Raising Kids

Rob talks about raising kids, and he and I have the same philosophy. Supervise them well, and give them all they can handle, when they indicate they are ready to handle it.

My boys were raised on a small family farm, and they grew up using machinery long before city boys would even have thought to ask about it. Each of my sons could drive the tractor at age 5, shoot a shotgun by age 8, drive the truck by age 10, and use a chainsaw about that same time. It was important, because we were way the hell out in the woods, and if something was imminent, they needed to know how to deal with it.

For example, a tree falls on a fence and we find it about the time the cattle are trying to get out of the pasture. I stand by the hole in the fence and tell my son. "Go up to the house, get the tractor, the chainsaw, some barbed wire and a length of chain, and get back here so we can fix this before the cows get out."

Or, one of the boys would call me at work. "Dad, there is a leak in the water line going to the barn."

"No problem, son. Do you know where the cutoff is? Cut it off till I get home, but call me back and let me know if we need any fittings so I can get to the hardware store before it closes."

Or, I'm sitting at the kitchen table when one son dashes into the house and comes back through the room carrying a shotgun. "What's up, boy?"

"Snake outside needs shooting."

"Be careful."

That's how you raise kids in the country. No use coddling them. Let 'em learn as soon as they show a desire to learn. Let 'em try and fail, then let them try again. They'll learn like that. Supervise for safety until you are certain they know what they are doing.

Later on, when they are teens, you will have a basic working relationship with your kids and you will know you can trust them. You can trust them to bring the truck home in one piece, you can trust them to act like gentlemen in public, you can trust them to handle freedom because they understand responsibility.