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Child Sized Gardening Tools – Yes or No?

Gardening tools for children

Child-sized gardening tools that are used only for gardening is something I feel strongly about – why?


  • Having gardening tools that are kept separately from other tools, such as sandpit tools, and are only used for gardening shows children that digging in the garden has a different purpose to digging in the sandpit.

  • Gardening is for growing things – namely food and flowers.Having tools that children recognise as gardening tools helps them to respect the garden as they learn that they can only dig in the garden when those tools available.


If we are to engage children in sustainable gardening, they need their own tools that match the size of their hands and bodies. This includes hand tools, larger tools, and gloves. For gardening to be enjoyable for children they need to be able to use the tools easily, and adult-sized tools are often too big or heavy for them to use. When children have their own set of tools, they know that we respect the work they do in the garden.


I also believe the tools they have for gardening should only be used for that purpose. When tools are used specifically for gardening it demonstrates to children that digging in the garden has a different purpose to digging elsewhere, like a sandpit.


To show the value you place on garden tools as an instrument to produce food and flowers, I suggest you store them in a special place and put them back there when the gardening is finished. That way, when the children see the tools come out they know they are going to be doing important work that will help to feed themselves and others, including any vegetable eating pets they may have, like chickens, rabbits and guinea pigs.


Garden tools should also be kept clean. This will make them last longer and reduce the risk of rust that could then contaminate the soil, which in turn may affect how plants will grow. Health soil equals healthy plants, and a transfer of rust or disease from old soil stuck to tools, may reduce the health of the soil. Therefore, I suggest making cleaning the tools part of the gardening experience, before putting them away safely.


This is another reason why garden tools should be different to sandpit tools. We don't want to transfer contaminants from the sandpit to the garden, and likewise we don't want to transfer contaminants from the soil to the sandpit.

When children have their own tools for gardening they learn to see themselves as gardeners, they learn respect for the garden, and they take delight in growing their own food and plants.


If you want to know more about the contents of this blog, or would like to find out more about Growing Kiwi Gardeners and how I can help you, then contact me at anita@growingkiwigardeners.co.nz.



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