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How
to Involve Kids in the
Necessities of Maintenance
by
Cheryl Dorschner
 Visit
your garden with your children every day to make sure
you don't miss its rewards: opening flowers, the first
pumpkin, fresh strawberries, buzz of honeybees, whir
of hummingbirds.... You and your children will naturally
tend the garden as you inspect plants for discoveries.
Thin a few carrots, explaining that this gives the
other carrots room to grow.
As
you munch on fresh snap peas, surely you can't help
pulling a few weeds around them. If the lettuce is
dry and it looks like a hot day ahead, set up the
watering system, all the while carrying on a conversation
with your little ones about what you're doing. If
you discover the Japanese beetles have emerged to
chomp your scarlet runner beans, you and your youngsters
can plunk them into a jar of soapy water.
The more time you spend together in the garden, the
more your kids will feel like the garden is truly
theirs and the more they'll take care of it. In Eden
this pleasant care would be all that's needed to keep
your garden in balance. It never works that way does
it? Well, it might if your children's garden is a
half-barrel of posies or one square yard in size.
Otherwise, as with the family pets, some chores inevitably
fall to the adults.
Encourage children to do a share of all the garden
chores with you: feeding plants, watering, thinning,
staking, weeding, edging, and pest patrol. But don't
let chores become a battleground. Children get hot
and parched more quickly than you, and time seems
to pass at a different rate.
Be mindful of their limits. If, say, a kindergartner
gardens for an hour in early morning, you can finish
the job while he's off to the neighbor's sandbox for
some excavation. Most importantly though, the gardens
should not become neglected — it only sends the
wrong message.
Likewise, if you see a plant in your children's garden
that is near death's door, see what you can do to
save it without taking over. It is important for a
small child to have a successful first experience.
Some parents intervene just a little; some furtively
replace horticultural calamities to ensure that success.
It depends on the parents and the age of the child.
Another decision you can make is whether to make gardening
a money-making opportunity. Some parents promise,
say, a penny a piece for snipping mom's spent daffodils
or cash for a can of Colorado potato beetles. A little
competition and incentive works, but be careful not
to turn gardening into child labor. You'll get the
work done, but you won't have a child who loves gardening
in the long run.
Everyone loves to harvest. Whether it's picking bouquets
or pumpkins, make it a family event. Teach children
how to identify ripe vegetables and peak posies. After
picking, show them how to take care of the produce.
And together, make fresh delicious meals. Together,
donate abundance to people who need it.
As the season turns, it's time for lessons about frost
and closing the garden. Tidy up the plot, turn and
amend the soil, put away the pots, and clean and store
the tools for the winter.
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© 2009
National Gardening Association