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  • Home
  • Raising Outdoor Kids
    • Cooking & Crafting

      How to Make Birdseed Ornaments for Wild…

      November 27, 2020

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      Beautiful Spring Picture Books for Children

      March 28, 2020

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      Playing in Nature Protects Our Children During…

      March 17, 2020

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      50+ Spring Nature Activities for Kids of…

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      How to Make a Willow Nature Crown…

      July 2, 2019

      Raising Outdoor Kids

      9 Special Ways to Celebrate Summer Solstice…

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      A Beginner’s Guide to Pond Dipping with…

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      How Pokémon Can Get Kids Bird Watching

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      Rock Climbing and Hiking Around Las Vegas…

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    • All Alberta British Columbia Lower Mainland Northern Interior Okanagan
      British Columbia

      Hiking and Camping with Kids at Kokanee…

      July 30, 2018

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      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

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      Family-Friendly Adventures on BC’s Sunshine Coast

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      A National Park Reserve in the South…

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      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

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      Rock Climbing with Kids in Jasper National…

      August 8, 2017

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      Family Adventures in Jasper National Park: 10…

      July 26, 2017

      Alberta

      Shaw’s Point Resort

      August 6, 2015

      Alberta

      Apiaries in Northern Alberta

      August 5, 2015

      Alberta

      St. Isidore, Alberta

      August 4, 2015

      Alberta

      The Hoodoos

      July 29, 2015

      Alberta

      Royal Tyrrell Museum

      July 28, 2015

      Alberta

      Bow Valley Campground

      July 27, 2015

      British Columbia

      Hiking and Camping with Kids at Kokanee…

      July 30, 2018

      British Columbia

      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

      December 1, 2017

      British Columbia

      Family-Friendly Adventures on BC’s Sunshine Coast

      November 8, 2017

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      A National Park Reserve in the South…

      November 3, 2017

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      More to Explore in the Okanagan Valley:…

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      Hiking Spion Kop with Kids in Lake…

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      March 7, 2017

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      August 2, 2016

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      Biking the Stanley Park Seawall

      July 27, 2016

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      Exploring Deep Cove and Quarry Rock Trail

      July 25, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Visiting Queen Elizabeth Park

      July 22, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Biking Through Pacific Spirit Regional Park

      July 20, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      Exploring Lynn Canyon Park

      July 18, 2016

      Lower Mainland

      1001 Steps to the Beach

      April 19, 2014

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      September 1, 2016

      Northern Interior

      McMillan Creek Regional Park

      October 8, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Ferguson Lake Nature Reserve

      October 6, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Eskers Provincial Park

      October 5, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Autumn in Northern British Columbia

      September 28, 2015

      Northern Interior

      Wildflowers in Northern British Columbia

      June 6, 2015

      Northern Interior

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Backwoods Mama

Raising Outdoor Kids

How Gardening Benefits Kids: 7 Reasons Why Your Child Should Garden

March 26, 2018

“What are you planting Mama?” asked my youngest, as he pushed a stool up to the counter and clambered up. “I’m planting tomato and pepper seeds” I replied, smiling. I’ve becoming firmly convinced that children can detect the presence of dirt from a mile away. “You’re planting seeds!” my daughter exclaimed excitedly, joining us. “I’ll get the heat mats!” chimed in my eldest as he dashed off to find them. It’s mid-March and the excitement for spring and gardening is palpable. For the last five years, starting seeds indoors has been an important tradition for our family. Every year my children keep careful watch over the seeds we plant. They treasure each new sprout and carefully water the small seedlings until they grow large enough to be planted outside.

Growing plants is a wondrous and magical thing and should be part of every child’s upbringing, regardless of where they live.  These days gardens are sprouting up everywhere: rooftops, balconies, community plots, urban settings, schools, tiny apartment and sub-urban neighbourhood. If you’ve ever wondered whether gardening was worth the time and effort for you and your child then look no further! Below I share the top sevens reasons why kids should garden.

7 Reasons Why Your Child Should Garden

1. Gardening Gets Kids Dirty.

Planting seeds, digging in soil and pulling out weeds gets little hands covered in dirt, and dirt is good for kids! Dirt is full of wonderful microbes that build up children’s immune systems and reduce chronic conditions like asthma, allergies, diabetes and obesity.

For more about the benefits of letting your kids get dirty read: Let Your Kids Get Dirty!

2. Gardening Gets Kids Outside.

Does your child balk at the idea of going outside because there “nothing to do”? Planting a garden is a great way to entice your child outdoors every day. Children are naturally curious and like to check on the progress of plants and there’s nothing more satisfying than plucking off the first tender sweet snap pea. Getting kids outside also helps children stay active, reduce stress and get smarter!

3. Gardening Encourages Healthy Eating.

Even the pickiest of children are willing to try eating the fruits and vegetables they grow (I have one such child). Gardening with kids is a wonderful opportunity to talk about healthy eating and what that looks like. In fact, what you’ll find is that kids will help themselves to all sorts of things right from the garden like peas, carrots, strawberries and tomatoes. For an extra “WOW!” factor, try growing vegetables that are less easily found in a grocery store like purple carrots, orange tomatoes, stripped beets and yellow water melons.

4. Gardening Develops Muscles and Coordination.

Gardening is good for building muscles, fine motor skills and coordination. Digging dirt is hard work, so is pushing a wheelbarrow, pulling weeds and mounding potatoes. Kids learn fine more skills when plantings seeds, plucking off slugs from lettuce or picking fruits and veggies.

5. Gardening Teaches Kids Important Life Lessons.

Gardening teaches children lots of important things. First, there’s the important lesson of how to grow food, a skill that every person on our planet should know. Then there’s the science behind gardening (How do seeds sprout? What do plants need to grow?). Finally, there are many important life lessons learned along the way: responsibility of caring for plants,  patience while watching plants grow and the self-confidence that comes with growing something on your own.

6. Gardening Builds Community.

Whether it’s a school garden, community garden, or family garden, gardening helps children learn how to work with others. It also provides the time and space for children to bond and connect with their parents, teachers and peers.

7. Gardening Connects Kids to Nature.

Spending time growing a garden helps children develop an upstanding about nature, how beautiful it is and how they have an important role in taking care of it. It’s an wonderful way to teach children that they are never too young to make a difference in the world.

Books About Gardening for Kids

  • A Seed Is Sleepy by Dianna Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long
  • Berries, Nuts, And Seeds by Diane Burns
  • Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth by Mary McKenna Siddals and Ashley Wolff
  • Gardening Lab for Kids: 52 Fun Experiments to Learn, Grow, Harvest, Make, Play, and Enjoy Your Garden by Renata Fossen Brown
  • Gardening Projects for Kids by Jenny Hendy
  • I Can Grow a Flower by DK
  • Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
  • Oh Say Can You Seed?: All About Flowering Plants by Bonnie Worth and Aristides Ruiz
  • Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson
  • Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
  • Square Foot Gardening with Kids by Mel Bartholomew
  • The Book of Gardening Projects for Kids: 101 Ways to Get Kids Outside, Dirty, and Having Fun by Whitney Cohen and John Fisher
  • The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
  • The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
  • The Little Gardener by Jan Gerardi
  • The Little Gardener by Emily Hughes 
  • The Reason for a Flower: A Book About Flowers, Pollen, and Seeds (Explore!) by Ruth Heller
  • Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner and Christopher Silas Neal
  • We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines and Julianna Swaney
  • Yucky Worms by Vivian French

More Resources

Fact Sheet Summarizes Benefits of Gardening for Children

Benefits of Gardening for Childen (Facts Sheet)

Disclaimer: This page contains Amazon Affiliates links and I may earn a small commission from your purchases made through them. 

How Gardening Benefits Kids: 7 Reasons Why Your Child Should Garden was last modified: February 29th, 2020 by Josée
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1 comment

Mary McKenna Siddals March 27, 2018 at 5:24 pm

What a terrific post on the importance of gardening with kids! I’m delighted to discover my COMPOST STEW among the books you’ve suggested, and thank you so much for including it, Josée.

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