4 Important Life Lessons Kids Learn from Homesteading
Here are 4 things that homesteading will teach your kids – and maybe you as well!
As any homesteader will tell you, homesteading is a great teacher! There are a seemingly infinite number of lessons to be learned on the homestead – from practical considerations like livestock care and garden tricks, to philosophical and personal growth lessons like patience and how much you can accomplish with just determination and a willingness to figure stuff out on your own.
But these lessons aren’t just for adults; kids can also learn tons of valuable life lessons on the homestead! If you have kids, or are planning to have some, here are some of the things you can expect a homesteading lifestyle to teach your children, according to Jill over at ThePrairieHomestead.com:
1. Working hard is a gift.
So many adults treat work like a four-letter word and that makes me sad. Working towards something you love is beautiful and the process of creating and building is intoxicating once you push past the blocks. Yes, work can be hard, dirty, and sweaty, but that moment where you step back to admire the fruits of your labor is one of the best natural “highs” I know. I do everything I can to make sure the Prairie Kids get to experience that feeling, and the homestead provides ample opportunities.
2. You don’t need to be entertained.
I continually scratch my head when I read the complaints from folks in our local newspaper and social media channels declaring there is “nothing to do” in our nearby town. I don’t get it. What can you create, dream up, build, or improve? Do you need to be entertained all the time? Homestead kids learn quickly it’s not the iPad or TV’s job to keep them busy. You will get out of something what you put into it, and if you want something, it’s your job to create it.
3. How to care for helpless things.
There’s nothing that puts a lump in my throat faster than watching my kids nurture a sick animal. Even wild-and-rambunctious Prairie Boy instinctively knows when to be quiet and soft when something is helpless or injured. They care for and fiercely guard even the smallest of creatures. Not to mention, the animals do an outstanding job of teaching them exactly when to be firm and assertive, and when to be gentle and nurturing. That happens to be an important skill for human interactions, too. Ahem.
4. You can do hard things.
The pony will be stubborn and attempt to drag you over to the hay bales, the barbed wire gates will never shut without some grunting and stretching, and coercing the escapee chickens back to their pen is indeed harder than herding cats. Don’t quit, embrace the failure, and keep trying.
What lessons have your kids learned from homesteading? Or if you don’t have kids, what lessons have you learned? Share your responses on our Facebook page!
