Children’s Gardening Tools for Budding Gardeners
There is now a huge selection of children’s gardening tools from which to choose. They range from plastic toy tools to metal and wooden tools which are simply smaller versions of high quality adult garden tools.
Generally the plastic tools are only suitable for toddlers. They do have the advantages of being light and less likely to have sharp edges but they are not as sturdy as the metal and wood versions.
A wide range of types of garden tools for children are available. You can buy spades, forks, trowels, hoes, leaf rakes, brushes and watering cans. There are even some fabulous children’s wheelbarrows.
When choosing which types of tools to buy, the best place to start is with the equipment needed for the jobs which your child will enjoy doing the most. Wheelbarrows are perhaps not the most obvious first choice but they rate very highly with young gardeners. Most children thoroughly enjoy moving things and wheelbarrows can be used for transporting weeds, leaves and, more importantly, favourite teddies and toy building bricks. Buying a children’s wheelbarrow with a strong metal frame will help it to survive the rough and tumble of gardening with youngsters.
A watering can is a good investment. It can be used in the conventional manner for watering plants but is also ideal for creating mud pies and cooling down toes in hot weather.
Choose a small watering can. Your child will always want to fill it to the brim (and beyond!) and anything other than a very small can will be too heavy for younger children to use.
Digging is another occupation highly rated by children. Whether they are digging holes for bedding out plants, digging out weeds or digging for buried treasure, a spade is a real asset. For younger children a fork and trowel set may be easier to handle but for older children a long handled spade designed specifically to be the right size and weight for a child is a good buy.
During the autumn, the most popular piece of gardening equipment is undoubtedly the leaf rake. Racking up piles of leaves and then spreading them around the garden again by jumping into them is fantastic fun for children of all ages. Once the leaves have been round up again, put them in the wheelbarrow and take them to a leaf bin for composting.
Finally, a garden broom. In the spring, the broom can be used for brushing the patio or for cleaning off any play equipment such as slides and play houses which has become a little green over the winter – a very satisfying job.
Most tools can be bought individually but it is often cheaper to buy them in a pack. Many childrens gardening tools are available in green, pink and sometimes blue.
