As the health benefits of gardening become more apparent, more schools are starting to incorporate it into their curriculum. Certainly, there is a lot that a garden can offer a young, developing mind. But why is gardening such a healthy habit for your child to take part in?
Keeps them active
Keeping your child active is essential for their overall fitness, and gardening is a great way to ensure that your child stays strong and healthy. Digging, planting, watering, and weeding all involve some form of physical exertion and so will help your child’s cardiovascular health and overall fitness.
Children with sedentary lifestyles are more prone to health issues, such as obesity. Encouraging your child to carry out gardening tasks, therefore, will help to prevent them from becoming overweight and unhealthy.
Helps cognitive and physical development
Research shows that being around nature is beneficial to children’s cognitive development; therefore, it’s a good idea to encourage your child to go out in the fresh air and explore a safe and secure natural environment like the garden. Furthermore, your child will be getting much-needed vitamin D from being out in natural sunlight.
Another health benefit of gardening is that it exposes children to healthy bacteria. Exposure to microbes in soil at a young age can help your child to build a strong immune system and potentially avoid developing allergies or autoimmune disorders in the future.
Develops skills
Teaching your child how to create and maintain a garden can help them to learn new skills that are crucial to their development. Tending to plants and watching them grow takes time so this teaches your child patience, as well as responsibility.
Moreover, getting them to help out around the garden will teach your child about cooperation and teamwork, and could trigger an interest in science and the natural world. Learning about nature in a safe outdoor setting will equip them with an awareness of the environment and an appreciation of the world around them.
Gardening is a creative hobby and so it’s only natural that it would encourage artistic endeavours also. Learning about the anatomy of plants and flowers can inspire your child to draw and paint them. There are painting crafts for kids available that help them explore their creativity while combining their interest in nature.
Your child’s mathematical and fine-motor skills can also be enriched through gardening for instance, from counting seeds, filing plant pots, measuring soil depth and more. Furthermore, your child will be acquiring new knowledge that will further help towards their brain development.
Forms good habits
Gardening can help your child to form good habits early that they will carry on throughout their lives. Examples of welcome habits include keeping active, nurturing a project from start to finish, maintaining a healthy diet, and more. For instance, encouraging your child to pick home-grown fruit and vegetables and helping them to prepare the produce for use in family meals or school lunches is a great way to promote healthy eating. You can also use this technique to ensure that your child gets their five-a-day, which is vital for their growth and development.
Gardening is a healthy habit for children as it teaches them new skills, promotes their physical health, and gets them to form positive habits. Encouraging your child to learn gardening is a great way to enrich their development.
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