One of my favorite things during the Spring season is watching my husband and daughter start our garden.  They start the seeds in small peat pots in our kitchen and nurture them until the sprouts are big enough to move outside to the back porch.  We all take turns bringing the baby plants out into the sunshine for a few hours and then back in to stay warm overnight.  Once they are big enough, Tim and the girls plant the little plants in our garden.

The impact of gardening has often been studied and written about before.  I’m sure you’ve heard that the more active your children are in growing and/or preparing their food, the more likely they will be to eat it, or at least taste it.  While this has not exactly been the case in my family, the girls certainly enjoy the process of growing and picking tomatoes for dad or zucchini for the neighbors.

There are also health benefits to being outdoors and to doing meaningful activities with your hands.  In fact, there have been studies that show the more outdoor experiences a child has, the more positive his attitude tends to be.  Many adults I have talked to, use gardening to relax and reduce stress which can help grow a positive attitude, or at least squash a negative one.

A garden does not need to be huge.  In fact, if you don’t have an area in a yard to use, you can grow a small container garden.  Even just experimenting and trying a few things with your children can be fun and help grow the connection between you and your child.  We have planted apple and orange seeds from our snacks and the excitement and joy of watching them sprout was awesome.  Parsley is an easy plant to grow in a small cup in your kitchen.  We have also taken empty egg shells and grown hair for our “Egg Heads” (thanks mom for that fun idea while I was growing up!).

To grow your own “Egg Heads,” next time you use eggs, carefully crack your eggshells so that you save at least 2/3 of the shell intact.  Wash them well and let them dry.  Draw a face near the top of the cracked shell.  You can even glue on some googly eyes.  Fill the shell about 2/3 full of dirt and then put some grass (or parsely) seeds in the dirt.  Water it as needed and watch the hair grow.  My girls enjoyed giving our Egg Heads an occasional haircut .

Whatever type of garden or kitchen experiment you try, allow your kids to explore, experiment and get dirty.  You can always hose them off or throw them in the bath tub!

I would love to hear what is growing in your garden!  Comment below or send me an email at DrRenee@HelpingParentsParent.com and I’ll respond personally!

Here’s a website I recently found: KidsGardening.org .  It is full of fun ideas and lots of information about gardening.