Aughhh! Save me from a 'helpful' nearly 2 year old!!!!

[faerieprincess]

My darling little son, who will be 2 next week, is going to destroy my garden!

Well I say 'garden' loosely, because I have a 2 x 2 metre patch prepared, and the rest is going in pot plants on the patio because we're renting and I can't dig up the lawn .

But my little boy just 'adores' helping me. He loved planting the potted flowers so much that he pulled them out the next day just so that he could plant them again. He loves water, and has been watering (drowning!) all of my plants. I have some excess tomato seedlings and some carrots and parsnip seeds in pots in some portable cold frames and he keeps throwing his small ball in there - clearly they make a good set of goals! Not to mention that he loves digging through the dirt so any propogating seeds have to be out of reach - limiting my window sill space somewhat.

I went a bit crazy with my seeds and thought I would have loads of seedlings to give away to friends, but at this rate I'm barely going to have enough for myself if he continues on like this!!!!

I planted my potatoes in bags when he was at nursery so he hasn't seen me working on those so has left them alone - so far.

Sob..... at this rate I'd prefer snails and slugs!!!!

[veggielover]

ah bless him...... have u thought about giving him his own little bed and a few pots of his own? It seems to have worked for my 2 ( although they are 5 and 8 ). They get to grow their own and fingers crossed keep away from the adults beds/pots.

[faerieprincess]

ah bless him...... have u thought about giving him his own little bed and a few pots of his own? It seems to have worked for my 2 ( although they are 5 and 8 ). They get to grow their own and fingers crossed keep away from the adults beds/pots.

At the moment he thinks everything is 'his'!!!! A little young yet to really understand, I think, maybe next year!!!

[Victoria26]

I bought my 3yr old nephew the full kit. Kneeling pad, trowel, hand fork, apron. When he comes to visit he tends to his "own" area. Consisting of pots which we scattered some flower seeds in and some troughs with onions and lettuce in. He can pull them up and pot them on til his hearts content.

Seems like you'll just have to keep on top of your little garden tornado for another year or so. Happy days!!!

[Farmer_Gyles]

find a little patch that needs digging over - ask him to help digging
drop a couple of £1 coins in when he's not looking
you find buried treasure, then he finds some
he'll spend the next 5 years digging for more buried treasure ......
(don't forget to bury a bit more treasure every now and then!)

[di]

find a little patch that needs digging over - ask him to help digging
drop a couple of £1 coins in when he's not looking
you find buried treasure, then he finds some
he'll spend the next 5 years digging for more buried treasure ......
(don't forget to bury a bit more treasure every now and then!)

.....just hunt FG down when your littlun starts digging up yer carrot seeds looking for treasure!
As long as he knows only that little area contains treasure,great plan!
We've always chatted to ours about plants as living things & explained what they need to stay alive & grow strong.Always mark rows or planted areas with string so they know where they have to be careful not to stand on the little carrot seeds(or whatever)
Also,as soon as an area has been dug,they know not to jump/walk play on that area as we've got it all fluffy so that seeds can be comfy!(works sometimes,but there's always defiant days too!!!)
I look at it as a learning journey for them as much as it is for us...we've probably had a few extra failures due to premature harvesting etc,but I'd much rather it were like that than fence them off where they can't join in & learn all the ins & outs of GYO...without them even knowing it's a lesson!They're both school age now(coming up for 5 & 7)& it amazes me just how much they know!

[Growem]

My daughter is only 3 months older than your son, faerieprincess, and I find she's actually pretty good about sticking to what is hers vs. someone else's or mine. It has to often be repeated, but as long as she has an area to dig, she leaves my neighbours newly raked and sown seedbed alone at the allotments! I also have found that having some farm animals to play with while I was planting things keeps her occupied more than the hoe and seedlings. I do get the "replantings" from her as well though, not everything works! I'm just happy that she enjoys being there with me this year, as last year it was far too boring for her.

[faerieprincess]

Seems like you'll just have to keep on top of your little garden tornado for another year or so. Happy days!!!

So next year should be ok, then the following year I'll have another almost 2 year old to deal with!!!! Sigh.....

.....just hunt FG down when your littlun starts digging up yer carrot seeds looking for treasure!
As long as he knows only that little area contains treasure,great plan!
We've always chatted to ours about plants as living things & explained what they need to stay alive & grow strong.Always mark rows or planted areas with string so they know where they have to be careful not to stand on the little carrot seeds(or whatever)
Also,as soon as an area has been dug,they know not to jump/walk play on that area as we've got it all fluffy so that seeds can be comfy!(works sometimes,but there's always defiant days too!!!)
I look at it as a learning journey for them as much as it is for us...we've probably had a few extra failures due to premature harvesting etc,but I'd much rather it were like that than fence them off where they can't join in & learn all the ins & outs of GYO...without them even knowing it's a lesson!They're both school age now(coming up for 5 & 7)& it amazes me just how much they know!

I barely have enough room for my own plants, let alone setting some aside for him to find 'treasure' in!!!!

I think the 'extra' failures will be a little greater than I first envisaged!!!

My daughter is only 3 months older than your son, faerieprincess, and I find she's actually pretty good about sticking to what is hers vs. someone else's or mine. It has to often be repeated, but as long as she has an area to dig, she leaves my neighbours newly raked and sown seedbed alone at the allotments! I also have found that having some farm animals to play with while I was planting things keeps her occupied more than the hoe and seedlings. I do get the "replantings" from her as well though, not everything works! I'm just happy that she enjoys being there with me this year, as last year it was far too boring for her.

Oh he's fine when I'm out there WITH him, but I can't spend all my time out there with him! It's not like an allotment where he's only there when I'm there. This is our patio area!!! The other choice is to keep him inside on these beautiful days except when I can go out there with him, and that defeats the purpose of finding a house that had a lovely secure garden for him to play in.

The patio is also where he rides around on his little car and such, so he's actually quite close to all of the pots all the time.

Sigh.... I'm hoping to get some play equipment on the lawn soon, and get his sandbox set up as well so maybe that will help. I think the pots just look far more interesting than his toys at the moment - and the buckets of soil and water box and watering cans I provide him with clearly need to be shared with the rest of my pots!

[Growem]

I have veggies growing in the borders of our house too. I try emphasizing that all the plants are only for when I am there with her. 2 year olds need regular checking on, so you can always keep looking to see if he is digging around or not. Give him some sort of reward if he's good so the idea is reinforced. The sandbox will probably help, although I can see sandy tomato seedlings in your future.

[Hilary B]

So next year should be ok, then the following year I'll have another almost 2 year old to deal with!!!! Sigh.....



I barely have enough room for my own plants, let alone setting some aside for him to find 'treasure' in!!!!

I think the 'extra' failures will be a little greater than I first envisaged!!!



Oh he's fine when I'm out there WITH him, but I can't spend all my time out there with him! It's not like an allotment where he's only there when I'm there. This is our patio area!!! The other choice is to keep him inside on these beautiful days except when I can go out there with him, and that defeats the purpose of finding a house that had a lovely secure garden for him to play in.

The patio is also where he rides around on his little car and such, so he's actually quite close to all of the pots all the time.

Sigh.... I'm hoping to get some play equipment on the lawn soon, and get his sandbox set up as well so maybe that will help. I think the pots just look far more interesting than his toys at the moment - and the buckets of soil and water box and watering cans I provide him with clearly need to be shared with the rest of my pots!

You may simply have to choose between 'place 2yo can play with minimum supervision' or 'growing space'. I wouldn't have let mine outside alone unless I was doing something near the window (so I could see what was happening out there by just moving my head) until they were at least 3, probably a bit more!

[faerieprincess]

I have veggies growing in the borders of our house too. I try emphasizing that all the plants are only for when I am there with her. 2 year olds need regular checking on, so you can always keep looking to see if he is digging around or not. Give him some sort of reward if he's good so the idea is reinforced. The sandbox will probably help, although I can see sandy tomato seedlings in your future.

Sandy tomato seedlings, oh yes!!! And probably a tomatoey sandbox too .

I've been confiscating every ball that ends up in the cold frame for the rest of the day - fortunately he's only throwing the smaller ones - and taking away his watering can after the 3rd warning on which pots are HIS and which are MINE, and a quick march back inside when he pushes things over when he's upset at being told off. Lots of praise when he plays with his own things, but I think this is going to be a SLOW learning curve for him.

You may simply have to choose between 'place 2yo can play with minimum supervision' or 'growing space'. I wouldn't have let mine outside alone unless I was doing something near the window (so I could see what was happening out there by just moving my head) until they were at least 3, probably a bit more!

I am near the window, which is how I see it all happening! He is barely 10 - 15 metres away from me while I am in the kitchen through an open door. But I can't very well tell him off BEFORE he does it now, can I? A quick NO! STOP! followed by a 10 metre dash has saved most things from instant death, but they do get a battering! I'll just have to hope some of my plants survive long enough for him to get the idea of what he shouldn't be doing!!!