Wellbeing benefits of gardening for children
10 ways that gardening improves children and young people’s mental and physical health
Houseplants for children
Tips for growing houseplants, with a pick of the best and easiest to grow with children
Gardening, indoors and out, gives children a sense of achievement. Looking after a garden or houseplants can improve their confidence, self-esteem and wellbeing, and give them a sense of purpose and responsibility. Not all children have access to outdoor spaces but they can bring the outdoors inside by caring for and nurturing houseplants.
A beautiful indoor space, full of plants, can also bring wellbeing benefits for parents and guardians, who may be spending a lot of time in the home caring for children.
Encouraging children to care for plants over time helps build respect for living things and fosters sustainable habits from an early age.
Safest plants to grow around children
Although some houseplants may be harmful if ingested, many are perfectly safe. As a child’s understanding develops, plants present an opportunity to teach them that not all things are edible or safe to touch.
Peperomia caperata (radiator plant)
With their decorative and diverse foliage, these compact houseplants are fascinating to grow and easy to start as a collection. They are low maintenance, adaptable and forgiving of occasional neglect.
- Learn more about Peperomia caperata ‘Lillian’
Pilea peperomioides (missionary plant)
These foliage houseplants with disc-shaped leaves are easy to grow. Usually green or variegated subtle shades of green. Separate offshoots with roots and pot up individually to make more.
- Learn more about Pilea peperomioides
Chlorophytum comosum (spider plant)
With narrow variegated leaves, this popular houseplant produces an abundance of cascading, spider-like baby plants. It’s tolerant of neglect and easy to propagate as babies can be easily potted or rooted in water.
- Learn more about Chlorophytum comosum
Sansevieria trifasciata (snake plant)
Sansevierias are among the easiest yet most dramatic of all houseplants, and remain popular. Robust and undemanding, they thrive in both bright and low light.
- Learn more about Sansevieria trifasciata
Maranta leuconeura (prayer plant)
The tropical-looking foliage makes this an eye-catching house plant. It can cope with less sunlight, making it a good option for a shadier room.
- Learn more about Maranta leuconeura
Protect plants and exploring hands
Children love to explore, and younger children, or those with learning disabilities, want to touch, pull and even eat plants as they begin to explore their surroundings using their senses. Small children have a habit of eating things they shouldn’t and this is the biggest risk, especially with toxic fruit or seeds. They are likely to be affected at lower doses, compared to adults, and there is a risk of irritation to skin and eyes.
Tips to keep children safe:
- Move prized specimens or toxic plants to a high shelf, a terrarium, or glass cabinet
- Ask a friend or family member to care for your plant until your child is older
- Avoid keeping houseplants near edible plants, such as herbs, to avoid any confusion
- Move plants listed as an irritant, to where children won’t brush up against them
- Move potentially harmful plants to a room where children are less likely to play
- Small bulbs can be a choking risk and best avoided on low, reachable surfaces
- Pollen allergies can also affect some children so be aware of this with flowering plants
Best plants for children’s rooms
Whether for a bedroom or playroom, try adding one of these houseplant suggestions to spark their imaginations and encourage the creation of fun displays.
Venus fly trap (Dionaea muscipula)
Dionaea muscipula (Venus flytrap)
Children love plants that are interesting and a bit different. Why not try older children with some carnivorous plants like a Venus flytrap? Just remember not to feed them biscuits and cheese: the plant that is...
Cactus
Cactus as a houseplant
Which little hands can resist experimenting their sense of touch on a prickly cactus? Cacti are generally low-risk in terms of toxicity. Avoid those with shedding spines such opuntia and tephrocactus.
Bringing the outdoors in
Sunflower (Helianthus)
Children can start growing indoors in spring and early summer, then watch as their work yields results.
"Growing vegetables from seed, things like courgettes, beans and peas is a great starter plant as they are easy to handle and sprout quickly, leading to (almost) instant gratification for those with low attention spans."
- Growing sunflowerscan be a great way to get children into plants as they are fast growing and have a burst of colour all summer. Hold a competition to see who can grow the tallest.
- Cress can be used in a variety of ways, from growing them in decorated eggshells to a simple tray on a windowsill – great for adding to sandwiches
- Mangetout – everyone knows the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Peas and beans grow fast, providing entertainment as well as a quick, nutritional and easy snack for kids to pick for themselves
- Children love trying out smells and flavours, and herbs like mint can be grown inside all year round that children can taste or experiment with by adding to their drinksor in home-made ice-lollies
Houseplants to avoid with children
Giant taro, elephant’s ears (Alocasia)
Some plants are safe as long as warnings are heeded, and there is an awareness of the risk they present, especially to younger children. Treat more toxic plants with caution, in line with the child’s age, development and behaviour.
The Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) provides a list of toxic plants and they categorise them by A, B and C, according to the severity of the hazard. None here are in category A, the most potentially harmful but here’s a list of some of the lower categorised plants in level B.
- Alocasia(Alocasia × amazonica, African mask) – toxic if eaten; skin and eye irritant
- Cycas(sago cycad, sago palm) – harmful if eaten; skin irritant
- Dieffenbachia(dumb , leopard lily) – toxic if eaten; skin/eye irritant
- Euphorbia (spurge, crown of thorns), including succulent cacti-like forms but excluding Euphorbia pulcherrima (Poinsettia) – irritant to skin/eye; harmful if eaten
- Primula obconica(German primula, poison primula) – skin allergen
- Nerium oleander (oleander, rose bay, rose laurel) - toxic if eaten; smoke from burning is harmful.
Warning
Bear in mind that just because a plant isn’t included on this list, it doesn’t mean it’s safe to eat. Only parts of plants expressly grown to be eaten, should be considered edible. Plants are not included if they have never been implicated in cases of human poisoning, or if there is evidence that they cause none, or only mild effects – such as an upset stomach.
What if your child eats a houseplant
If you suspect a child in your care has eaten a potentially harmful plant, or has had an adverse response due to close contact with a plant, please seek medical assistance immediately. Ideally, take a specimen in a sealed container or zip bag for identification by a health professional. Provide as much information about the circumstances as possible.
