Kids

[GDR]

Kids are great, most down to earth people especially rural will do a good job raising them. Society doesn't make it easy, the keeping up with the Jones' attitude and the no consequences for bad behavior crap and the no actual school grades and participation ribbons without winners and losers stuff sure makes me shake my head.

Had trouble explaining to my daughter why Santa put an IPad in her friends stocking and not in hers. Most kids will never know how to want and work for success.

My advice is to have more than one and close together in age, ours are 4 years apart and that's too much.

Oh and by the way whoever said it's fun "practicing" to have kids forgot to mention you should write some notes down so you remember how to do it when the time comes again!

[woodland]

When we had my twin boys i gave up the oilfield and stayed home when the wife was working, bottom line they dont know being raised by strangers, one of us was almost always with them. Yes the farm suffered at times but i dont regret it. If you are lucky and the wife can stay home what a blessing. The little things you cant imagine are so important, like losing ten minutes at seeding because your son looked at the tractor and asked how hydraulics work.

Awesome advice and I have a twin brother as well👍. There's nothing like your three year old daughter telling you to "finish your breakfast and go feed the cows!" And then asking if she can come with you. Also as others have mentioned the only way to raise them is by doing it yourselves. A couple times a month we drop the kids off a day home if we are not able to have them with us (like branding) and it's always interesting what bad habits they learn from the other kids.

I believe kids make you a better person as your patience grows as they do.

The best things to happen to me

[Rareearth]

Lots of peer and society pressures, you know the what and why, raising children will be a life changer for the Best.

Don't fall into all the traps, imagine Sleep Consultants - pathetic. This is where the parents hire some one to come into the house to sleep with the child for the night while the parents are off on a date or what ever ... the parents are tired because they can't get enough sleep, so this consultant comes in , the child balls all night, the consultant ignores the kid till the child falls asleep. This goes on for as long as it takes for the kid to sleep for the night the night.

Wonder how the "consultants " handle bed wetting, or potty training.

Must be very high % vegetarians, ooooh!

I think we need more parents like you Klause, and I feel better now as well.

[Jay-mo]

Advice is great, but really, every parent is kinda wingin' it.
There's been some good advice here already. However, it's worth repeating.

Don't spoil your kids. It's seems so easy to just give them what they want.
Stick an Ipad in their face and they shut up right?? Don't do it. Read to your kids, stick books in their face, limit screen time. Especially at very young ages. You have the opportunity to help connect neurothingamijigs in their brain through healthy interaction and stimulation.
Don't be your kids "buddy".
Let your kids make mistakes, don't try and remove every inconvenience in their path.
Example I observed of another parent at my kids beginner Can-skate program. The parents were told straight to the face "no parents on the ice", no matter if your kid can only flop on the ice. Five minutes later, I see one of the parents walking onto the ice holding their kid up on the ice....duh!!

Pick your battles carefully. If you're not going to back up a threat, don't even bother making it.
I've heard parents in the grocery store threaten their young children with leaving them at the store if they don't behave.....really? The kid is either now terrified, or has tuned you out long ago and knows your full of shit!
Sometimes when my wife says (threatens punishment) something to one of our kids, I ask her (with a smile). "Are you gonna follow through with that??" lol

Love your kids, enjoy them, spend time with them, change the diapers!

Don't give out parenting advice to friends or family! (unless they ask)

[SASKFARMER3]

Ours went to daycare nice gramma kind of lady. My wife has a good career. We let boys do all sports or activities they wanted plus had to do swimming. We travel since they were three and five they know airports. Good friends and have to work for their money! Both in high schooldoing fine.

Suppers always sit down at table.

I think we did ok their happy healthy understand money and are street wise I guess that's all you can do!

They do make your world!

[Guest]

kids are the meaning of life, grandkids even better . it's all in how you raise them and you know how to do that . get on with it , lol

[crusher]

Kids, lots of fun. Get out what you put in. If you don't have kids you'll realize, in several years what's the point of building up your farm if no one is there to take over. We've got two grown boys - they put a smile on my face whenever I think of them. That being said, I'll be the end of our fourth generation farm but that's okay. Wife stayed at home before the kids went to school wouldn't have it any other way. They were not spoiled by stuff but smothered by momma's love.

[seldomseen]

If you have children you will never regret it and having more than the average size family may seem like a big job, you will still never regret it. We raised four and looking back I would not change a thing except to maybe have a few more. They become independent so fast that I hardly remember it being any work at all just a life style change and that change is for the better.
Your kids will end up being just like you. Like what others have said, don't spoil them and I have found that you should never do anything for them that they can do for themselves and that starts at an early age!
Best of luck with what you decide and just think how good it would be for the world if there was a few more Klause's and Darcy's.

[Rareearth]

Since no one has mentioned it, many today choose a pet.

[farmaholic]

Rareearth....dogs are amazing but humans tend to out live too many and I wouldn't want one in the house(to each their own though).

[makar]

every farm needs a dog and kids.

[makar]

Every farm kid needs a cat.

[malleefarmer]

good thread klause agree with sentiment and comments.

some kids love the bush and farms other are attracted by bright lights of city.

I have one city boy one half and half and one bush boy who will never leave the farm hates going to city or even town of 6000 people 35 kms away for shopping.

the wages of city and town attract them my middle guy is currently doing financial studies at uni and gets $32 bucks a hour working at a transport depot way better then $24 and hour he would get farming and esier work.

but often they ring and say dad we gotta getaway from city for a while and they head bush for a week

[malleefarmer]

re drugs when I was growing up in 80s I'm 63 vintage weed was around in the bush and beer I chose to stick with the beer probably cause I'm silly enough without anything else but nowadays I'm sure its not quite that simple a smorgasboard of illicit substances I presume.

I good friends with local policeman and asked him once about any drugs in our small town of 600 and surprisingly he said no just a bit of left handed tobacco but town 35 kms away ice is endemic and all sorts of other things.

most weeknends kids play sport for about 8 months of the year and other times well there helping on farms or fishing shooting motorbike riding doing crazy stuff in cars out in the scrub etc basically what we did.

[furrowtickler]

Kids can be a challenge but will prove to be a blessing as many have said here.
My advice , help them strive for excellence, not the mediocre style were everyone gets a ribbon .
Show them the passion it takes to farm , it will help them flourish if they choose agriculture.
No matter how tough at times it is to work for yourself , most of the time it's better than working under someone else .
You can't create much wealth working for someone else .