Children Garden Tools

If you have children and also love to garden, having children garden tools on hand is a great way to get your kids in on the fun!

I know I sometimes get caught up in the idea of interacting with kids by playing their games, but we should certainly involve them in our fun too. Gardening provides children with wonderful hands-on learning experience, teaching them about:

1. how plants grow from seed
2. how vegetables and fruit are produced
3. which plants return every year and which plants only grow for a season
4. which plants need sun and which plants do better in shade
5. how to prepare the soil to encourage healthy plant growth
6. and how to love the environment from an early age!

The great thing about kids is that everything is new to them, and everything can be exciting depending on how it’s presented.

My 2 year old niece has seen me wash the dishes, wipe off the fridge and a couch cushion after a spill. She loves to be part of the action, and is so excited to wring out the rag and do a little “wiping” herself! (Don’t even get me started on the rip-roarin’ good time she had helping me clean the bathtub one day!)

If my 2 year old niece can get a kick out of cleaning, I’m sure that for most children, gardening can be a fun activity.

My advice (as a non-parent, I feel obligated to offer parenting advice at any given opportunity...after all, I know how much parents love taking parenting advice from someone who doesn’t have children...it’s probably the same way I feel about non-dog owners giving me advice about my pooch...but it’s still not going to stop me) my advice is to consider giving the child in your life an area in the garden that belongs only to them...a childrens garden. They get to choose the plants, they get to work the soil, they get to do pretty much what they want to do in that area. They get to have complete ownership of the childrens garden....and to help them take ownership of their space, they'll need their very own children garden tools!

Guys, you have your rugged power tools (hey, I’m not being sexist here...I have my own rugged power tools, and I take lots of pride in them...PRIDE!...but I have to admit I feel as though I’m embracing my masculine side when I use them, so I use the term “guys” cuz you gals can be “guys” too!), gardeners have their gardening tools, landscapers have their landscaping tools...the point is, your children should have their very own children garden tools. I would recommend purchasing children garden tools that are designed for the age of your child to ensure their safety as with any other toy.

HearthSong carries a variety of great childrens toys. The Childs Gardening Special includes a wheelbarrow, and tool set with a leaf rake, garden rake, shovel and hoe.

Oh, and personally, I would recommend getting a different set of children garden tools for each child in your home who wants to try their hand at gardening. Just because they may be siblings, does not mean they want to share their tools! We're all possessive about our tools aren’t we? Let’s face it, do you want your partner touching your tools? I don’t even want my partner LOOKING at my tools much less touching them (sorry Babe!)

I would suggest the following children garden tools to start off with:

Gloves
Shovel
Leaf Rake
Wheelbarrow
Watering Can
Hand Tools

and for older children who show more interest I would add:

Hoe
Garden Rake

Enjoy gardening with your child!