Watering, cleaning, talking to your plants: simple gestures which, for many, take on an emotional dimension. This is “plant parenting”, or literally, plant parenting. This new trend is emerging little by little as a response to demographic upheavals.
One in 3 French people talk to their plants
Indeed, in France, around a quarter of young adults do not want to have children. The ideal number of children has also fallen for French women, going from 2.7 in 1998 to 2.3 in 2024. This is why from now on, the relationship with living things is partly redefined through plants.
“Plant parenting responds to a fundamental anthropological need of humanity: to take care. explains sociologist Serge Guérin.
So the French do not just own plants, they develop a real emotional relationship with them:
- 33% talk to their plants;
- 19% give them names;
- 19% even consider that the “care” of plants could be a subject of tension in the event of separation.
“It’s another way of doing things, less engaging than traditional parenting but which corresponds to this essential need to take care of something living.“.
The psychological and social benefits of plant parenting
Beyond the simple decorative pleasure, taking care of your plants acts as a real antidote to stress. According to an OpinionWay study for the Dutch Plant and Flower Foundation, 74% of French people believe that caring for plants improves morale, 51% that it reduces stress, and 60% that it purifies the air and improves well-being.
Plants are even becoming a driver of social connection: 65% of workers think that they promote conviviality at work and 77% that they make the professional environment more pleasant.
“Plants become a center of common interest without any notion of age: it fascinates the 5-year-old child as much as the 85-year-old” observes Serge Guérin again.
“There is a wonderful notion of mutual aid and trust: when I ask my neighbor to water my plants during my vacation, I take care of my plants but also of her”.
Convinced that the phenomenon will last over time, the sociologist believes that it allows us to forge links in another way. “The fewer children there are, the more there will be a need for other forms of bonding.”
How to start “plant parenting” at home?
Plant parenting does not require you to be a botanist. To get started, a few simple steps are enough:
- Choose a plant adapted to the brightness of your home;
- Clean the leaves regularly with lukewarm water and a little black soap;
- Maintain regular but measured watering;
- Create rituals, such as Sunday watering or monthly cleaning;
- Share this experience with loved ones.
This routine responds to a fundamental need: to feel useful, to maintain a connection with living things, and to bring a little nature back into an often overly digitalized daily life.