Teach them to be “Idaho boys”
I was watching a ‘survival’ program when something caught my attention. The topic was; “How Prepared Are The Children?”
Parents were wondering how their children would fare in a real emergency. Today’s parents are painfully aware that their children have been pampered and dumbed down to the point of helplessness. And they wonder; would today’s children have sufficient skills and fortitude, if circumstances warranted, to survive.
Here are a few the comments.
I have a 16 yr old who barely knows how to make grits, smoothies, instant rice, and when to turn over a pancake. I find myself hoping for a time that the grid goes down and all these spoiled kids have no choice but to learn how to do something practical. I confess I am going to have a pretty steep learning curve, myself, as my life has been in a heated kitchen and, rarely, a toasted marshmallow over someone else's campfire. Julie
I've had this very fear that many of the young will not know even basic skills. None my sons or my daughters were ever interested in learning basic auto or home maintenance. JOE
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At a family campout in July we all agreed to learn a new skill that would be valuable in a hard situation. I decided to teach some basic skill. At the family campout I gave them each a flint and steel and taught them how to use it and had everyone sharpen a knife. Sally
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The girls did not know how to sew, cook, garden or think. The boys (and I am speaking of twenty-something and thirty-something in age) did not seem to know how to do anything. They were frozen with fear and had a shameful lack of experience in anything useful. Wendy
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continue … I worry for our youth. I worry that our boys will struggle to serve the Lord, our girls will not have the determination to help their men get an education and that neither will have the moral courage to wait for a proper marriage. I worry they will fear the responsibility of a home and family and will falter when enduring the trials life brings.
I had the privilege recently of spending time on a cattle ranch in California. My friend and his 15 year old son were building a fine corral. Together they had logged the trees from their land, cut and milled them, used seasoned railroad ties for posts and designed a sorting corral for up to 1000 cattle. It was a work of art.
Now the land needed work and fences needed rebuilding and with all the unemployment in California they couldn’t find a ‘few good men’ capable or willing to build that fence.
A working ranch needs strong men who can work in the sun, handle tools and work as a team while staying safe from snakes, holes and wild animals. They need the ability to think, to care for their horses, handle an emergency and know their own limits.
I jokingly said “wait for spring and I’ll bring you some Idaho boys… they know how to work”.
I’ve thought about that ever since. My question now is: Where will the next generation learn these skills if they don’t learn them from their parents.
My Idaho boys, family and neighbors, know how to work. They would take great pleasure in fence building on a cattle ranch, working hard with their hands and with each other. They’ve been taught by good family, including aunts, uncles and grandparents and by faithful church, Scout and community leaders.
Their parents have given them skills to build not only a fence, but a life. They’ve learned to work hard and smart and to enjoy both. Those two skills must be learned young and are being lost.
In the next generation who will have the ability to build a home, cook a Christmas dinner, plant fruit trees and raise a moral righteous family that can endure trials together.
As you raise your children and grandchildren think of their future. Think of the skills they will need physically, mentally and spiritually to survive. We live in a ‘soft’ world today, but the world of tomorrow may not always be so easy and the skills parents encourage today will be the skills their children carry into their future. Design life’s lessons to serve them well.
If youth are in your life give them tools to succeed. Teach them skills that endure. Teach them to think and to want to learn and to enjoy both. Teach them the thrill in overcoming obstacles, meeting a challenge, creating with their hands and minds and the value in work both indoors and out.
If you didn’t learn those skills yourself, take time to learn them with your children. Build a greenhouse or a tree house, plant a garden, repair a car, and in those lessons they will grow and prosper and build homes and build relationships. You will teach them more than skills, you will teach them how to raise capable families of their own.
Teach them to be “Idaho boys” wherever you live.
Short URL: http://beprepareduniversity.com/?p=1173
Posted by Lynda
on Oct 18 2011. Filed under BE PREPARED, LIFE STYLE.
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