How to Get Young Children Interested in Houseplants
Want to help your kids fall more in love with all that Mother Nature offers? Maybe you spent all summer outside or you’re planning plenty of leaf-peeping walks for fall. Whatever it is, we recommend trying to bring that outdoor love inside.
What do we mean? There are plenty of stellar ways to keep up that love of nature indoors. From nature documentaries to composting to our very favorite—houseplant care! Today, we’re delving into how to get young children interested in houseplants. Learn more here!
Start Them Young
The truth is, you don’t have to wait until they’re in middle school to embrace the houseplant life. Here are a few tips for how to integrate plants into your kids’ lives!
Babies & Toddlers
Little children love to touch. Help grow their sensory development and their interest in plants simply by letting them touch and play. Gently remind them not to bite, pull, or rip. But once they’ve gotten the hang of that, the calm that comes with touching plants or blowing on their leaves will be quite captivating.
K-5
These are the best ages to have the kids help you water the plants. Start teaching them what to look for—dry soil, crunchy leaves, too-wet soil, and more. It’ll start showing them the power they can have over how a plant thrives or sputters out.
Middle Schoolers
Alright, now for the kiddos who don’t want to seem too interested in anything. This is a great time to have them take care of their own plants and indoor gardens. Let them pick their own species and see if they can keep it flourishing!
Let Them Choose the Plants
Like we said, one of the great ways to get young children interested in houseplants is by allowing them to pick out their own. Let the young ones choose their own plant variety, and just know that you may have to do some of the work to keep it alive.
Encourage your older kids to pick plants that are a bit tougher. Venus flytraps, for example, are great houseplants for older children since they’ll continue to pique your kids’ interests.
“Experiment” With Them
This is one of our favorite tips—keep experimenting with plants. Not only will it spark your kids’ excitement once science classes roll around, but it’ll help them see just how incredible nature is.
One way you can experiment is with the use of indoor plant fertilizer. Try one plant with the fertilizer and one without, keeping all other variables the same, and see what happens with the plants. Again, the idea is to showcase just how powerful nature can be with a simple helping hand from us!
Make Plants a Part of Their Routine
Our last tip? Make sure that you weave plant care into their daily routines. Whether it’s morning watering before the school bus or pruning once they get back from school, the more you make it a routine, the easier it’ll be to stick with as they grow.
Hopefully, these tips help your young ones become more interested in houseplants and Mother Nature’s power!
