Raising kids on a farm

Do you live on a large acreage or have dreams of one day moving to the farm? Maybe you want to raise your children in a wholesome, natural environment where they can learn about the beauty of nature and the value of hard work or perhaps you have a passion for sustainability. Whatever your reasons for interest in this subject, rest assured that it is an incredible way of life for a family.

First and foremost will probably be financial considerations of such an endeavor for most families. But living on a farm doesn’t mean you have to be poor. Today’s world has lots of opportunities for money making ventures, contract and freelance work and being out on the farm will just multiply those. Granted, you probably won’t make much profit from milking cows and growing a few vegetables, at least not monetarily.

If you are and your family are considering making this lifestyle change or returning to it, let the kids be involved. There’ll be alot of homework to do on your part and you can help them to feel included if they learn alongside you.

At first your kids, especially teenagers, may fight you tooth and nail over leaving their friends, music, and shopping malls behind – but remind them of all they’ll be gaining. They probably won’t agree with you until they’ve experienced it though.

You’ll be amazed and awakened along with your children as you discover the natural world together: animals being born, plants growing, flowers blooming, eating what you’ve grown. As an incentive, kids will probably be most excited about having an animal of their own: a dog, cow, sheep, or even horse if its feasible.

Your lives will be filled with so many new, exciting, and amazing activities that you’ll probably never even have time to miss the days of busy sidewalks and pushy crowds back in the concrete world of the city. There’s always work to be done on a farm, but somehow if you love nature and animals it won’t seem like work at all – it will seem like an adventure.

For the kids there’ll be new friends to make, 4-H projects, sports, music, and church activities if your family is religious. People who live in rural areas tend to be more community oriented and they tend to love events that give them an excuse to gather and especially when it involves food and music.

But don’t assume that some cultural and peer-related problems don’t exist outside the cities, because they do. There’s still plenty of underage drinking, drugs, and teenage pregnancy, not to mention racism and class struggles. In fact, be prepared to experience culture shock as if you were moving to another country, especially if you are moving from a large city to a very rural area in another region of the United States.

On the other hand, more and more people are choosing the slower pace and beauty of living in a rural area and these people have brought with them art and culture. Especially among the retired in the community you will find highly educated and well-traveled individuals with wonderful stories to tell and contributions to make to the community.

Who knows, maybe next year you’ll have traded in your BlackBerry for a jar of prize winning pickles and maybe your kids will have traded in their head phones and baggy pants for a horse back riding and watermelon eating contests.

Just close your eyes and imagine days filled with homemade ice cream, adorable animals, storytelling, hay rides, and swimming in the creek.