Maybe you love tending to your yard. Maybe you hate it. Either
way, landscaping and gardening are more fun when you add kids to the
mix. Sure, your kids enjoy running around in the back yard, but play
things right and you can also teach them to love gardening and to pitch
in with pleasure on tasks from planting to weeding. Here are a few
hints to help you get the family involved. Teach
your kids to love landscaping and gardening, and you'll not only pass
on a great life skills, you'll get some help with the chores! Here's
how to make yard work fun for everyone.
Create a Sense of Ownership
When I was a kid my dad wanted
me to help weed our backyard garden. I pitched fits and probably weeded
once a year. Now I can't get enough gardening. What's the deal? There's
more to it than maturity. Way back when, my dad came up with a
landscape design, chose all the plants, and put them in place. It was
his garden. If you want your kids to understand the joys of gardening,
let them help with design, choose the plants, and put them in place.
Then it's their garden. No one wants to see their own garden fail. Just
watch how they start pitching in.
Give Age Appropriate Tasks
Some gardening and landscaping jobs
are best left to older children. Younger kids may get a kick out of
raking for about two minutes, but they just don't have the stamina to
really help. Some jobs, like lawn mowing, just aren't safe. Keep your
expectations reasonable. You're going to have better luck getting your
kids to
water the flowers in the cool of morning than getting them to
move rocks in the heat of day.
Enjoy the Fruits of Your Labor
Rolling around on your lush
green lawn, smelling your flowers, and eating the juicy fruits and
vegetables you've grown are the rewards that come from all your hard
work. Take the time to enjoy what you've created with your kids, and
they'll understand why gardening and landscaping are worth the effort.
Taking a little extra time to get your kids involved in your
landscaping and gardening can benefit both your yard and your
relationships.
Dawn West B.A. holds a B.A. in English from Harvard University and teaches writing at Oregon State University.
