Sick of spending time inside" For an excuse to get outdoors, Becky Dickinson explains how to get your children interested in gardening
With many of us now practising social distancing or self-isolating, it seems a shame to let the bright spring weather go to waste while we’re all sat indoors. If you have access to a private outside space, gardening with your children comes with many benefits ? from embracing nature to aiding our physical and mental health ? and guarantees plenty of fresh air, too.
It also provides a wonderful learning environment in which children can do something productive while having fun and getting their hands dirty. What?s more, it sows the seeds for a healthy hobby for life.
Yet according to the Natural Childhood report, published by the RSPB, only one in five children have a ?connection to nature? and time spent playing outdoors has halved in just one generation. This has worrying implications not just for physical and mental health, but also for the environment. We need to raise a generation of children who care enough about plants and wildlife to want to nurture the planet as they grow up.
In London and across the UK we are spoilt for green spaces and local parks. However, one of the best places to help children connect with nature is in your own back garden ? or even a balcony, or windowsill if you don?t have a garden.
Here are three ways you can get children interested in gardening, while making a positive impact on the environmen...