The Working Ranch: Benefits of Children Farming and Caring for Animals
Have you ever considered buying or moving to a working ranch? Did you know that children farming and raising animals builds character? Learn more here.
Every person has their own philosophies when it comes to raising kids. Some think it's better for one parent to stay home while others think kids learn more independence with two working parents. Some people believe homeschooling is the way to go while others prefer traditional schools.
Each parenting method has its pros and cons, and nothing is perfect for every family. Still, raising children farming is one of the best decisions you can make for your family's present and future.
Benefits of Raising Children Farming
No matter how much technology expands and changes, growing up on a farm gives kids these impactful advantages and more.
Physical Activity
"Baby fat" is one thing, but the reality today is that keeping a child's weight under control is a battle that starts early. The childhood obesity rate is three times higher today than it was in the 1970s.
Much of this is caused by a lack of activity. Instead of spending all day inside playing video games, your child will be out on the farm working with their plants or animals.
When physical activity is an essential part of a child's life from the start, it keeps them at a healthy weight today while making them less likely to become obese as an adult.
Compassion and Understanding
Every parent would love to give their child anything they could want or need. By giving them projects to manage on their own, though, you teach them how to put someone else's needs above their own wants.
When a child grows up on a farm, they learn the responsibility of caring for crops or animals. They discover how to understand and feel compassion toward something that can't communicate its feelings. This is a quality that will help them in any social situation.
On top of the animals or plants they care for, your child will also learn to appreciate and protect the environment.
Confidence
Your child's psyche starts developing at an early age. If you instill confidence from the time your child is a toddler, they're likely to be more emotionally healthy and confident throughout their childhood and adulthood.
During life on a farm, kids are faced with new challenges every day. They learn to solve problems and come up with solutions by themselves. Praising your child goes a long way, but it can't compete with your child feeling the pride of accomplishment for themselves.
At the same time, kids who work on farms maintain humility. It's hard to become prideful when you're picking up another creature's waste. Farm work offers your child a perfect balance between serving others and learning how capable they are.
Discipline and Hard Work
Most kids are impulsive. They want to do what they want to do, and that's their only consideration.
By growing up on a farm, your child learns about responsibility. They learn that they have obligations and that they can enjoy their free time when those jobs are done.
Most of all, they get the opportunity to see the fruits of their labor. When they see a beautiful harvest, they see that all those early mornings and long days were worth the reward.
This attitude of self-discipline and putting in the work to see the results will benefit them for their entire life, from school to career to relationships.
Learning a Trade
It's never too early to start thinking about your child's future. With the skills they learn on the farm, they can pursue any career they want, including farming.
Your child may or may not choose to farm for their career. If they do, though, they'll have spent their entire childhood building the skills they need.
Life on a farm also gives your child the opportunity to decide whether that is what they want for their career.
The average person changes their career up to seven times in their life. Imagine how much lower that number would be if they were able to try out a few careers before choosing one? That's a unique advantage your child will have.
Survival Skills
Modern technology is great, but it's easy to become too dependent on it. if most of us were left to live off the land without technology, we'd be in trouble in a hurry.
Kids who grow up on a farm develop a working knowledge of their environment in a way most others never will.
They learn how how to grow plants and raise animals. They can diagnose problems and come up with solutions. They understand how to use farming equipment and how to work with the weather instead of against it.
Those skills open the door to allowing your child to live almost anywhere they want and thrive.
The Value of Teamwork
Unless your farm is extremely small, no one can manage a farm on their own. For most farms, it takes a combined effort from the whole family to keep everything running.
When your kids grow up in this environment, they learn two things about teamwork: how important it is and how to do it.
When people work together, they're bound to have disagreements about various tasks and to have different strengths and weaknesses. Your children will learn how to navigate these situations and it will become second nature. This is a skill that will help them every day of their lives.
Hands-On Parenting
A farm, like any other way of life, has its pros and cons. There are struggles and it takes a lot of hard work. For a family, though, raising your children farming will give them the skills above that will benefit them no matter where life takes them.
To give your kids this unique opportunity, start by looking for farming properties today.