Homesteading originally referred to the federal government granting land to families who were willing to work it. In modern times, it does not happen that way anymore and homesteading is about families who have decided to live off the grid and grow their own food. Modern-day homesteading involves cooking, farming and fixing things around the house on your own.
Most homestead parents understand the importance of passing on these vital skills to their children.
Why Should Your Children Know How to Homestead?
Children of this current generation have become over-reliant on the system. They get their food ready-made, their clothes already sewn and their water already piped to their homes with no knowledge of how to get these things for themselves. If the system was to crash then they would be left helpless with no idea of how to survive on their own.
Homesteading instills in them an attitude of self-sufficiency. It gives them the information and experience that they would need to fend for themselves in any situation. With such an attitude, they are well-prepared to cope should the world change in an unexpected manner.
As a parent, it is your duty to ensure that your child has all of the skills required to make it in a world whose future is uncertain. Most parents opt to give them regular schooling, but that education is sorely lacking in survival skills.
What Skills Will They Need to Learn?
Sewing and knitting were skills traditionally left to women, but there is no room for gender bias in the 21st century. Your sons need to know how sew, knit and do their laundry and your daughters should know how to change a tire or learn which way to turn a screw to open it.
Fixing things around the house is another job that both boys and girls need to know how to do. The time may come when your daughter is the only one on the homestead and she can’t afford to wait around for someone else to come and fix the leaky faucet. All it takes is the right tools and the right mindset and she can get it fixed on her own.
Hunting is a tough job and not just as simple as chasing down rabbits. Children in the homestead must be taught how to track animals through the forest and bait them so that they can become efficient hunters. Along with hunting they also must know how to butcher the kill, clean and salt it if necessary so that it can be preserved.
Hunting is good if the animal stocks are low but animal husbandry is there to provide a more convenient source of animal produce. Teach your kids how to milk cows, water them and muck out their stables. These are simple jobs that even a young child can learn to perfect.
Naturally, they will love some chores more than others. Your outdoorsy children will prefer working on the farm, while some will be more comfortable with household chores. This is great opportunity to teach them how to work together. As long as you have taught them how to do each job individually, then you can let them share out the responsibilities among themselves.
How to Get Them Motivated
Children who are born on homesteads adjust easily to the rural way of life. If your family has just moved to the homestead from the suburbs or the city, then your kids will have a hard time adjusting to the new lifestyle.
If your children grew up in the city before they moved to live on a homestead then you can expect a fair amount of resistance to the hard, physical chores. They are used to how their lives were before and probably don’t understand the values of what you are trying to teach them.
Cash allowances will get them motivated at first. However, personal responsibility is one of the forgotten traits that you are trying to teach them so try not to make their learning how to homestead too reliant on rewards. You want them to know why they have to learn those skills so always take the time to talk to them and explain to them why it is important to learn how to homestead.
Hold them accountable for all of their responsibilities and stick to strict ‘no excuses’ policy. If a job needs to get done then it has to be done. That’s the reality of how hard life can be and the sooner they learn it the better adapted they will be to handle whatever crisis comes their way.
One Response
I love reading your articles.
I am in the process of trying to start a business that will involve working with city kids to introduce them to agriculture through urban gardening. If you have any suggestions about this type of program, I would love to hear from you. TY in advance.