Welcome back to Mustard Seed Botanicals. Author Dianne Venetta is here today sharing about ways to get children involved in healthy eating habits by contributing to the family garden.
Get kids healthy by encouraging them to contribute to the family garden
By, Dianne Venetta
Kids love to be of help. No, really—they do! And if we grown-ups can just guide them (or corral them) in the right direction, why, in no time everyone will be full-fledged contributors to the backyard home garden.
Half the battle is to understand how a child thinks. If we can draw our plans in line with their minds, we’re good to go. But what motivates a kid to garden?
The power of possession. As any parent knows, many times the first word out of a young child’s mouth is “mine!” No surprise, there. Like adults, children have a natural desire to control the environment around them. While often this is an impulse that needs curbed, it should be absolutely encouraged when it comes to the garden.
“Here sweetheart, this section of the garden is all yours. You get to grow what you like to eat.”
And you can take care of it all by yourself. But you save this little tidbit of information for later. You don’t want to ruin their excitement with a list of things they’ll need to do, do you?
Of course not. That should be introduced in bits and pieces.
“Time to feed your plants.” The child sprinkles worm poop throughout their garden.
“Now they’re thirsty.” Hand them the colorful water can and watch them drench their babies but good.
“Oh no, grab that weed before it takes over your baby plant’s growing space!” In no time flat, they’ll yank that stray green out before your very eyes.
Impressive. But then again, kids enjoy being productive—when it’s something they care about. So nurture this instinct and watch them grow and blossom right along with their very own vegetable garden. Or herbs. It doesn’t matters what they grow, only that they do. And once they become authorities on the subject, stand back—they’ll even help you with yours!
And don’t worry about harvest. That’s an easy sell. Swimming for potatoes is tons of fun, kinda like digging for buried treasure. Twisting cobs is simple, and if you promise kids they can keep the husks for weaving baskets, tying knots or crafting corn husk dolls, they’ll be totally in! Talk about fun, kids will even trade the business of shucking beans for the prize of a bowl-full of dried beans—they’re the secret ingredients for making maracas and rain sticks.
Once in the kitchen, kids can be of big help, too. Peeling carrots is a job my son loves to perform. Likes to prove he’s a “can do” sort of kid, if you know what I mean. And my daughter is amazing when it comes to slicing tomatoes and squash for blanching—perfect for that healthy weeknight dinner. Better yet, make a breakfast smoothie using their garden favorites.
Vegetables never tasted so good to a child as the ones they grew themselves. It’s a fact—and the perfect beginning to a healthy lifestyle. Healthy living, one fruit/veggie at a time!
Dianne, thank you for sharing such great ideas on how to get children to live healthier lives, by understanding where "real" food actually comes from and to become more active in the family garden.
Get kids healthy by encouraging them to contribute to the family garden
By, Dianne Venetta
Kids love to be of help. No, really—they do! And if we grown-ups can just guide them (or corral them) in the right direction, why, in no time everyone will be full-fledged contributors to the backyard home garden.
Half the battle is to understand how a child thinks. If we can draw our plans in line with their minds, we’re good to go. But what motivates a kid to garden?
The power of possession. As any parent knows, many times the first word out of a young child’s mouth is “mine!” No surprise, there. Like adults, children have a natural desire to control the environment around them. While often this is an impulse that needs curbed, it should be absolutely encouraged when it comes to the garden.
“Here sweetheart, this section of the garden is all yours. You get to grow what you like to eat.”
And you can take care of it all by yourself. But you save this little tidbit of information for later. You don’t want to ruin their excitement with a list of things they’ll need to do, do you?
Of course not. That should be introduced in bits and pieces.
“Time to feed your plants.” The child sprinkles worm poop throughout their garden.
“Now they’re thirsty.” Hand them the colorful water can and watch them drench their babies but good.
“Oh no, grab that weed before it takes over your baby plant’s growing space!” In no time flat, they’ll yank that stray green out before your very eyes.
Impressive. But then again, kids enjoy being productive—when it’s something they care about. So nurture this instinct and watch them grow and blossom right along with their very own vegetable garden. Or herbs. It doesn’t matters what they grow, only that they do. And once they become authorities on the subject, stand back—they’ll even help you with yours!
And don’t worry about harvest. That’s an easy sell. Swimming for potatoes is tons of fun, kinda like digging for buried treasure. Twisting cobs is simple, and if you promise kids they can keep the husks for weaving baskets, tying knots or crafting corn husk dolls, they’ll be totally in! Talk about fun, kids will even trade the business of shucking beans for the prize of a bowl-full of dried beans—they’re the secret ingredients for making maracas and rain sticks.
Once in the kitchen, kids can be of big help, too. Peeling carrots is a job my son loves to perform. Likes to prove he’s a “can do” sort of kid, if you know what I mean. And my daughter is amazing when it comes to slicing tomatoes and squash for blanching—perfect for that healthy weeknight dinner. Better yet, make a breakfast smoothie using their garden favorites.
Vegetables never tasted so good to a child as the ones they grew themselves. It’s a fact—and the perfect beginning to a healthy lifestyle. Healthy living, one fruit/veggie at a time!
Dianne, thank you for sharing such great ideas on how to get children to live healthier lives, by understanding where "real" food actually comes from and to become more active in the family garden.
Let's meet Dianne Venetta.
D.S. Venetta lives in Central Florida with her husband and two children and part-time Yellow Lab—Cody-body! When not whacking away at her keyboard crafting her next novel or spending time with her kids, you'll find her in her organic garden chasing grasshoppers and plucking hornworms. When she's not knee-deep in dirt or her imagination, D.S. Venetta contributes gardening advice for various websites and schools. It’s a busy life to be sure, but at the end of the day, if she can inspire someone to stop and smell the roses (or rosemary!) and be kind to Mother Earth then she's done all right.
Visit her website: Dianne Venetta to learn more about Dianne and her books. Dianne's book, All About You is a mystery/romance.
Ambushed by crisis and betrayal, Katharine Wainwright fights to save the charity ranch her mother founded, only to be stunned by what she learns...
Dianne's book is available at iBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and bookstores everywhere!
You can check out Dianne's garden blog: BloominThyme.
Here is some information about Dianne's book, Show Me The Green!
What’s more fun in the garden than a pile of poop and a curious bee? How about bragging rights, two tickets to the fall festival, and a hundred dollars?
It's the First Annual Garden Contest sponsored by the local farmer's market, and Lexi and Jason Williams are determined to win. In this battle against time and Mother Nature, the kids are sidetracked by everything from caterpillars to worms, seeds to harvest. Who knew there were so many exciting things in a garden? Including poop. Worm poop, mostly. It's one of plant's favorite foods!
Dianne shares what inspired her to write this book.
Volunteering in my children's school garden inspired me to create Show Me the Green! It's a story filled with real life experiences with my young gardeners and will surely inspire a new generation to get out and get digging!
You can visit Dianne’s children's book website.
Dianne, thank you so much for guesting today at Mustard Seed Botanicals. I appreciate all of the information you shared with our readers and learning more about you and your books.
Hope you all can stay for a bit to chat with Dianne. Feel free to post your comments below.
D.S. Venetta lives in Central Florida with her husband and two children and part-time Yellow Lab—Cody-body! When not whacking away at her keyboard crafting her next novel or spending time with her kids, you'll find her in her organic garden chasing grasshoppers and plucking hornworms. When she's not knee-deep in dirt or her imagination, D.S. Venetta contributes gardening advice for various websites and schools. It’s a busy life to be sure, but at the end of the day, if she can inspire someone to stop and smell the roses (or rosemary!) and be kind to Mother Earth then she's done all right.
Visit her website: Dianne Venetta to learn more about Dianne and her books. Dianne's book, All About You is a mystery/romance.
Ambushed by crisis and betrayal, Katharine Wainwright fights to save the charity ranch her mother founded, only to be stunned by what she learns...
Dianne's book is available at iBooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and bookstores everywhere!
You can check out Dianne's garden blog: BloominThyme.
Here is some information about Dianne's book, Show Me The Green!
What’s more fun in the garden than a pile of poop and a curious bee? How about bragging rights, two tickets to the fall festival, and a hundred dollars?
It's the First Annual Garden Contest sponsored by the local farmer's market, and Lexi and Jason Williams are determined to win. In this battle against time and Mother Nature, the kids are sidetracked by everything from caterpillars to worms, seeds to harvest. Who knew there were so many exciting things in a garden? Including poop. Worm poop, mostly. It's one of plant's favorite foods!
Dianne shares what inspired her to write this book.
Volunteering in my children's school garden inspired me to create Show Me the Green! It's a story filled with real life experiences with my young gardeners and will surely inspire a new generation to get out and get digging!
You can visit Dianne’s children's book website.
Dianne, thank you so much for guesting today at Mustard Seed Botanicals. I appreciate all of the information you shared with our readers and learning more about you and your books.
Hope you all can stay for a bit to chat with Dianne. Feel free to post your comments below.