Our children live in a fast-paced society, and their life has become much easier than the one we were used to.
I know countless applications that can do their tasks and assignments instead of them, and they can type just a few words on their computers and find everything they need, without having to jog their memory or use their knowledge.
Yet, many fear that in this way, we are raising slouches, irresponsible future adults, and a burden to our society. There is no doubt that new inventions have provided more comfort than we ever dreamed of living in.
Yet, it is every parent’s responsibility to encourage and stimulate their children to explore, learn, and succeed.
In doing so, we should not let the old practices get forgotten.
Many maintain that by teaching our children how to grow their food we can teach them to be responsible and self-dependent. Wouldn’t it be nice for them to be able to produce all the food items they need, especially now, when organic foods have become a matter of necessity?
Researchers have found that children who are taught to grow their own food develop a trait called “food empath”, that helps them lead a healthier life, and eat a healthier, nutrient-rich diet.
Gardening offers kids an opportunity to be physically active, learn more about nutrition, gain a love for nature, and develop important skills like cooperation and teamwork, creativity, discovery, and self-confidence.
Watching plants grow will be an educational experience for children, as they will learn how nature works, they will become interested in environmental sustainability, and will be encouraged to cook their own food and reduce their reliance on junk food.
According to the world-renowned French chef, Raymond Blac, gardening lessons at school should be compulsory, as they will teach them the value of healthy and organic foods, which is especially important in times when food-related health issues are on the rise.
Chef Blac says:
“We have a wonderful opportunity to truly reconnect with food. We need to engage with the outside world, with our gardens and the life within them.
Children need to learn the simple magic of taking food from the seed, from the earth or from the rivers and then to transform it into something simple and delicious.
We have a multi-billion dollar problem with heart disease, diabetes, and obesity because of intensive farming and heavily processed food. We could learn to eat carrot soup produced from our gardens.”
What is your stance on this?
Written for and published by Healthy Food House ~ January 13, 2020