How to Garden With Toddlers

Learning how to garden with toddlers can feel like an uphill battle sometimes. You may even feel like you’re losing your mind. But it doesn’t have to be that difficult with these tips!

Don’t stress over the little stuff.

I am currently pregnant with our fourth child. My oldest will be five this summer. I’ll also have a 3 year old and 2 year old in the garden with me. I am due in August and this means being massively pregnant for the majority of our harvest season. Due to this, I have taken several things into consideration for planting the garden this spring.

One, I will have three little ones that aren’t always going to be happy hanging out in the garden all day. Two, I will be a little more physically limited due to my pregnancy. Because of this, I am taking a more laid back approach to the spring/summer garden.

I am growing more things that preserve themselves or that can be preserved later. For example, winter squash can cure and then be stored for winter. Tomatoes can be picked and immediately frozen for sauce making later on.

I am also reminding myself that the garden doesn’t have to be perfect to be successful. My kids are going to pick things they shouldn’t, dig up plants and there will be days when I won’t get all the work done that I want to. But that is OKAY!

There are so many reasons to get your kids out in the garden that far outweigh any uh ohs that may occur. But here are a few tips for how to garden with toddlers this growing season.

The Garden is a Place for Growing

While the main purpose of my garden is to grow food for my family, it serves to teach as well. My kids are learning how plants grow. They are learning what it is to eat the freshest possible fruits and veggies. But most importantly, I get to teach them about God’s provision and grace while we are in the garden.

Whether it is planting a seed or picking peas, you can teach so many important life skills in the garden. Not only do children learn where their food comes from, but also the hard work it takes to produce it.

The garden is a great place to start conversations about the Creator too. I always make sure to tell my kids that God has given us the garden to grow food. He makes the plants grow for us to eat and he gives us rain and sunshine.

Reminding myself that the garden serves more than one purpose helps me to be more relaxed about seeds being scattered helter skelter or maybe a seedling pulled up that was mistaken for a weed.

Get the Kids Involved

Allowing kids to participate in growing food often leads them to tasting the food that is grown in the garden. My daughter loves fresh green shelling peas straight from the pod. When they are cooked up, that’s another story. But I don’t mind because she gets her fill every time we go to harvest.

It’s also more fun for them if they get to see the fruits of their labor. Letting them sow sunflower seeds willy nilly is exciting because they get to watch them grow and we both take pleasure in that.

Garden Activities to Keep Toddlers Occupied

Still, some days you just need to get things done in the garden. During those times I find things to keep my kiddos occupied. Here are a few ideas.

• Scatter outdoor toys throughout the garden. We have buckets, shovels, a toy lawnmower and even a t-ball set in the garden at all times.
• Give your kiddos a designated spot to dig, “plant”, etc. I have found that this saves me from finding that my youngest has dug up seedlings, or worse, fully grown plants.
• Have a couple of plants that your kids can pick freely from. Last year I had a couple of varieties of spoon tomatoes and sweet peppers that the kids could harvest freely from. Most of the time they picked them and played with the veggies, eating them as snacks along the way.
• If you have chickens, give your kids a pile of garden scraps to feed them. This keeps my kids occupied for awhile. They take the scraps, or even pesky worms to the chicken tractor that is right next to our garden. Watching the chickens attack the scraps is very entertaining.
• If you have planted cut flowers, let them pick some. Or designate an area of flowers just for them. All three of my kiddos love picking the flowers I plant scattered throughout the garden. While most end up with no petals, it does occupy them.
• Let them hunt for bad bugs. July is usually our peak harvest time and by August our garden is over grown and wild. This also means there are more pests. I like to let my kiddos hunt for hornworms and stink bugs and they have a blast doing it. Of course I do have to make sure they aren’t catching beneficial insects too.
• Pack snacks! I will fill up a bag full of snacks and plenty of water for my kiddos to bring out to the garden so that I can avoid the inevitable “I’m hungry” complaints.

Remember to enjoy every minute

There are going to moments where out of sheer frustration you may want to scream, or just give up on the garden altogether. I feel you and I’ve been there. But, take a few deep breaths and remember that it is worth it. You are helping to grow not only little bodies and minds, but hearts as well.

God has blessed me with three beautiful children and an abundance from our homestead. I pray that I am being a good steward with all of them. Enjoy the ride, even on the bad days.

Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things. Philippians 4:8

If you would like to know more about how to get started planning a garden, check out this article here! And let me know in the comments if you have any great ideas for keeping kiddos occupied in the garden.