Spending time outdoors is a great way to enhance our children’s mental and physical health. Being out in a more natural environment also has the effect of reducing stress and boosting our sense of self-esteem too. As parents, we worry that our children are spending too much time indoors playing computer games and not enough time out in nature, developing more healthy habits. This may make us look for ways to encourage our children out into the garden and enjoy other activities.
Pocket Money
Okay, so this may seem a little bit more like a bribe, but why don’t you find outdoor activities that you can pay them for. Depending on the age of the child will clearly determine what they can do. But older children should have no problem raking leaves, weeding, or mowing the lawn, for example. Whereas younger children should be able to water plants with no issues.
Vegetables
Planting vegetables is a great way to encourage the kids outside. This may be a particularly useful strategy for younger children. You can teach them about planting seeds, and you can all dig up the potatoes of carrots together. You can also show them how they go from the ground to the plate. If you do not have much garden space, you can plant a vertical garden and make use of all the walls and fences.
Build a Secret Garden
If you have the space, why not create divides and create secret space covered with plants and flowers. You can use free-standing trellis, pagodas, and stepped raised flower beds. Having lots of little nooks and crannies will add to teh garden allure and make it seem more magical and exciting. It is a great place to play hide and seek too. You even use tree trimming services to help create this effect by trimming in line with paths or in line with the trellises.
Bug Watch
It may be an idea to buy a book that teaches about insects that may be in the garden. Young children are generally fascinated by bugs and insects, so why not take advantage of this. Why not lift rocks and see what’s beneath and see who can identify each insect. It may even be worth you while installing a mini pond, and leaving it fish-free, and seeing what wildlife is attracted to it. You’ll likely get newt and tadpoles, among other things.
Embrace Art
There are plenty of ways you can get creative in the garden. It doesn’t always have to be focused on the plants. You could pick up some rocks and get busy painting them, or you could set up some bird feeders. Another idea is to create a scarecrow to protect your vegetable patch. You could even get teh kids involved in painting walls or the garden shed. Think about using decals and stencils to make it a bit more fun. Also, older kids may be interested in creating garden sculptures out of old pieces of metal. There are so many ways you can get creative in teh garden. Just do a little investigation to see what appeals to you.