In my thirties, Let Them Eat Dirt by Dr. Marie-Claire Arrieta and B. Brett Finlay was the first groundbreaking scientific book that truly opened my eyes to the vital connection between gut health and the immune system.
Laying a strong foundation for my understanding, transforming the way I viewed health, nutrition, and the role of microbes in our well-being.
By that time I had exposed myself to Early Childhood Development Seminars at various conferences and institutions, read the Resilience Alliance literature, Guns Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, The Importance of Being Little by Erica Christakis and others who informed how I built a biome around and within my twin sons.
Below, I hope to impart how I've been enriched, humbled, brought to my knees and torn like a muscle in the agile process of being built up again. All in name of kinder grooi or child growth.
In spite of it, I rise to tell the story and hopefully help to pave the road with warning signs, ideas for activities with your children, inspiration and tips on your self and child care journey to cultivate emotional strength through the nurturing of plants.
BIG FEELINGS MEDITATION: CULTIVATING EMOTIONAL STRENGTH THROUGH PLANTS
Plant therapy, often used as a powerful tool for developing emotional resilience, provides a serene environment where all children; neurotypical or on the Autism Spectrum may explore their emotions.
The act of tending to plants is sensory rich, infusing a sense of calm, present mindfulness in the moment. As they care for their green companions, they learn to identify and manage their emotions, fostering a sense of inner peace and balance.
This therapeutic process can lead to increased self-awareness and emotional growth. Children soon learn care practices, the cycles of life, patience, consistency, how much responsibility they feel toward plants, why or why not they feel compelled to working and growing with plants.
Do ask meaningful questions to draw out those feelings:
How do you feel when your plant grows tall?
How do you feel when your plant has become a fruit, ready to eat?
What do you think about the insects that visit your plants?
How do you think the insects feel that visit the plants?
Do you think insects have feelings?
SANDBOX TO SOIL
In this racing world, attentive sandbox type, soil play regulates children keeping them connected in focus with their grounded present moment, certainly, making for an effective leisure option framework for quality relational time.
And remember to wash hands regularly, deworm every 6 months, to keep the fungi at bay.
Multiple findings highlight the multifaceted benefits of gardening with children, particularly in promoting stress regulation and overall well-being. Why? Relaxing effects derived from gardening quite probably stem from biochemical, psychological and physical factors:
Additionally, garden-based interventions have demonstrated improvements in various health indicators among children, including increased physical activity and enhanced academic performance.
These interventions often involve independent hands-on learning with fruits and vegetables culminating in conversations about growth, the production of fresh produce, and nutrition, all of which contribute to better child health outcomes.
BASIC BEGININGS BECOME COMPLEX EMOTIONAL EXPERIENCES AND ACTIVITIES
Engaging children in gardening activities such as seed saving, composting, planting, harvesting, and plant care has been shown to have a positive influence on their stress regulation found a study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
My one son has saved seeds to plant proteas. We didn't have time for it last time we gardened together. TIP- I find narrating what's happening a great way to keep them in the moment.
Add a bit of silly role play and they'll be transfixed. Guiding children toward emotional resilience has become more important than ever.
One innovative approach to fostering this vital skill is through the simple, yet profound, activity of empathetic plant care. Engaging children in the nurturing of plants not only instills a sense of responsibility to working with and caring for organic material but also cultivates an understanding of the importance of fostering while nurturing appropriate relationships.
By immersing themselves in the green world of leaves and stems, children learn boundless lessons.
TAP INTO INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY HEART SPACE
“We need to start treating young children as essential apex creatures whose care and feeding affects the whole fiber of our society.”― Erika Christakis, The Importance of Being Little: What Young Children Really Need from Grownups
Imagine a small community garden, where young hands gently sift through soil, planting seeds nurturing their growth.
Last year from July to December 2024, we had a 120 square meter allocated space in one of our community parks. We named it Heart Space.
This hands-on experience of creating allows children to witness the direct impact of care, intention, and attention.
They were included in the activity of pattern forming, being tasked with consistently helping to follow a water schedule where they water their plants, observing them sprout and flourish over a period of six months.
Observing as new expressions develop into a sense of accomplishment and accountability is one of the most rewarding payments a parent receives.
RICH TOUCH POINTS
They learn that just as their plants need water, sunlight, and care, so too do their relationships and most importantly never to miss an opportunity to spray your sibling or parent in a water fight followed by some conflict resolution navigation after as a disgruntled dissatisfied sibling complains.
Ultimately, despite the challenges life demands, shaping my children’s emotional resilience through plant care is always a journey of combined collaborative growth, botanical and personal. It's a journey empowering my children to embrace responsibility, nurture connections, and cultivate a resilient spirit.
By allowing them to engage with nature, we as parents not only coach them about the world around them but also helps them understand their place within it.
Through the simple act of caring for plants, children can blossom and bloom into compassionate, emotionally resilient individuals, ready to face tomorrows challenges with confidence, grit and grace.
They learn about trade offs and consequences: that without water and the heat and light from the sun, life ceases to exist, and that its our responsibility to self organise, and balance the use of water for leisure and essentials. They learn about birth and death cycles. Too what happens when we become neglectful or forgetful.
CASTINGS, TRANSFORMATIONS AND TRANSITIONS
After one of my twin son’s interest in a silk worm tank stocked with fresh mulberry’s daily, the next step seemed obvious: a worm farm.
My son (6yrs) old, one of a twin, periodically lost interest in the task of tending and caring for the worms but now instead enjoyed sharing them with others.
He had engaged with others and received their feedback. His words were: “Worms are easy, dirty work. mom.” In a first ever micro dose, influenced by others, he negotiated and negated how he felt about the value of worms yet he still loves showing and sharing them.
He loves hearing about and seeing their exponential growth. Children working together in a shared garden space learn valuable lessons overtime about what they love and don’t about teamwork and cooperation.
One of my precious moments was observing him plant flowers he chose from the nursery, with my friend. They experience the joy of collective achievement as they observe and experience the garden transform into a lush, bio diverse vibrant oasis.
This sense of shared purpose fosters a spirit of unity and reinforces the importance of tolerance, embracing change, coexisting community engagement with humans, animals, and insects: geckos, butterflies, bee hives and worms.
While the kids dip their toes in and out of water, we continue to maintain the home vegetable garden to support their forevermore learning journey with our worm farm, seedbank, composting and cyclical planting regime.
Thank you for reading this. Please do share your input again for articles adapted to your needs as I will sure as sharpie, share trials, triumphs and tribulations...