Role playing as farmer with farm sets is one of the most common type of play for kids. After all, farm life is depicted in a wide variety of media like television, movies and they even appear in some of the most popular children’s songs. But do children benefit from learning what it’s like to live on a farm?
A farming lifestyle has many benefits and teaches a lot of valuable life lessons especially to little kids. Whether it’s about caring for others or showing respect for animals or understanding the cycle of life, these invaluable lessons help children become better adults when they grow older. Although your child may not become a farmer in the future, he or she can benefit from the lessons he or she will learn about farming.
You do not need to live on a farm to teach your kids about farming. If you live in a city, check for local farms near you if they are open for field trips or budget-friendly vacation. A weekend on farm feeding animals, doing chores or just enjoying nature can create memorable experiences for your child.
Farming teaches children that our food comes from something we have to take care for and look after. It makes them realize that fruits and vegetables didn’t just magically appear on the supermarket display. And in fact they come from a farm where they are grown, cultivated and harvested.
Caring for farm animals is one of the important things to do in a farm. Giving animals tender loving care, feeding and watering them fosters growth and teaches children that in life some things come before oneself. They’re our food source especially livestock animals so regardless whether you’re sick, tired or just feeling lazy, animals need you to take care of them.
Farming also teaches children the circle of life. Regardless of the standard of animal care you do, animals eventually die. Whether they die from old age, culled for their meat or being hunted by predators like coyotes, this is an event that helps children have a better understanding that death is constant and always active. It also teaches them to be grateful for the lives of animals and the food they provide for us to survive.
Working on a farm is simple yet it requires hard work. Work starts from sunrise and does not end until sunset. The entire farming operation fails if no work is done. Farm work does not wait for the farmers to act either. Anything can happen on a farm so there’s plenty of work to be done. When children have a firsthand experience and see what it’s like to work on a farm, they will understand that nothing in life is easy and that hard work is necessary for people to succeed. It also teaches children that having a good work ethic and dedication goes a long way. Seeing that growing plants or taking care of animals is never easy, children will know how not to be wasteful with their food.
here are other lessons your child can learn about farming like being patient, value of money and how to survive. It’s really important to instill these values to our children especially at a young age. It will lead them to a path for a better life and they will become the people we hope they will be.
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