Encouraging kids to garden....

I was speaking with a friend/co-worker of mine not to long ago and we had briefly touched on the subject of children and there eating habits. Ah, nothing better than having fresh out of the garden squash cooked to perfection, I mean a real culinary work of art folks, that your kids look at and say "I'm not eating that." Man, what a rush! The excitement of trying to convince, (or, um.... force) them to eat it. It's those joys in life that make us appreciate when our kids clean there plate.

Camron when he was 3 1/2 year old forcing down oatmeal.

Well, I learned a little along the way that helps encourage them to eat better, but it's still in the experimental stages. Here it goes. Nicole and I let them participate in gardening with us. "Let" may be a strong word, "make" them participate?? I like that one better.


Yes, I have just revolutionized man kind! What happens is they get curious about the taste of something I ask them to help harvest. Makes them have a sense of ownership. (Well, maybe not ownership, but exercise, sweat, and aggravating them enough to a hardy appetite??) That "look what I just pulled from the garden- thing" and I say, in a lovingly, fatherly way, "you pulled it, now you have to taste it to make sure it is good enough- thing". It does work, most of the time. But it slowly trickes in to there brain that "not only can we grow our own food someday, but it can tastes pretty darn good, too!"

Well, that's my cent and a half.


Quote:

"I think our governments will remain virtuous for many centuries; as long as they are chiefly agricultural." (TJ to James Madison, B.12.442) 1787 Dec. 20.