Is it necessary to ground our kids?
Absolutely!
There is nothing like, kicking off your shoes and feeling one with the earth. It gives you the sense of freedom, calmness and connects us to nature.
All kids should be grounded, connecting to the earth through their feet, by feeling the ground under their feet, having grass tickle their toes, or squelchy mud between them, enjoying the coolness of running water over the arch of their feet, or the textured roughness of tree bark under the sole of their feet.
These are all wonderful sensations that they should all be experiencing, and can bring a smile to any child, and the
advantage is that there are health benefits that they gain from being bare foot in the garden;
Helps develop healthy feet and arches
Stretches & Strengthens muscles, ligaments and tendons in their feet and lower legs
Barefoot activities can improve balance and posture
Improves proprioception – sense of self movement and awareness of the body
Improves a child’s natural gait; running, walking, jogging, sprinting hopping, skipping
Dirt has beneficial nutrients and antioxidants that are absorbed into the body.
Contributes to having a healthy body, physically and mentally – a natural therapy that we should all indulge in.
Encourages a connection to earth, nature and our gardens.
Kids need to explore their gardens naturally, and what better way but by being bare foot. Get those feet so dirty that even scrubbing them doesn’t take the dirt away. Let them be free and wild in their garden, let them run around with no shoes and get grubby toes. Yes, there will be times, when they stand on a thorn, or a bee accidentally stings them, or in our garden, you step on a chicken poop, which is not the best, but this is all part of being a kid and connecting to our gardens.
Even when it comes to planting and watering their plants, shoes should be off, unless of course they are digging or raking, other than that, get those bare toes out.
Grounding Our Kids With Love & Nature
Happy Growing
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