As children grow, learning to care for others and the environment is key to their emotional development.
Parents and carers can use everyday experiences to nurture kindness, empathy, and responsibility - skills that will benefit them throughout their lives.
Inspired by the brand new CBeebies programme ‘What’s in Your Plant Pot?’, here teacher Katie Spears demonstrates how gardening together can help children to cultivate compassion through the natural world.
Building empathy through meeting plants' needs
Helping children understand what plants need to grow is an excellent way to support early empathy and cognitive development.
Using simple language makes these ideas easier for young children to grasp.
For example:
- Watering can be described as “giving the plant a drink.”
- Pruning can be explained as “a little haircut to help it grow strong.”
These small explanations help children see the needs of other living things and recognise that their actions can make a real difference.
By tuning into a plant’s needs, children can start to understand the broader concept of care. We want children to gain an awareness of their own needs, for example, when they need a snack or a drink of water. We can help children to make links between their own needs and the needs of living things, including how to look after plants and animals.
According to clinical psychologist Dr Linda Blair “The richest way to encourage children is for a parent to simply behave as they hope their child will behave when they’ve grown up."
3-5-year-olds care what their parents do and say, so it’s a good time to show them what you hope they’ll do themselves.”- Dr Linda Blair
Breaking tasks into manageable steps
Large tasks can feel overwhelming but breaking them down into small, achievable steps helps children to understand and follow instructions. It can also help them to feel involved, capable and proud of their contributions.
Gardening will naturally provide opportunities to discuss kindness and responsibility.
Ask gentle, thought-provoking questions, such as, “Does it need sunlight?” or “What should we do when we get home?”
Give children specific responsibilities, like watering a plant, which allows them to practise patience, attentiveness, and nurturing skills.
If you plant seeds, you could use a simple visual calendar to remind you and your child to check on plants regularly.
These simple routines teach that caring for something involves meeting its basic needs, such as sunlight, water, and attention, while reinforcing the value of consistency and thoughtful action.
Small acts of care make a big difference
Assigning small jobs, whether in the garden or at home, helps children to realise that their actions matter. When children take responsibility for a plant, they learn that care and kindness helps living things to flourish.
Kindness and empathy can extend beyond plants too. Simple acts such as:
- Rescuing a worm gently from harm
- Observing and feeding birds in the garden, or
- Helping care for a family pet.
These all teach children that living things have needs and deserve respect. These experiences help children to understand that compassion is not just about people - it's also a skill that applies to the wider natural world.
It is also good for your relationship with your child for you to show you have 'unconditional positive regard' for them (a term coined by Carl Rogers that means to be fully accepted without judgement), and to talk to them assuming that they will act with care for the natural world. To reinforce this, try noticing the times when they instinctively choose to look after nature - and give them positive feedback for these nurturing behaviours.
