In most households, family bonding time revolves around watching movies together, playing games, etc. Very few people have embraced the idea of gardening with their families, and this is maybe because most of us don’t know how beneficial this could be to our families. Most of the time when we are on other outdoor activities, we are hardly doing anything REALLY together because most of the times like when playing, parents will be on the sidelines while the kids are playing. This applies to movie times where one could be on their mobile devices, and they are still watching so the bonding tends to be weaker at some points.
However, gardening is a total game changer! First off, whatever type of gardening you choose, you get to start something that keeps you connected for quite some time. For example, once you plant flowers or whatever seeds/seedlings, you will find your selves having something in common to check on to water and have a common desire to see them mature thus a shared responsibility.
And, you don’t need to have all the space to have a family garden. You can plant a few plants in containers or pots and put them on your balcony or around your house. This kind of gardening is not produce oriented, rather, more of creating sweet memories with your family. Gardening brings out the difference between passive and interactive activities.
Remember, our young ones are especially inquisitive, and they notice every little detail. You will be surprised by how surprised they will be even by the smallest of gardening details and it is through such moments that they get to learn more about nature, through you. It is one thing to sit in a science or math’s class and read a book or listen to a teacher, and an entirely different thing to interact with nature one on one.
Gardening Benefits for Families
You teach your family how to plan
Don’t just wake up and tell your family that this is what we are going to plant here and there. Rather, involve them from the first step and let them give their suggestions as well. Ask them what they would like to plant and if their ideas are not practical or not ideal for your environment, give them a different opinion and explain why theirs is not doable. Again, make a trip to the store together and let them choose their gardening equipment as this will make them sink deeper into the project.
They become more responsible with time
Once you are done with planting, let them know all that’s needed for the plants to stay alive and keep growing and see to it that they keep doing it. Let them water and weed when necessary and even re-position the pots if need be. The best part of gardening is that you get to see the progress of whatever you planted on a daily basis.
You can help your kids realize new interests
The type of gardening that you will be doing with your family might not be anything close to perfect, but you might just help one of them realize their new interest. Kids especially learn every day, and it is our responsibility to provide them all the possible learning environments and for most gardening will be a great platform. And, the good thing with practical activities is that the memory never goes away even if we drop the interest along the way.
You impact more knowledge through actual gardening than you would through books
Let the child touch the soil, feel the plant and smell the flowers then wait for the questions. You might not be an expert in any of it, but your child will definitely learn something from the little you know. And, we remember more from what we see compared to what we read so this could be a real boost to your child.
Gardening forester patience
Think about what technology is doing to us; you want a quick pizza, call for delivery. Forgot some spelling, Google is there at your disposal, etc. We easily get what we want thanks to the developments in technology. However, this changes with gardening. If you want a sweet smelling flower, you plant it today and probably wait for some weeks or months all the while checking to see if anything is coming up. You also don’t stop watering the plant since the flower is taking too long to sprout.
You teach them a valuable life lesson that not everything we do will always turn out as expected
With gardening, things don’t always turn out as expected. You might do all the research and think that you are planting the best seeds only for all or some to die. There is always some little disappointment in this, but it is in such a situation that you remind your kid that this is no different than what happens in real life.
Finally
Gardening is just one of the many ways that your family can spend some time together. If you think it will work for you, go for it. The primary focus is to strengthen that family bond as much as possible because once everyone is grown and living on their own, it’s such memories that we go back to.
