what is with kids toys

[NH Homesteader]

My husband thinks 9 is perfectly reasonable for a responsible child. DD is very responsible. She collects eggs, feeds the dogs and the chickens (she can't feed the goats, they would knock her over!), helps put away dishes, etc. She's very careful and safe when you give her direction, so she'll be welding at an early age I'm sure!

 

[Beekissed]

Here ya go!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B1V32N8/ref=abs_brd_tag_dp?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

Or, you could build one out of an old entertainment center....you can get those so cheap at Good Will and the Restore Store!

http://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/ma...-old-entertainment-center-into-a-play-kitchen



And then there's just picking up the pink ones on the cheap and painting them any color you want.

Aliza's is sort of gender neutral and I got it at Good Will for $10...

 

[tortoise]

Dare I say to not to a kitchen play set and cook with him for real instead? He can do a lot of mixing and kneading already. Wash him up and set him to work mixing ground meat for meatloaf? Knead bread? pancake batter? count the scoops as you measure?

I know it's a bit of a PITA, but it pays off. My DS10 can cook some basic things by himself - eggs, oatmeal, cookies, bread machine bread, and cook a pound of ground meat. He could do more if I wasn't so impatient. He "made" supper tonight. I told him to have leftovers reheated and served at 5:45 and DH and I went out to do chores. Came back in and the table was set and leftovers were hot

It's worth it.

 

[rodeogirl]

To be honest @treerooted I would get him a pink one but because he is my only child right now I think I'm going to brake down and make him one . maybe one like this

 

[NH Homesteader]

Lol good reply!

My husband says little girls can hunt and butcher just as well as little boys, so what does he care which he has?

 

[frustratedearthmother]

My good neighbors have a ten year old daughter. She is the apple of her daddy's eye! She's been hunting for a couple years. She's already bagged a buck and a couple does and lots of pigs. She keeps offering to help and asking when we're gonna butcher pigs, lol.

 

[treerooted]

People do get really caught up in the sex of a child as if that's the only determining factor in their future personality. It's really too bad.

And @NH Homesteader , I grew up in a family of all girls (expect dad and the cat ), three daughters and it was great.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

@FEM, I agree with you too. I did not have kids just to take care of me when I get older. However, there are benefits to having large families that many people will never experience. And maybe I'm wrong, but I counted taking care of my parents as a great privilege, not an unfair burden.
That's a hard thing to see when it wasn't something you were planning on. You kinda ended up being a caretaker by default. It's totally NOT fair! It's derailing what you had envisioned for your family. (There is actually a lot of grieving that goes with that and I don't think you've had time to process that yet.)
I do think though that if your parents had more kids, that maybe you wouldn't be the only one really carrying this responsibility now... Hugs to you, my friend. You're in a tough spot and are handling it well. But more help would be good.
(My grandmother had 15 kids. When she was old, there were many to help and no one felt burdened. They took turns and no one family was turned upside down to help.)

My apologies to all for helping to disrail this thread. Back to our regular programming...

 

[NH Homesteader]

I guess I don't bank on my kids taking care of me when I'm old. Just like my parents don't expect me to take care of them. That's not to say we won't, but I don't think it's fair to expect your kids to take care of you.

My husband was adopted. He has 2 sisters. We are not close with his family, but we are close with family friends he grew up spending time with. I am not close with my brother, but I have a dear friend I consider my brother. My daughter doesn't need a million siblings to have important people in her life.

I agree our society has had serious breakdowns regarding family values, but also regarding friends and community structures. I don't expect to look back and wish I had more kids, I just want the ones I have to be surrounded by special people, "family" or not.

 

[milkmansdaughter]

I'm not sure it's an age thing. @NH Homesteader how responsible is DD? My oldest granddaughter is 4. At home, she does nothing. She plays with toys with little supervision, and NO responsibilities. At my house, she picks up her clothes, makes her bed, puts her jacket on by herself... (When she comes, she usually wants help with everything, saying , "I can't" or "I don't want to", and cries if she doesn't get her way. That changes when she's here just a short time. Soon she's getting herself dressed, running, jumping, climbing, picking her stuff up, helping in the kitchen, feeding chickens...) (Her mom is going through some rough times right now...) That's extreme, but it depends on your training, their willingness to learn, their ability to follow directions and to stay on task, and each child's interest... With something like welding, it would also depend on the weight of the equipment, the height of the child, their strength and steadiness. There's no magic number for when each child would be ready.
(My oldest child was riding a two wheeler when he was two. My second not till he was 7, and the youngest when he was 4?) (No idea when my daughter learned...)