When I was a kid, sometimes I would participate in picking potatoes. However, what I did was far less than what my parents did. A big part of their life revolved around farming - even though both my mom and dad's family had a father with a good paying non-agricultural job. It was just the culture in Northeast Tennessee at the time. Anyway, do your kids do a lot of farm work? Have they ever been exposed to it - even a little?
I was born and raised in the city so this thread does not apply to me. But in my travels, I have been to many farms and have talked to some farmers. Working in the fields is reserved for the father with his sons for assistance. As young as 10 years old, the boys help their father tend the farm. During the harvest season, the daughters would also help. From the tradition, farming here is a family affair. There was one documentary on tv that I saw recently. The girl was 14 or so. She was carrying a sack of farm products. She and her father and siblings had to walk several kilometers to sell their goods. It was a pitiful sight.
I grew up in the country, so farming was part of everyday life. Now I'm raising my child in the city I'm trying to make sure that he gets some exposure to it so that he knows where his food comes from and what is necessary to produce it. I don't want him to be one of those people who recoils when he discovers plants grow in dirt, so I'm also letting him help with the fruit and veg we grow out the back.
Unfortunately, no, because we're living in an urban area and there's simply no nearby place to do some real farming. I have a backyard garden though and he eats some of the vegetables we produce so he knows the process at least. I grew up in the countryside where every household have large land area and families plant trees and vegetables around the house and have rice farms as well. However, we don't have the luxury of space right now. The school once gave each student some seeds to plant in a pot and they were supposed to submit the potted plant after 20 days. My son was really amazed at how the plant sprung from the seed. Well, that was about the only 'urban farming' experience he can hope to have at this point.
Well I grew up with my grandfather who was a farmer. Actually aside from planting stuff like rice, sweet potatoes and corn, he also took me with him whenever he would get fishes from a river a few kilometers away from our place. It was a lot of fun way back then but I don't think I can still do that much work now since I get tired easily. I also like the idea of kids learning how to do some stuff in a farm while they are young. They would learn how to grow their own food and they would know the importance of not wasting food at a young age if they know how much work needs to be done just to have something to eat.
When I was a kid I lived on my grandparents' farm and little by little I always did some activity related to farm life. I loved it! Having contact with the land and with animals is fundamental to any child - in many aspects - and my daughter won't be unaware of it. For my luck, she loves it too! She is the first to ask to stay with the animals or do some other activity on the farm. I'm a lucky father.
My dad has a farm in the province, but since I did not grow up there, we siblings have zero farming experience. I won't mind teaching my kids some light farming chores just so that they know what it's like to work and do some chores and be responsible.
Children as young as two years old need to be introduced to farming. When children are introduced to farming they will learn importance of food. farming activities are also fun activities. Children will love to play with soil and seed. They will be happy to see the growing plant. They will learn a valuable lesson on farm.
I was also born in the city, but some of my family had farms. When we would visit them when I was young they would let us help them around the farm. I think all young children should learn some sort of farming, even living in the city, to this day I have a small garden at my house. It's wonderful to grow your own vegetables etc..
I was born in a city but my father was posted in an agriculture college as a lecturer. The college was located in rural area as it needed a vast land of agricultural land for demonstration purpose for undergraduates and practical purposes. So, we enjoyed the vast areas around our houses and the government employees doing the job around us using their machines. We had a lot of fun as kids as no one stopped us from plucking fruits and vegetables from gardens and fields. We would even ride on tractors and cultivators for fun. Later my father was transferred to capital of the state in the agricultural manufacturing field but being a top government agricultural official we always had the privilege of government bungalows and vast lands and gardens with vegetables and fruits.