knew flowers had so much power? |
