Here at Green Eggs & Goats, everyone pulls their weight. We have found time and time again that our grandparents were right when they said that “many hands make light work.” I was surprised that recently some other bloggers have gotten angry comments about making their children help out around the house. My thoughts were along the lines of “if they think THOSE kids have it bad, they should see farm kids in action!”
Anyway, I thought a lot about it, and decided to let my kids tell the world in their own voice about the chores they do here and how they feel about it. I hope it brightens your day!
They don’t sound too unhappy about having to do chores to me! Of course, sometimes they are able to bounce on the trampoline or play with baby goats while I finish my chores, and that makes them happy campers.
Often while I milk, I just need someone close by in case of emergency. After the concussion I received last year, I try to not work with the larger animals alone. A vet friend told me that I should never go to the barn to work animals alone, and I think it is sound advice, so I try to always take a buddy if I can.
So, what sorts of chores do my children help me with on a daily basis? Here’s a quick rundown.
Jackson Kids Daily Farm Chores:
Feed chickens
Check on baby chicks, fill the feeder and report to me if I need to fill the waterer
Help me fill and deliver goat and cow feed buckets
Check for eggs (OK, fine, I usually end up doing this. It is my favorite chore on the farm, but the kids help me out when I am busy with something else.)
Play with baby goats
Feed the fish in the pond (seasonal and weather dependent)
In addition to these things, they pitch in and help whenever needed. They run to get me if there’s a problem (like when there was a snake in the chicken coop!) They dash for towels after a new birth, they tote jugs of water when the spigot busts. In general, they are just great helpers and they rarely complain about it. (Now asking them to clean their rooms is a different thing altogether!!) I am truly blessed to have them and the help they provide. Yes, I could do all these tasks by myself, but it is so much fun to share it with my family.
What about you? Do your children do chores around your home or farm? What sorts of things are they responsible for?
If you like this post, you might also enjoy my “For the Farm” Pinterest Board. And don’t forget to sign up for Beulah’s Mooooooosletter! She’s a hoot and will keep you up to date on all the latest farm action!
My kids are 13, 8, and 6. The 13 year old feeds the chickens and the goats and helps the 6 year old with the rabbits. The 8 year old feeds the dogs and cats. I used to have the six year old gather eggs but he ended up breaking one or two everyday so now my oldest and I share that job. The younger two also bring up hay from our tractor shed up to the barn and fill up water pans. During the winter everyone has to pitch in with bringing in wood for the stove and gathering sticks. In the summer they all have to pitch in with the garden.
Everyone typically does fine with the farm chores it is the inside chores like dishes, toys, and dirty laundry in the bathroom floor we have a hatd time with.
I don’t have kids or a farm, but those are great adorable kids!
Awwwwwww, thank you!
My daughter is 6 and she helps out a lot! Her official jobs are to take out compost, feed dogs, sweep porch and help with one of the meals. But, for some odd reason she loves to wash floors and windows! 🙂 Thanks for posting!
Karen
I have one that likes to mop too! More power to them, right?!? 🙂
Being elderly, and alone here at 110 Greenway, I miss having those chores. Teaching children to grow up to become adults means spending time showing and having them do chores. I have 5 adult children who are now grand parents, and when we were all together, they had chores. Better than the TV, electronics, and latch key kids. We all had our moments, but one daughter said years ago, “Mom, you made us make memories.” We were needy in a lot of ways, but then a gentleman came to my house to pick up his children I was caring for, we were eating our ‘supper’ and he sat down and said, “this is missing at my home, I call you blessed.”
Awww, thank you for sharing this beautiful story. It’s always good to be reminded of just how blessed we are! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
You are welcome, I have a lot to share and love to do it in love. 😉
I also have my children help me on the farm. They help haul hay, feed cows/goats/pigs/chickens/ducks, collect eggs, feed/water the bunny, play with the goats and ducks. They do some household chores as well, helping with dishes and cooking, sweeping and laundry. I think its very important to get the kids to help out. As parents, our job is to teach our children to be adults, rather than throwing them out in the world, having learned nothing. Is that helping them? No, I don’t think so.
I agree entirely! Teaching them to work in general is such an overlooked skill these days too, not to mention the skills they are learning!
Our munchkins help out with just about EVERYTHING here, and if they’re not helping, they’re watching so they know how to help next time! I write about our kids and chores a lot because it’s always amazing to folks how much they do. I think a lot of families set the bar too low, but on a farm you need all hands on deck all the time, so it’s a totally different experience.
So true! Our kids are often capable of so much more than we ask of them! It’s good for people (kids AND grown ups) to stretch themselves once in awhile. It builds character! 🙂
Our son is just two, but he has jobs around the house. We’re not on a proper farm setting yet, but we do have two dogs, four geese and a fish. He helps pick up trash as needed, he also feeds his fish with help, he helps feed our geese some times, he has to pick up any toys that he’s had out to play with, he waters two of our plants (ones that can handle over watering at times! ), and he helps sweep the floor with a swiffer. I’m sure there are other little things as well. He loves helping, and I want to encourage it while he’s young so that it is always a part of his life.
I think kids need chores to learn how to be responsible adults. I teach, and I can tell who has responsibilities at home and who doesn’t. I don’t want my child to be like the kids that don’t know how to do anything for themselves or others. My mother-in-law did a great job teaching all of her six boys to be self sufficient and hard workers. My husband came to our marriage much more prepared to handle a household than I was. I had been raised as an only child, and while I had chores they were not as numerous or varied as his were growing up.