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As a child, I would come home from school, change into old clothes and disappear back outside until time for dinner. If I tried to stay indoors, I was quickly shooed back out-of-doors, unless the weather was really miserable. Like many others of my generation and those that came before, I grew up out-of-doors.
When we lived in the desert, my horse and I would be gone for hours. When we lived by the ocean, I would walk miles from home beachcombing for shells. Here in the Northwest, I would play house in the ravine under low-hanging cedar branches or make bark boats to sail in the creek. This all happened while I was under ten years old.
Sometimes I went with friends, sometimes alone, and yet my parents never worried. If they had concerns, it was about me hurting myself in a fall. It was a different world back then in many respects. Allowing a child that amount of freedom these days would be irresponsible parenting.
Now, with both parents often working, children are enrolled in day care or after-school programs. Many "latchkey" children come home and are warned by their parents not to go outside. Children watch TV, play video games, talk to friends on the phone or on-line, and play with indoor toys. If they are in a supervised program, they may be involved in sports or other recreational activities.
To these children nature and the environment often are viewed as things that exist somewhere else. It's what they see sometimes on an educational channel; it's where some people go on vacation. It doesn't have much to do with their reality. It's wild, scary and dangerous.
What I find scary is that these young people are going to be running things soon. They will be responsible for making decisions that will affect the air I breathe, the water I drink and the food I eat. The fate of forests, wildlife and waterways will be in their hands.
Although most children don't have much time outdoors to explore nature, there is an exception. The children of people who garden are out a lot. They learn about and become comfortable with plants, bugs, wildlife, etc. They see how a seed, nourished by the soil, grows into a big plant, flowers and makes seed, completing the cycle as it is composted back into soil. They usually learn to understand, appreciate, enjoy and value the natural world.
Schools are trying to do environmental education and there are nature learning centers and ecology camps that are working to instill an environmental ethic in children. This is good, but you would be surprised at how much kids pick up just by hanging around an adult who is gardening. If they are encouraged to grow a garden of their own, they learn even more.
The following hints may help you get your child into gardening:
* Grow things that the children can pick. Pansies, sweet peas and dahlias will
just have more flowers, if you keep them picked. They are more kid-friendly
than roses (ouch), gladiolas and bearded iris.
* Plant veggies that kids can graze on. Cherry tomatoes are classics and carrots that can be washed under the faucet and munched on while playing. Introduce them to the joy of raw peas fresh from the pod.
* Grow some small fruit. Strawberries at least, raspberries and blueberries,
if you have room.
* Allow your child to have some space of their own, if they want it. (Make sure
you have prepared the soil well for them.)
* Let them chose what to grow, but guide them away from difficult crops. Little hands do best with larger seed like sunflowers, nasturtiums and calendulas. These flowers grow easily, as do cosmos, California poppies, godetia and cornflowers.
* Ask whether they would like to grow edibles. Most kids want to and its surprising how much more willing they are to eat a vegetable when it comes from their garden. Easy-to-grow edibles include radishes, leaf lettuce, snap beans, potatoes, green onions, peas and summer squash. And let them add a gourmet touch to their salad with petals from calendulas, nasturtiums and pansies.
* Give any guidance they might interpret as criticism in private and give lots of praise in public. And do pile on the praise. Tell the family that Jenny raised the lettuce. Tell Grandma that Andrew grew the bouquet. Express amazement at how big their sunflower is or how well their beans are producing.
Hortsense: Managing plant problems with Integrated Pest Management
