[traceyr]

I just felt I should put a little note on about kids being involved.

We have a 3 yr old who adores my plot - she runs into to check the strawberries (all gone - in her tum!  :cry: ), say hello to the courgettes and to pick the cherry toms.

Why can't we keep them this enthusiastic for ever!!!  Trying to get my 14yr old down there now is like trying to strike oil!!

Any tips on how to keep her going??

[SalJ1980]

Help her to plant some of her own seeds so she watch them grow and take care of them herself...cherry tomatoes and peas maybe? And how about sunflowers - she'll love watching them get taller than she is!

[traceyr]

That won't be difficult (the sunflowers I mean!) - she might have been a bruiser when born (10lb 11oz!) but she's so petite now!

[SalJ1980]

OUCH!  :shock:

[traceyr]

I know!!!!!!!!!!!!

My husband felt no pain though so therefore there was none!  Bless his ignorance!

[crowndale]

thought mine were big at 9 and 91/2!  obviously not that big!  but again both small now as adults.  strange.  ben was big til he was 13 then stopped growing and daughter was also tall for her age til she hit puberty at 11 and is now short at 5'2".  they both blame me for it, short genes!  neither of them like the lottie either though I do take foster bubs down and she is getitng used to it but is only 6 months old so a bit small to be digging yet!

[matron]

I agree with SalJ1980 - give her a little plot of her own that she can tend. Having recently read Terry Waltons 'Life on the Allotment' and just started Diggers Diary both these people started on an allotment with their relatives and then took on their own.
(5lb8oz and 7lb8oz for mine - now 5ft 8 and 5ft 11   )

[traceyr]

Are they ever too young???  

Boo (Katie) loves just sitting in a freshly dug patch and digging holes with own tiny tools!!!  The muckier she gets the happier she is!

The saying 'a mucky kid is a happy kid' is sooooo true in my opinion.  When my hubbie became a childminder OFSTED said NNNNOOOOOOOOO to soils and dirty stuff - no wonder kids can be so sickly today!

[GreenOwl]

I wish I knew how to keep them interested.

I wasn't allowed to plant my runner beans because my 3-year-old HAD to do it yet my 8-year-old has no interest at all, despite being given the sunniest end of my veg plot to grow stuff herself.  Thinking of giving the patch to the 3-year-old!

Mind you they'll both raid the raspberries, peas, strawberries etc.  

[blue_cortina]

I wish I knew how to keep them interested.

I don't know but I find that not trying too often helps and it helps when you yourself get exicited about it. What kid could resist running up the garden if you shouted down the garden - our first tomato has gone red and then jumping up and down like a mad thing!

Definately give them something that is theirs - mine are growing potatos in buckets - one bucket each with their name one... they are rightly proud of them - Of course I have to do most of the watering ;-) but they'll help by doing most of the eating so it's only fair.

Last year they grew their own carrots and pulled them washed them and eat them raw  in the garden - never got as far as the kitchen :-)

[Mrs SpudtheBinx]

We gave our three boys a small plot each and let them choose what they wanted in them, we also gave them each a pumpkin plant so they could grow their own for hallowe'en    They love eating their own produce and comparing their pumpkins  

[jimroden]

I have to agree with the wife - Katie loves the garden.  It really tugged at the heartstrings to see her in the greenhouse the other day!

She usually comes home dirtier than any veg that gets home!

[gobs]

Apart from all the tips, everybody has a weakness, there must be some aspect she is interested in, only you can find out, other than that, there is little you can do, as on the face of it, not everybody likes to garden.

My little girl is one of those, she even hates picking stuff, whatever that be, unless it's for her personal consumption on the spot, of course.

But: loves building stuctures, polies, cloches, frames. 'Constructing traps' for the foxes and pigeons she has been for years and I let her... :roll:

As long as she is happy to be there...

Does yours like cooking, shopping, design...? You might find a way to get her involved, it does not need to be weeding!

Good luck.

[WoodyK]

my 3 year old loves eating carrots so i took her to the garden centre and let her choose some carrot seeds. we took them home and i let her plant them. now she runs out everyday to check her carrots. She also likes to help mummy check the tomatoes, courgettes and cucumbers.

She also loves to help me with the chickens.

No idea whether this will continue when she gets older but just letting her do what she wants at the moment and see what happens

[chickchick]

my 3 kids love growing stuff and now they want to sell it outside the house! they are nearly 3, 8 and 11, and they all have a little space to grow veggies of their own! son whos 11 is the most keen, hes always weeding his plot and yesterday harvested his cress and lettuce for his egg sarnie!! (from his chicken of course!!)