We have a ton of trees that need cut down. The previous owner of our home was in her 90s and we expect that the last 20 years only the neighbors helped her out with yard work. Hence, tons of neglected yard and trees. Elijah really loves to pitch in and work, he works hard for a 5 year old.
I continue to be impressed on what kids can do when you let them. I never would have imagined that a 5 year old who has never stacked wood or seen a wood pile before could do this. I asked him how he knew how. “Little Bear does it with Papa Bear on TV”.
My son is picking up way more than I could imagine simply by watching TV. That just goes to show that we have to be diligent in what we allow our kids to watch, at any age. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than 2 hours of television watching for kids. I try hard to keep with this rule and feel so good when a day or two goes by with no TV. As hard as I try, there are some days when the TV is on longer.
If you have wondered if there is a guide to what shows your kids should watch, there is. The American Academy of Pediatrics has a listing based on ratings, etc. Although they recommend sitting with your child and watching the shows, if you are like me, you are cooking dinner or doing laundry while the kids take a break and watch a show. However, I think it is wise to check out a show with your child when it is a brand new show that you’ve never seen. Even if it is rated acceptably, you may not like the humor, language, theme, etc of the show. I continue to be surprised at what I find even with kids cartoons like witchcraft, dishonesty, and disrespect to parents.
Back to our woodpile…I love watching my kids experience new things for themselves. I love seeing the look of accomplishment like the picture above. I wonder what we would be doing had we not moved out of the city. Would he remain and continue to grow adventurous? Would his interest change? I just see every decision that we as parents make molds and forms who are kids are and who they will become. Elijah is our nature boy and he is in his element.
Use the right tools
Moving to the woods, we knew we needed to get a good chain saw, a cheap small one wasn’t going to cut it. The salesman at Lowes recommended Husqvarna for something that would last more than a season compared to other crappy brands. We need it to last. To start, earlier this summer, we cut down about 20 small locus trees that had a disease and died, per the neighbor. Next, we are headed to the back of the lot to clear out more dead and dangerous trees. This is when the size of the chainsaw will really count as there are some big trees that need to come down. There will be lots of bon fires this year!
Yes, kids learn from TV, both good and bad things. This was one of those good times. 🙂
That’s great that he learned how to stack the wood from Little Bear!
We’re the same way with the TV in our house. Sometimes Grace watches too much, other times it barely makes its way into our day. She is always learning so much from her different shows so I know it’s not harming her.