Both our babies were born in the summer. Introducing them to the garden was one of the first things we did when they got home from the hospital. My youngest was just learning to crawl this summer and was majorly motivated to move independently by getting berries from the Serviceberry tree in early June. Yes, gardening with a toddler is difficult. But yes, it’s one of the most beautiful things I have done as a parent so far. Want to get your kiddo involved? Here are a few tips.
Toddlers Love Garden Snacks
Kids are food motivated. The easiest way to get a toddler involved in gardening without having them constantly underfoot is to give them a container and tell them to pick berries. We have strawberries, raspberries and Service berries and the littles have loved every kind so far. Planting different kinds, especially a few everbearing varieties, ensures that there’s something to forage throughout the growing season. Just one more disclosure: the container is for show. None of those berries are going to make it inside.
Give Toddlers Their Own Garden Tools
My sister gifted my eldest a wheelbarrow for his third birthday. His Grandma got him a real metal shovel for his fourth. He uses both to do real work around the yard. This weekend he helped us shovel compost. This spring, he spent a half and hour or so everyday after daycare shoveling mulch. No, we don’t ask him to do these things, he asks us. He gets us outside, digging, weeding and moving dirt. His tools are some of his prize possessions. Now, that could be his personality but I think that having real tools has given him the confidence to do real tasks.
Become a Task Master
Come up with a few simple gardening tasks that your toddler can handle. Here are a few examples that I’ve told my kids to do.
- Watering: When I’m watering, I make sure to have a small watering can with me. As soon as my youngest was walking this fall, he was taking that can from me and watering the tomatoes while I filled up the five gallon buckets from the rain barrels and made trips to my native garden in the front yard.
- Transporting Compost: Weeding? Have your toddler transport the weeds to your compost pile (Or a paper bag). They need a easy-to-spot designated area to dump the weeds to give them a feeling of achievement.
- Raking: Raking what? Doesn’t matter. Cut grass. Leaves. Whatever you’re ok with them raking. Kids just want to rake.
- Sowing Seeds: I’m in an autumnal state of mind but let’s not forget about spring gardening tasks that toddlers love. Sowing seeds in the ground is the perfect toddler task. They can either poke the hole while you tuck the seed in or you can poke the hole and they can sprinkle seeds. Whatever works. It doesn’t have to be perfect!
- Scattering mulch: My kids love to scatter mulch or straw. It’s messy. It’s chaotic. It has to be done. Win-win, baby!
- Planning: Let them pick out a plant or two at the nursery. Ask them where you should plant the a row of sunflowers. Give them a little power so they feel like they own the space. My son picked out lemon grass. It’s not something I would have chosen but it’s still thriving in November He’s been so proud of it all summer long.
Take a Time Out
Gardening isn’t for the sleepy. Is your toddler having mini-tantrums over spilling their watering can? Do you feel like having a tantrum over your toddler trampling over your no-till garden bed? Take a break. Make some lunch. Read a book. Here’s a secret. You’re not going to get it all done today because, in reality, the garden work will never be done. We’re all Sisyphus, moving dirt around, encouraging things to grow until they die and then we do it all over again. So, if you feel yourself coming to the end of your rope, put yourself on time out. Go inside, wash your hands, and have a snack. You can always come back to it.
You Can do it, Toddler Parents. Happy Gardening!
You don’t actually need much to start gardening with toddlers. Have them help you pat the dirt in around a plant in your patio container. Let them water the plants on your balcony or around your walkway. Talk to them about the different trees you see in your neighborhood. It all counts towards raising kids who are interested in all things green and growing.
I have always thought that no one is too young or too old to enjoy some time in the garden. I hope you enjoyed my guide to gardening with toddlers. Have you spent some time in the garden with kids? While my five-year-old is gung-ho about shoveling dirt and moving mulch, I’m anxious to raise kids that stay interested in our garden as they get older. Got any tips? Share them in a comment below.
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