Growing up I used to beg my parents to let me get a job but my dad would say, "No! You have your whole life to work. Just enjoy being a kid.". It would make me so mad but looking back now as an adult I understand why he was that way. He had to go to work as a very young child to take care of himself. His parents both worked and were great parents but with 4 children they struggled to make ends meet so the kids worked to take care of themselves. My dad probably felt robbed a little of his childhood so that's why he wanted us to enjoy ours. They are well off financially so extra money wasn't really needed. I mean, don't get me wrong we had household chores and stuff. We just couldn't work outside of the home. I respect their choice to raise us that way and I'll probably raise my kids the same way as far as not working outside of the farm goes. However, as farmers our children will have WAY more responsibilities than my brother and I had. They will not only have household chores but they will also have farm chores. Whether that's taking care of our show cattle, working at the chicken houses if we don't sell them, or getting good grades our kids will earn their extra cash and extra curricular privileges. Things won't be handed out freely to them. I might sound like some insane slave driver but trust me when I say that you do your kids NO FAVORS by giving them hand outs and not making them work for it atleast to some extent. Good work ethic is taught. Responsibility is taught. Teach your kids how to work hard. Teach them how to cook, clean, pay bills, make good grades, wash a cow, bottle feed a calf, change a tire, change the oil in their cars, ect. My parents wouldn't even let me get my drivers license until I could drive a standard and change a tire/the oil in a car. My mom had me watching her write checks and paying bills early in life. She also taught me how to cook and clean the right way. Heck, she still teaches me new recipes and organization ideas ha. They just didn't make us 'work' for anything. They handed money out like it grew on trees. They paid for all of my friends stuff too like concert tickets and meals. They are very generous people and anyone will tell you that. It's wonderful and inspiring. It just didn't help me much in the real world.
Brian and I already have started teaching our kids about money and responsibility. They clean up their rooms. They make their beds. They pick up their toys in the living room. They organize the crayons, markers, and paints by color in the crafting cabinet. They help feed the dog, cats, horses, cows, and fish. They help me cook. They help Brian gather eggs. They are all so eager to be helpful and I fully give credit for that to the fact that we always gave them some sort of responsibility. Do your children a favor and help prepare them for adult life starting TODAY! No matter how old they are (granted they aren't infants) there is a way to introduce them to responsibilities. Make it fun and educational. We started by organizing boy toys from girl toys, having them help us make their beds, letting them feed the pets, letting them help fold/hang up their clothes, ect. You can find a ton of other ideas online but here is the list of age appropriate chores/life skills that we have hung on our command center board in our home:
Earning their first dollar from working at the family's tire shop with their Papa Perry.
They were helping their Daddy & Papa feed cows a few Winters ago.
They've been helping clean their own rooms for years. Shout out to Rainbow for making such an incredible vacuum ha. It adjusts heights so it's perfect for kiddos.
Hudson helping his Daddy cook deer jerky.
Charlee was so proud of herself for making our bed for us. I wasn't feeling well that day and she was such a big helper.
Hudson helping me gather eggs this week.
Andlee helping me make dinner. She has a major passion for food, cooking, and baking. I love it.
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