Little green thumbs grow up, because teaching children to garden helps them stay healthy.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himLittle green thumbs grow, because teaching children to garden helps them stay healthy.
To say it is a team of scientists in a research published on Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior who studied the impact of gardening on children, discovering numerous benefits, including the power to keep them in good health.
In four schools of California, the Shaping Healthy Choices Program (SHCP) has been applied, which is a program based on a single principle, that of implementing a series of dynamics that contribute to developing and improving the well-being of the little ones.
From food education to the importance of the family to community school policies. In practice, during the experiment that lasted about a year, the little students of 9-10 years old cultivated the school garden.
Quasi four hundred aspiring gardeners they sowed, cared for, watered, watched it grow and reaped all vegetables which were then cooked both in the school canteen and at home with their families.
The children were observed throughout the period and thanks to the support of the families, the program of food well-being it also continued at home. Scientists thus noted that those who were engaged in gardening show significant improvements.
“The body mass index (BMI) and the ratio weight-height have improved. In the group in which there were overweight or obese children, there was a decline from 55,6 percent to 37,8 percent. This drastic change made it possible to establish that those who followed the SHCP program have improved their health and are more competent in the field of nutrition ", says the author Rachel Scherr.
A nice breakthrough to solve the ever-increasing problem of childhood obesity. But the reasons for cultivating a vegetable garden with your children are also many others. Dedicating yourself to nature gives you free rein to fantasy because the little ones can choose what to plant and it can be a pleasant time for bring the whole family together.
In many schools the gardens are already there:
- GARDENS IN SCHOOLS: THE WONDERFUL REVOLUTION OF EDUCATIONAL GARDENS
- SCHOOL GARDEN: VEGETABLES ARE GROWN AMONG THE SCHOOL DESKS
- GREEN FREE ALL: A COMPETITION TO CREATE NEW GARDENS IN SCHOOLS
- WHEN THE VERTICAL GARDEN ARRIVES AT SCHOOL (PHOTO)
So while children stay away from TV and video games, older children can relieve daily stress by planting flowers or vegetables and fgenuine belts to bring to the table.
