Garden Detective: Getting kids involved

Getting kids out into the garden can do more good for them than you might think. The simple act of planting a seed sparks imagination -- what will my plant look like? How big will it get? It stimulates anticipation and teaches patience, something this generation of children doesn't experience much with instant gratification everywhere they turn.

Today's technology-filled lifestyles mean we don't have to wait as long for anything. When I was a kid, there were only a couple of cartoons on TV after school and on Saturday mornings. Today, children's programs are available around the clock. If kids are curious about something, they don't have to open an encyclopedia or wait until Saturday to go to the library; Google will answer any question in just a few seconds.

Access to all this information is wonderfully educational, but it also can wreak havoc on our patience and concentration thresholds. I know it has affected mine.

Gardening is a great way to help children slow down and reconnect with nature -- as well as with imagination and patience. Waiting for a seed to sprout or an apple to grow or a tomato to ripen can teach valuable lessons in the discipline of waiting. Children who get involved in gardening also gain a sense of pride and satisfaction.

Forcing them to weed the vegetable patch might not be the best way to start, however. Instead, help them associate the garden with fun, not work. Encourage them to look for insects hiding under leaves, send them out to measure the growth of squash, which can change alarmingly from day to day, and let them harvest the vegetables when they're ripe. Let them pick your flowers and set them in a vase in a highly visible spot.

And then you can send them out weeding.

As far as exercise goes, gardening is nothing to scoff at. At least a few times each season when I come in from the yard, my back, arms and legs are sore the next day. That's a sign I'm getting exercise, using muscles that don't get a workout while I'm sitting at my desk writing for eight hours a day.

Aside from gym class a few times a week, many kids today are a pretty sedentary bunch. When my children were small, it was hard to lure them away from the TV and video games to go bike riding, but bringing them into the backyard for 20 minutes was easier. In fact, both my daughters tasted their first tomatoes after plucking them right off the vine in the garden. Those were good tomatoes, but more importantly, they made for good memories, and today both of my daughters look forward to our annual tomato crop. Hopefully, they will grow their own one day.

Getting outdoors in the sunshine and getting messy in the dirt is good for the brain, the body and the soul, no matter what your age. And if you involve children in the garden when they're small, you'll likely nurture a lifelong love of nature and gardening, and hopefully help instill some peace in their busy worlds.