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[Ridgekid]

When my kids were that age and they had things they wanted to do, it didn't happen until "Dad" got what he wanted done.

I can't complain, they all had jobs by the time they were 16. The boys worked at at local Dairy before they were 16, and my daughter was was a certified nurses aide at 16 and started working in a personal care home.  We are empty nesters now and the kids all have good jobs and are settling down. We are proud parents!

[BIGDIESEL20S]

i think a lot of the "laziness" of kids today is that a lot of parents have both mom and dad out in the workforce trying to meak ends meet and  find time to involve kids in things like sports or social out door activities that help create an active life style  get shoved aside so mom and dad can have rest time. I guess i feel us 'country bumpkins' have an unfair advantage here is that we usually have chores to do and the whole family gets involved, and at an early age. kids in my area learn real early that work comes before computers and tv, Im not saying it is like this everywhere but i do feel in general country folk learn that phyisical labour is something that is a "normal' part of everyday life.

AMEN to all of this! Great post! Great topic

[donahuej]

No dout about our country thse days - we are turning in to a bunch of overweight lazy bums in my mind .  I got the same reaction when I told a few of my co-workers about my OWB - I work in computers and almost all of my fellow geeks haven't slighest idea what the working end of a hammer is!  I've been burning wood since I was old enough to carry it into the house - 30 plus years.  I love the work and the satisfaction of my stacked wood - it truly is money in the bank.  Like most of my fellow posters I'm dissapointed on where we are heading these days in the US...Most of the conuntry needs a dose of reality.  After starting out as an elctrician I never complain about woking in the computer room, it's always 68 and never rains!!

Gotta run - have a few wheelbarles to split befor the sun goes down... Happy veterans' day to all my fellow vets!

[Bill G]

A happy Veteran's Day to you, Sir, and to the rest of our Veterans. 

Thank-you for your service!!!

Semper Fi,
Bill

[tulenutn2o]

How about this one: My son(now 13) was helping me on a roof 9yrs old. He had been "helping" since 7. But this particular day he was carrying shingles to me/ sliding to me and a passerby yells up to me"what's that kid on that roof for, you ought to be turned in for child abuse!" Needless to say , I told them to do whatever they felt was prudent and if teaching my kid a trade, work ethic, and how to work safely was  a crime.............I am guilty! I also asked what her kids were doing at the moment, she couldn't tell me. Our household has very little "downtime". He has baseball, football, basketball, bees, chickens, and helps dad. Kid had no choice but to learn how to work.

[oldchenowth]

Amen Brothers.

I see it everywhere that there is no work ethic and motivation by todays youth.  Hell most older people don't do ANYTHING!  Problem is, these are the people that are going to be running our Country in the near future.  "Let the next guy do it"  We are so screwed.

I hated my parents for making me work,  I have since apologized and respect what they did for me.  Kinda funny, no people PAY me to work for them, simply because they don't know how.  Most can't afford it either, but they won't try themselves.  If the time comes, my family will be warm, eat well, cars and trucks will always run.  All from mother Earth and self suffiency.

[ijon]

I think people have a lot of nerve poking  their noses in where they don't belong, namley your kids. Your are trying to teach them something that will help them to survive in life. Hats of to you.

[steely01]

I too find it amazing on how little some people want to work, I can not imagine a day without cutting wood.  My wife says I have wood on the brain when I am cutting but I pointed out to her that we save a lot of money, and it that translates into less money going overseas. 

I keep in good shape because of cutting wood, it is harder to get started for the season because of my age (53), but once I am in the groove it get's easier.  I drop the trees and wheel-barrow out the wood to my truck then come home unload and stack it and split the big ones and enjoy knowing I am in control of my life and not at the mercy of oil/gas prices.  Woudn't have it any other way. A simple life but more rewarding than living in the city/suburbs. 

Those of us with OWB's understand the benefits of hard work and we are not afraid of working.   

Time for a homebrew and some football! 

[beeman]

i agree with . all my kids  would even help with hay you see people going to get taned at a store they could pay me and get a good tan .all but one of the 6 kids are at home now to of my boys are in the service one works were i do at the state prison  lets be careful though if we start talking about we could lose this great site  by the way  its all conspiracy

[muffin]

I think society as a whole is getting lazy, a large portion due to the welfare system which is teaching them to sit on thier butts and collect free money.  I just bought my furnace this year and have cut my first 6 cords so far.  I enjoy it as well and think stacking it is very good for my boys.  They are too young to cut or split yet.  My only hesitation to the unit was the fact that is has to be tended to twice a day and that really limits the ability to go out of town for a weekend.  We will have to get someone to feed it.

[artbaldoni]

My kids work with me all the time and I have pictures to prove it!


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[tulenutn2o]

I would venture to say that most of us do not look at wood cutting as work...................It's therapy!!!LOL!!! Kids might argue, but they are out voted.

[Roger2561]

I am one of nine children.  I was raised on small family farm.  I'm unsure if mom and dad had the farm to keep us kids out of trouble or needed the nine us to work it   We were up at 5:00am, 7 days a week to tend to the animals and then we ate breakfast as a family, dinner the same. 

My dad used to work in at the same Ivy League institution as I do, in the psychology dept., he was an experiemental machinist.  On his wall in his office was a sign "children raised around animals and hard work are seldom seen in court".  I can honestly say that none of my brothers and sisters and I spent a day or night in jail or a police cruiser.  With all the work to do on the farm we were far too busy to get into trouble, plus mom and dad knew exactly we were when school let out for the day.

I consider myself one of the lucky ones whose parents who cared about us and wanted to be around us.  When I was a medic on my towns ambulance crew I saw far too many sad stories of parents caring more about their material possessions and not care about their children.  It always broke my heart.  Unfortunately with this entitlement mentality of so many, it will get worse in my opinion. 

Roger         

[willieG]

amen roger...farm rule nubmer 1...animals eat before you.

[tulenutn2o]

I 2nd that! Willie!