It is very important to teach children about the environment at a very young age. The environmental damage caused by man may cause serious medium and long-term problems. Everything you can teach your children about caring for nature will be to their advantage in the future.

A good starting point is to teach them how to plant and care for a plant. There are two ways of going about this: you can buy seeds and plant them together and see how they grow or else buy a small plant and see how it develops as they take care of it. This is the best option if they are very small, as they may get bored waiting for the seeds to grow.

What plant to choose?
There are no specific plants for children and for adults, with the obvious exception of carnivorous and poisonous varieties. If they like aromatic plants, buy them mint, basil or rosemary plants. They are very aromatic plants that you can later use in the kitchen. If your children prefer plants with flowers, petunias, carnations, pansies and morning glories. Avoid roses, which are pretty but have thorns.

Materials needed
A way of encouraging your children to take up gardening is to give them their own small set of garden tools. A bucket with small spades, gloves with which to work the soil and a water sprinkler for the leaves. With this you can start to sow the seeds in small pots with an enriched soil to help the plant grow. Sow them together: seeds are usually placed some two centimetres below the surface, but always follow the instructions given at the shop.

Later care
Once planted, show them that the first watering should be abundant and that you should find the ideal spot in which to place it at a given time (humid or sunlit). Advise your children and then tell them that it is up to them to take care of the plant and ensure it receives the right amount of sun.

Growth
The plant will at first take a few days to grow, but encourage them to take note of the daily progress of the plant. Teach them to touch the soil to see how moist it is and show them how to water it.

When it has grown enough you will have to move it to a larger pot. You must change the dry soil for fresh soil and water it generously. Depending on the size of the plant, you may have to prune it by removing the older leaves and leaving the shoots. If the children are small do not allow them to use scissors, but allow them to choose what needs to be pruned so that they fell part of the process.

Taking care of a plant is a little game for them, but you will notice how you have stimulated their sense of responsibility and above all their capacity to care for a living thing that belongs to them.