Ideas for involving your kids in lawn care

Summer is a great time to get your kids engaged in taking care of the lawn. By getting them to participate in yard work, you can help them get some much-needed sunshine and physical activity. Plus, involving your kids in lawn care can teach them the importance of working hard, helping your family, and taking care of what you have. 

In this blog post, we’ll give you some ideas for getting your kids to participate in maintaining your lawn throughout the summer. We hope this info assists you in using lawn care as a means of teaching them the importance of hard work and helping others.

Disclaimer: These are just ideas of tasks for your children. Each task will depend on your child’s physical, mental, and emotional maturity. 

If you have young kids (6 years-old and younger)

As you’re going about doing activities in your yard, allow your little one to come with you and do developmentally appropriate tasks as they are able. Here are some ideas for fun lawn activities you may be able to do with your young kids.

Pick stuff up

If your child enjoys seek-and-find activities, he or she may really enjoy picking up sticks, gumballs, small rocks, and other debris that could get in the way of a lawn mower. Walk with your child throughout the yard, helping them if needed to spot the stuff they may miss.

Put stuff out

Your child may be able to assist you in spreading out mulch and pine straw to refresh your plant beds. So, get some small gloves to protect their hands, and let them help you beautify your lawn!

Tend to the garden

This is an opportunity to teach your little ones the basics of gardening in a hands-on way. Let them help dig holes for plants. Allow them to plant seeds. Give them a chance to water the plant beds with a small watering can. And don’t be afraid to be a bit silly with them as they help.

Pull up weeds

Your child can turn weed-hunting into a game. Let them find looser weeds in the yard and plant beds that they can then pull up on their own. 

If you have kids between the ages of 7 and 12

As your child grows, he or she may be able to handle more tasks aside from the ones we mentioned earlier. Here are some ideas for the not-quite-yet teen in your household.

Use an electric leaf blower

They may be ready to learn how to use an electric leaf blower. Electric leaf blowers tend to be lighter and quieter, so your child may not need to use ear protection. They will, however need to wear protective eyewear, pants, and close-toed shoes.

Use a lawnmower 

If you’re ready to start letting your child mow the lawn, we encourage you to have them wear protective clothing, such as close-toed shoes, protective eyewear, and pants. And, if they’re using a gas-powered lawn mower, we recommend they wear ear protection. 

Walk them through the process (literally walking alongside them as they mow). Explain the “mow-in-a-grid” concept to them. Allow them to make mistakes. But above all, be patient with them. This is often a big deal to a kid and will likely foster in them a sense of accomplishment.

Due to the average size of children this age, we suggest they use a lawn mower that is easier for them to maneuver, such as a:

• Push electric lawn mower (since gas makes the lawn mower heavier) 
• Self-propelled gas lawn mower
• Self-propelled electric lawn mower

If you have teenagers

When your child enters the teenage years, it may be time to introduce even more skills to their yard-maintenance repertoire. Learning the skills necessary to proficiently do these tasks will likely take time, but the payoff could mean less yard work for you and a stronger work ethic for them. 

Use heavier and more dangerous tools

As your teen grows, they may be better able to handle heavier, more manually intensive versions of the tools they’ve used before, such as a:

• Push gas lawn mower 
• Gas leaf blower

They may also be ready for the really dangerous tools. We’re talking about the ones that can easily cause some serious physical damage if not used properly. Such tools include:

• Weed eaters
• Edgers
• Trimmers
• Riding lawn mowers

If your teenager uses any of these tools, make sure they wear protective glasses, long pants, ear protection, and close-toed shoes.

Fertilize your plants and grass

Your teen may not love the idea of applying fertilizer to your plants and grass, but by doing so, they are helping promote healthy growth and preventing weeds from taking over. If you can get them to do this task, make sure they lay it out with gloves and pants to avoid getting sick from the stuff.

Lay stepping stones 

Have your teen lay out some 1×1 ft. pavers to help minimize foot traction, so your turf doesn’t get compacted as frequently and your lawn stays healthier for longer. 

These stepping stones are useful if you want to walk outside to different parts of your yard (to, say, access your HVAC machine or water hose) without stepping on the grass. Plus, after it rains or when there’s heavy dew, you can go around your yard without getting your feet wet.

There are three steps your teen should follow when laying stepping stones:

1. Figure out where to place the pavers (you may want to assist with this).
2. Dig a series of 2-inch-deep holes the shape of each paver.
3. Place each paver in the correct spot.

Use a very thin mixture to smooth out uneven terrain

Have your teen use a mixture made up of 70% sand and 30% topdressing soil to even out slight dips in your lawn and improve your soil’s structure. Make sure they spread it out evenly to avoid creating additional dips or odd bumps in the yard. 

Wrapping Up

We hope these ideas have helped you think of ways for involving your kids in lawn care. Again, these tasks are dependent on his or her physical, emotional, and mental maturity.

Getting the kids involved in your lawn care can help you have a healthy yard while instilling in them the importance of hard work. Proper lawn maintenance can be tough to do for kids and adults alike, but we’re here to help by providing resources like this. Keep checking back for more ideas for maintaining a beautiful lawn.