Copy and Paste Parent Tips

Gardens Grow Young Minds

Pictured below-Eagleview Boys and Girls Club Garden, 2008

What better place to stimulate babies’ and toddlers’ senses and cultivate their growing minds than in the garden? Garden writer Alice Formiga remembers her daughter's first days in the garden fondly. "When Emilia was a baby she'd grab the tendrils of vining snap peas, kick with excitement when I'd rub fragrant herbs under her nose, and smile into the faces of kid-sized dwarf sunflowers. I'd name the colors in a patch of bright zinnias, crush sweet alpine strawberries into her mouth, and let her crawl into teepees of pole beans."

Alice also recalls, "It sounds idyllic but that garden had a lot of weeds. Having seen pictures of women around the world perform backbreaking labor with children in tow, I thought it wouldn't be hard to carry a baby while I worked. I soon found out it's awkward to dig with a short fork and a child in a backpack—and impossible to concentrate on anything else when chasing a wayward toddler or keeping her from stuffing rocks into her mouth!"

Thankfully, other gardening parents gave Alice some tips that saved her garden, and her sanity.

Start small: Your young child will enjoy a garden no bigger than a few pots on a sunny porch. A small garden is more manageable for you too and therefore more enjoyable, for both of you.

Grow plants that kids love:To keep toddlers excited and interested, grow plants with playful appeal and multiple uses and flavor or fragrance. For example, it's fun to grow mixed seed packets with two or three different colors of beans or radishes. Kids who are about three years old will want to help you plant seeds; however, be aware that seeds can pose a choking hazard for children under three or so and be sure to supervise closely which is part of the fun. Choose crops with large seeds that are easy for small hands to press into the soil. Since beginning gardeners won't want to wait long until harvest, select plants that grow quickly.

Let your children help:Children enjoy imitating you and like to feel that their "work" is important. Find a space or pots in your garden for them to plant, dig, and rake or play in as soon as they seem ready. Give them extra seedlings or plants, some child-safe tools, and the impression that their area is an important part of your garden. Young children also love to water with a gentle spray wand or watering can; some enjoy weeding or even slug collecting if they are old enough.

Don't expect perfection: Young children learn by doing, and will do the things they find most interesting. Don't expect them to work for long without your direct interaction, expect some damage, and know that they will get muddy and wet. Their urge to help is more important than whether they do things correctly. Over time, their technique will improve and their pleasure and interest will be its own reward.

Keep your garden safe: Whenever your children are with you in the garden, make sure there are no fertilizers, pesticides or manure within reach. Keep any sharp or motorized tools out of their way, and keep a close watch on what they put into their mouths. Even organic products should be kept away from children. Start early to teach young children never to put any plant part in their mouth unless you have said it's OK. Garden buckets or other open containers should not be left out if filled with six inches or more of water because they can be a drowning hazard. Remember to keep a constant eye on young children as their attention span is short and it's all too easy for them to get in an unsafe situation very quickly.