Kiddies Box

Description

Gardening Can Improve a Child’s Fitness and Well-Being

Researchers in South Korea have found that children can reap a wide range of benefits from the high-to-moderate physical activity of digging, raking, and weeding.

Having children involved in growing vegetables improves fitness, increases the odds of eating healthier foods, rewards planting something, and gives young people a sense of self-reliance.

The findings were published in the journal Hort Technology on January 31, 2014, in a study titled “The Metabolic Costs of Gardening Tasks in Children.” Researchers hope the data will form the development of garden-based programs that help engage children in physical activity and promote healthy lifestyles.

The Kiddies Box

What better way to get your kids into gardening and growing stuff? For them, watching what they’ve planted and looked after is an adventure – sweet strawberries, fast-growing radishes, endless supplies of lettuce, or tall sunflowers. Whatever they nurture will also grow their sense of responsibility, making the little people proud and happy to contribute something to the family’s dinner table.
Apart from all else, it’s a perfect parent/child activity

The planter rests on two castors so an adult can move it around, but not necessarily the youngster.
The planter has gardening tools (metal with wooden handles) in a placeholder and a watering can.

It’s a Useful Gift
One of the best things you can do for a child is to help them discover nature; a garden is the ideal learning ground for children of all ages. Their experience can develop into a life-long, healthy appreciation of gardening.

Children are Natural Gardeners
They’re curious, like to learn by doing, and love playing in the dirt.
Working in a garden, a child can experience the satisfaction of caring for something over time while observing the life cycle firsthand.
Gardening allows children to learn a valuable life skill, often overlooked in a standard school curriculum. Gardening is also a great way to teach environmental awareness by exploring the workings of nature.