(HealthDay)—Still having a hard time getting your kids to eat fruits and veggies? Studies show one solution is to grow your own.
Kids get excited as they watch a garden yield fresh foods and are more motivated to eat what they helped grow. It gives kids a good understanding of what it takes to get vegetables to the dinner table and teaches them about healthy food choices. Gardening is also a great way to take a break from all the technology, and get into extra exercise and enjoy being outdoors.
Whether you have a small patio bucket or can allocate square footage in your backyard, start your planning now. It’s important to know which growing zone you are in, so use online resources to determine your right climate zone and planting times.
To get kids interested, the Arizona Farm Bureau suggests looking through colorful seed catalogs together and letting them help pick out choices. But you don’t need to bore them with every planning detail.
Keep their responsibilities age appropriate. Older children can be more involved in the planning and design of the garden, harvesting and even preserving some of the yield.
Younger children can help with planting seeds, weeding and watering, but try and get them their own age-appropriate tools and gloves that fit them, according to the farm bureau. Little ones will enjoy their tasks more with gloves and tools sized for small hands.
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