Growing Plants, Growing Humans

The plant parent craze is alive and well.

It rings true that the plant lady is the new cat lady.

To be honest, as far as trends go, this one feels like it has far more positives than negatives associated with it. What a win.

I’m a mom of one son and countless plant children.

It’s gotten me thinking about the similarities between kids and plants.

There’s the obvious in that they have to be intentionally cared for, fed, and watered. They need the right kind of attention and environment. Each kid or type of plant has different needs.

More than that, their growth happens before our very eyes.

New growth on plants is the brightest. Just look around in the spring and summer seasons and you’ll notice portions of plants that are brighter than the rest. The new growth stands out.

The same is true for kids, especially babies and toddlers. I can tangibly see differences in my son.

He’s starting to very clearly respond to instruction and takes great pleasure in “put that back,” “close that please,” and “go find your books.” 

We’ve also ushered in the walking season. He is taking increasingly longer journeys on his feet before resorting to crawling. Walking is slow, crawling is fast.

Much like we notice that bright green growth on plants, the new skill or development stands out and is focused on the most in that moment.

So really, plants and babies are the exact same.

OK, well, they do have some similarities. Regardless, proud plant mom and even prouder human mom over here.