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Start them young

Started by okmulch, February 06, 2013, 05:26:16 PM

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okmulch

Yesterday it was a nice day out so my wife picked up our boys right after school instead of letting them go to day care. The oldest will be nine in a few days and the youngest is four. They love to be outside and have started to become helpful around the house. We give them some money for helping every now and then and I encourage them to help out and earn money for things they do instead of just buying them toys and giving them things.

So anyway yesterday I took down a couple of maple trees that have died due to the drought. The bark came off and limbs were every where, so my wife told the boys to come help her pick up limbs and put them in the bucket so we could dump them in the burn pile. My raised beds are right there beside where the trees lay and I was messing around in them and my four year old came over and started playing in the dirt. No big deal that is what boys do. Meanwhile my wife keeps telling him to help pick limbs up and he refuses or ignores the requests.

I finish with the beds and help my wife and older son clean up the debris and as we are finishing up the four year old comes over finally and asks if he is going to get paid for picking the two sticks up as he came towards us. I said NO WAY! You did not help, you were too busy playing in the dirt, so you do not get any money. So in the most loving and sincere way he asks if his brother gets paid, I said yes he helped the entire time. The four year old looks at his brother and asks if he can have some of his money. He tells him the same thing No Way!
I Looked at him and told him he was crazy. We are not the government, we do not give money to people that do not work.

Of course there were a few tears involved, but not for very long.

Just thought I would share this story, as it was amusing to us as it unfolded. Another hard lesson learned and hopefully next time the four year old will pitch in and earn his own money.
Rotochopper b66 track, #2 Rotochopper b66 track, woodmizer lt40, CAT 277b, CAT 268b, CAT 287c, CAT 277c, CAT299d2, CAT299d3, CAT 299d3, Volvo 70e,volvo70f, volvo90f

thecfarm

I had my 3 year old Grandson helping me to sweep out the garage. Next thing I know he's sweeping dirt back into the garage to make roads or whatever he could think of.  ;D  This is the same one that use to help me alot. Now when he gets on the tractor he"forgets" to get off and help.  ::) He's 14 now.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

rbhunter

I am glad you could do something as a family and teach two kids a valuable lesson. I think working togather as a family teaches the kids how to work togather.
"Said the robin to the sparrow, I wonder why it must be, these anxious human beings rush around and worry so?"
"Said the sparrow to the robin, Friend I think it must be, they have no heavenly father, such as cares for you and me."
author unknown. Used to hang above parents fireplace.

lumberjack48

I bought my boys a new saw on their 8th birthday. When they worked i paid them the same as i paid the crew.

Three days after i got hurt the oldest boy was on the skidder. [ 20 yrs old ] He finished that block and logged another one before the roads closed. He had 10 yrs of logging experience, skidding, felling and bucking.
Third generation logger, owner operator, 30 yrs felling experience with pole skidder. I got my neck broke back in 89, left me a quad. The wife kept the job going up to 96.

NWP

Start them young and they will never be without skills to prosper in life.  My 3 boys help me work and learn valuable lessons. 

Give a man a fish and feed him for a day.

Teach a man to fish and feed him for life.
1999 Blockbuster 2222, 1997 Duratech HD10, 2021 Kubota SVL97-2, 2011 Case SV250, 2000 Case 1845C, 2004 Case 621D, John Deere 540A, 2011 Freightliner with Prentice 120C, 2012 Chevrolet, 1997 GMC bucket truck, several trailers, and Stihl saws.

Brucer

Barb's getting worried about our 4 year old grandson. The last few times he's been over she asked him if he wanted to go outside and play for a while.

"Not play, grandma, I want to go out and work."

Work apparently involves exactly the same activities as play :D.
Bruce    LT40HDG28 bandsaw
"Complex problems have simple, easy to understand wrong answers."

Roger2561

There is nothing wrong in teaching the youngsters at an early age work ethic. 

I work at an Ivy League institution (engineering school for graduate students) and one of the IT guys was complaining that he has too much work to do at home and doesn't know when he can get it done.  I told him to get his 10 year old to help out.  He's old enough to learn how to safely swing an ax (I was swinging an ax and splitting mall when I was 10 and it didn't kill me.  I did learn as got older that hydraulics is your friend  :) ).  His response was, and I nearly fell over backwards when he responded this way; when will I have time to bring him to the movies?  Essentially, the IT guy is using his son as a scapegoat for not doing HIS work as the man (I use this term loosely) of the family!  That right there is what's wrong with this country.  People would rather go and watch a movie then complain that they have no time to get anything done!  What this guy is doing is teaching the 10 year old of how to get out of doing work.  Okay now, rant over.  Roger   
Roger

Ron Wenrich

Maybe movies was how he was paying the youngster.  Sometimes young kids would rather have a treat than have cash.
Never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups.

Magicman

Thank you    okmulch for sharing the learning lesson, and also for teaching the learning lesson.  Responsible kids will make responsible adults.   smiley_thumbsup
Knothole Sawmill, LLC     '98 Wood-Mizer LT40SuperHydraulic   WM Million BF Club Member   WM Pro Sawyer Network

It's Weird being the Same Age as Old People

Never allow your "need" to make money to exceed your "desire" to provide quality service.....The Magicman

clww

Could not have said it better, MM! ;)
Many Stihl Saws-16"-60"
"Go Ask The Other Master Chief"
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muddstopper

I can remember my dad helping me hold a chainsaw when i was to young to do it myself. He cut 5ft pulp wood and hand loaded it on a old ton truck. My dad would throw those 5ft sticks on the truck and my brother and I would each get one end and stack it to the front of the bed. I had my own truck with a cable loader before I had a drivers license. Dad also hooked my brother and I to a plow like a team of mules to layoff rows in the garden. He would say Gee and Haw and just laugh and laugh. You do that today and you will get arrested for child abuse.

In my job at work i have noticed a big difference in the work ethics of young folks that come out of the country and those that are raised in the cities. Those city folks think as long as they show up, they should get paid. Ask them to do something and they just complain. Ask a country boy to do something and they get er done. Its the difference in going out into the woods or fields after school instead of going to the local basketball court or mall, or worse setting in front of the tv playing video games. I actually had a supervisor suggest that one person might be a good candidate  as operator for a specialized piece of equipment be cause that person was good at video games. Turned out not to be so, you got to learn to work before you can learn to operate equipment.

hackberry jake

Well put muddstopper. I remember when I was a young lad my grandma took me to the garden. At first she would tell me to pull weeds and I didn't want to. Then she would say "if you don't pull weeds we won't have any tomatoes to eat" I have always loved garden tomatoes, so I pulled weeds with grandma. Affectionately called mamaw in my circle. Well one day I told my mother I didn't want to go to school. My "mamaw" said "if you don't go to school you will have to stay home all day and pull weeds" and I said "that's what I'm here for mamaw". They didn't have the heart to send me to school that day. I still love it when my mom tells that story. My "mamaw" has been gone over a year now and she told it at least once a month.
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EZ Boardwalk Jr. With 20hp Honda, 25' of track, and homemade setworks. 32x18 sawshed. 24x40 insulated shop. 30hp kubota with fel. 1978 Massey ferguson 230.

tree-farmer

From as early as I can remember dad expected me to work for my keep. He used to say, "if you starve, it will not be becaue you don't know how to work." His idea of a passtime was to buy a piece of over grown land, clean it up, make a garden space and sell it to someone else and find another one. Sports in his mind were a total waste of time and energy. At our home we had 10 acres where we grew vegtables to sell in the summer, he would split the money with me then deduct cost of seed, fuel etc. At that point mom would take me to buy new school clothes and I had to pay for those from my cut. Sure taught the value of a dollar. Swore I would never farm or grub brush once I could get away from home.  Well at 59 what do I do for relaxation on weekends? Cut brush and garden; can't say is was all good with my dad, but learning to work and enjoy it was one of the best things he passed on.
Old doesn't bother me, its the ugly that's a real bummer.

muddstopper

hey tree farmer, I see your from over between Brevard and FlatRock. I am usually around Asheville every wk and work the line from Asheville to Hendersonville. I live in Murphy, that makes us Neighbors.

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