40% of adults aren’t planting plants with their children because they don?t feel confident in their abilities.
This is according to a survey conducted by garden retailer Hayes Garden World.
Despite this, 86% of parents would like their child to spend more time interacting with nature.
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96% of parents believe engaging their child with nature has a positive effect.
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89% cites improvement in their child?s creativity as a positive outcome. 78% of parents agreed that engaging with nature can benefit their child?s mental health.
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Despite recognising the benefits, 56% of parents said that wet weather would prevent their child from playing outdoors. 33% said the same about the cold.
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75% of respondents stated that their child shows an interest in nature. 26% agree that their child is more interested in technology.
Planting in nature and technology
The data shows children spend more time playing with technology than they do playing outside in autumn and winter.
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The average British child spends 4 hours per week playing on technology. They spend under 3 hours per week playing outside in the autumn/winter period.
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Children play outside in spring and summer almost four times this?amount, averaging at 12 hours per week.
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Planting plants with children is a great way to get them to interact with nature. 87% of parents have attempted this but 40% of these don’t do this often because they aren’t confident. Only 9% of respondents said their children aren?t interested in plants.
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Lyndan Orvis at Hayes Garden World said: ?We have aimed much of our teaching at children over the years.
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“This research shows that we should be offering more adult-focused classes to parents. 40% of them are not confident enough to plant anything with their children.
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“It is unlikely that parents who have little confidence in planting or
gardening are likely to encourage their children to have a go.
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?Gardening is a wonderful way of encouraging children to connect with the world.
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“Caring for plants and wildlife can create appreciation for nature, as well as an understanding of how the ecosystem works.
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?The future of our gardening industry could depend on us trying harder to encourage young parents to get green fingered.”
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To help parents encourage their children, Hayes Garden World has created a children & gardening knowledge hub. It includes tips and tutorials to ensure that children engage with nature on a regular basis.
