Children and the ranch life
Growing up as a child on a ranch is not as common as one would think. I assume people who live outside of Wyoming would fantasize about what it would be like living here. We all would live on huge ranches, and have a barn full of horses with plentiful fields of crops to tend too. Although there are plenty of ranches and farms in our town, the ratio of “ranch kids” in the schools are mildly small. I remember growing up, in high school “those kids” were known as the cowboys. The cliques were small, and I am not even sure any of them lived out side of city limits. Now that I have grown up living as an adult on a ranch, and have school aged children. I do realize there are programs offered inside and outside of the classroom. Middle schools and high schools do offer the FFA program. For those that are not familiar, it stands for Future Farmers of America. According to their website ffa.org this is what they stand for. “National FFA Organization is an American 501 youth organization, specifically a career and technical student organization, based on middle and high school classes that promote and support agriculture education.” Scott’s two daughters have grown up participating in 4h and FFA programs. Starting out as small children, they would raise and show livestock in the local fairs. As they have grown up, they have grown with the FFA program in middle school and high school. Scott’s eldest daughter has held high level officer positions in both schools, and has received multiple awards for her speeches and awards.
While not all children who grow up on ranches participate in 4H and FFA , they still hold great responsibility and have a key part in the inter workings of the ranch.
The glamours life of bottle feeding calves is one of the stories I wrote for the blog. It depicts the cost and time dedication it takes to raise them. A huge responsibility in itself to prepare and deliver a 2 liter bottle to a hungry cranky calf. All our children have been a huge asset when it comes to this task. Waking up on school days to make bottles, walk to the barn and feed the hungry kids. Putting on Bogs, long socks, and heavy coats, trucking through inches of snow just to get covered in slober. Sounds fun?! With them being in charge of a life, taking time to make sure it’s fed and healthy is a huge life lesson that is gained in these scenarios.
Cows are not the only thing the girls take care of. The other animals are just as important. My middle daughter loves the baby chicks, every year she takes on this responsibility of checking in on them twice a day. Making sure their heat lamps are still on, the water supply is plentiful, and food containers filled. Keeping happy healthy chicks provides you with happy healthy chickens that lay eggs for profit and food supply.
When raising sheep for their lambs to use for 4H, Scott and his girls will get up at all hours of the night to check to see if the lambing process has begun. Most often the ewes will have no difficulty giving birth, but you always want to be aware and available in case an emergency arises. Keep in mind. This all takes place in the dead of winter with freezing cold temperatures!
Raising our children on the ranch has helped them gain a huge amount of responsibility. They understand the concept of taking care of them so they take care of us. They realize they have to feed the animals before relaxing play time in the house. With this knowledge they learn as children, this will allow them to be responsible adults. They truly understand what it takes to grow a baby animal into a thriving adult, and how to sustain its life.
Now I understand that a child does not have to grow up living on a ranch to gain responsibility, I am merely stating that our children growing up with this ranch life has taught them valuable important life lessons.
