How to get kids involved in Yardwork

How to get kids involved in yardwork

1. Teach Safety

   Safety is always our primary concern with our kids. So before anything else, we make sure to use proper safety practices when working in the yard. We always use eye and ear protection, gloves, and adult supervision. I’ve linked our favorite safety gear below.
   Start small with little kids, like using small rakes and shovels to weed the garden and then work your way up to more complex tools and more difficult tasks as your kids grow and learn.
   Once they are able to use smaller tools appropriately, you can introduce more advanced tools, according to their capabilities, and with adult supervision.
   I believe that when kids are old enough, we should let our kids use yard tools- like shovels, rakes, lawnmowers, trimmers, and leaf blowers. But each child is different, and we should make sure they are responsible enough and are trained properly in using these tools.
   While our children are allowed to use some tools, we also use a lot of tools in the yard that our children are not allowed to use, like our weed sprayers and bug foggers. Be aware of your own child’s capabilities and adjust the tools and work accordingly. We always want to stay safe.

2. Work together

   If you are trying to teach your kids anything, teaching by example is the best way to teach them. In learning how to work in the yard, they often learn by seeing mom and dad, and then working alongside their parents. We work together as a family. Even our youngest kids are outside, working and playing beside us as we go. And the little kids learn from the big kids too! That toy lawnmower has mowed a lot of pretend grass over the years!
   

3. Teach by example

   Handing your kid a trimmer or a leaf blower can be intimidating. But we make sure to teach safe practices, like wearing safety glasses, using hearing protection, and keeping our hands in the proper places on the tools. We let our kids watch us do something, and then they are able to try. We also keep a really good eye on our kids while they are using yard tools. We are never too far away

4. Get the right tools

   Just like any job, you are usually more successful when you have the right tools for the job. When my kids were little, we started them off with a simple garden tool set and a child size shovel and rake set. But as they have grown, so have their tools and responsibilities.
   When my son turned 12 years old, he wanted to start trimming the lawn, so we got a battery operated string trimmer that was easy for him to learn to use. We knew we didn’t want him worrying about cords and plugs, or gas. So we made sure this one ran off of 18v batteries– the same batteries we use for all of our hand tools. that he wasn’t too heavy, so he is able to carry it and use it easily.
   

5. Make yard work fun

   My kids actually think yard work is fun. They love that we let them use our yard tools. We usually turn on some music, and work together to make it more fun. One of their favorite things is using the battery operated leaf blower. They know these tools aren’t toys, but they are still pretty fun to use! We’ve made sure to teach them safe practices, so they aren’t just left to their own wild antics, but we still have fun while we work.

6. Teach them young

   Our kids are never too young to help in the yard. Even when they were toddlers, we taught them how to work along side us. We have made sure to teach and demonstrate safety with our kids as we work together in the yard, and we are always watching them. But we also trust them and know that they are capable of working hard. Plus we grow closer to each other when we work together. This is a family tradition- this picture of my kids shoveling snow with their grandpa is my favorite. You can find the small snow shovels at Home Depot.