interested cows coming over to say hello
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Adventures on the farm and Daddy’s boy

N’s always loved being with his dad, but previously has been a bit young to worry about his dad working late and not being around at tea.  But now, he’s turned into a bit of a Daddy’s boy; he always wants to go out with his dad on the farm after nursery.  Woe betide if his dad’s not in the yard for him to go and do ‘jobs’ with.  As soon as we pull up to park, he shouts out

‘Where’s Daddy?  I want to go and do jobs with Daddy on the tractor’

Sometimes that’s possible, other times, the jobs are too dangerous so he has to mooch around in the garden with me, or play inside.  A couple of weeks ago we had tears one evening after getting home because his dad wasn’t around.

When he does spend some time with his dad, N’s really good as he’ll do what he’s told.  He knows what to look at for safety, and why we tell him what he can and can’t do around the vehicles and in the yard.  He might not like what he’s told to do, but he does seem to understand why and then follows the rule.  Although I suppose the threat of being sent indoors does make him want to behave.

Now he doesn’t worry too much if his dad’s not around to go out with, because it’s been largely dry enough to go and play in the garden anyway.  It’s not just about going out and doing jobs.  We’ve also had tears because he wanted to ‘eat tea with my daddy’ when his dad was working late.  So I have to explain that because the nights are lighter, Daddy has to work later to get the jobs done while the weather’s dry.

We do spend a lot of time walking down to the yard to see if his Dad’s around. If Daddy’s not around, following his Gramps or uncle will do for the interim.  Or just mooching round to see what animals are still in the barns.

boy exploring the farmyard

I love to see the animals out in the fields.  Now most of the cattle are out, there’s only one barn that needs to be emptied.  N even has ‘his’ calf in the field behind our house.  It does meant there’s not an awful lot to see going on in the barns, but once they’ve all been cleaned out, and the drier weather continues, N will be able to use the yard to ride his bike on.  Great concrete compared to the gravel drive!

poser cow
What a poser!
interested cows coming over to say hello

Thursday though, he didn’t need his dad for some adventures on the farm.  Our vet lodger arrived home and went to park next to the house to find the way was blocked by 2 ewes and 2 lambs who’d escaped from the field.  Cue calls to my brother-in-law who was nowhere nearby.  It was going to be down to the women to get them in.

The sheep didn’t make it easy (plus the dozy lodger at the farm who just stood and watched them wander past him while I tried to get hold of the sister-in-law, nephew and mother-in-law.  N managed to get his wellies on ready, and we swiped him off into the pick up while the rest of us ran down the road to stop traffic and try and block them from going into other fields.  The sister-in-law managed to come up from their house, blocking off the junction and sending them back up towards the farm.

We missed a hole in a hedge on the field opposite ours, so the 12 year old nephew had some exercise driving them through an arable field out the other side for myself and the vet to drive them back up the road again.  Wily (not a phrase I’d usually use about sheep) things went straight back in another ‘gap’, but eventually we managed to get them back into the farm, up the drive and into the paddock out the back of our house.  The latch must have come loose, but we were lucky there were only those animals in the field and not more.

So the girls (plus nephew) did good, with N happily sitting watching us running around from the vehicle with his youngest cousin.  Now the cows are in the same field with the sheep, the former being much more interested in people, heading over to the fence to see us up close whenever we’re out in the garden.

There’s always something interesting going on with the farm for a 3 year old, even if he’s not quite old enough to be involved with or help on every job.  It’s definitely the downward spiral for him wanting to hang out with me in the house or going out.  Compared to his younger cousin, he’s wanting to get out and about with his dad at an earlier age.

The bonus is, I’ll get more time to spend on things I want to do for me, but it’s sad that we’ll spend less time together.

What were the signs that your children wanted to spend more time out of the house with other people?  Or are they still happy to be at home?

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20 Comments

    1. We are lucky with the space, but it does mean he always wants to go out even when I need to be in the house getting tea ready.

  1. what a great experience for your son! I grew up in the city suburbs and I didn’t see a real live cow until I was almost 19 yrs old! (Yes I know, I grew up very sheltered, LOL!) Thanks for the post!

  2. It’s lovely that your little boy wants to get out and enjoy his surroundings, it all sounds very idylic. I’m sure my three would love to live on a farm, at least we have a garden for them to play in. A lot of the children play out in the street, we live in a quiet cul-de-sac, but I’m not ready to let mine out of my site just yet. I guess they all have to grow up sometimes though.

    1. The freedom side is brilliant, and although we’re away from villages, all of his cousins are within 1.5 miles, so when he’s older he’ll be able to bike over to theirs, and opposite is a girl from nursery, so good options for playdates.
      Very different to now in most places. I grew up in a cul-de-sac at the edge of a village and we roamed on and around the main green on the estate, but then off on bikes to the woods across the road and into the village. I think if I was a parent there now I’d still let him do what we did at the same age as safety is just the same, but nowadays you just never see children playing out there – when we were children, there would be loads playing out every day.

      It’s definitely hard to know when’s right for each child.

  3. My husband works 2 jobs on weekdays. Its so sad. But he is okay about it now. Before he cries a lot. He still spends much time with me and saly we dont have relatives for him to go to. #mmwbh

    1. I think once they’re in a routine, they’re fine with it. N gets more upset when all’s been well in one routine during winter, and then come better weather it changes again. He settles pretty quickly, so hopefully that’ll continue. His cousins were just the same when they were younger too.

  4. How wonderful growing up on a farm. I would, and my kids would love that and the freedom it brings.

    1. It’s a great life for kids growing up on a farm (although I think with a boy, closes down the options for doing something else with their life as farming gets ingrained – would have been a bit easier having a girl to avoid the future school/college discussions with my OH!). And brilliant for freedom of outdoor play without worrying about safety aspects people get concerned about in cities.

  5. Monkey would love a day in N’s shoes/wellies I think! He’s happy with me, but as he doesn’t see much of Daddy P at all, as soon as there’s a chance to be with him he’s off! Something us Mum’s just have to accept I fear.

    1. Definitely something we have to put up with. Means more time for ‘me time’ (in between the housework, preparing food etc!)

  6. It is interesting how they do seem to often understand whats dangerous from a young age – my 2 yr old loves to cook but knows to stay away from the hob because it is ‘dot’ (her word for hot). What an amazing adventure for him to be living on a farm and a privilege for him to be able to help daddy with some jobs. Lucky little lad. x

    1. It’s definitely a great life for children growing up on a farm, although a little out of the way for easy playing with friends as he grows up. So important they learn which things they can’t go near on the safety front, and which ones we can let go. But you’re right, they do get it at an early age, as long as the information given to them is consistent.
      Thanks for popping by

    1. Definitely a great life for children growing up, although as they get older a little away from friends, so reliant on planning and parents’ taxiing. But it is great, and what toddlers wouldn’t want to be around the animals and vehicles every day

  7. What an idyllic life for a little boy! Their growing independence is always bittersweet but take heart – boys always love to spend time with their mummies, even when they’re adults.

    1. Good point. My brother always spent a lot more time with our mum than I did (slightly different as our dad died, so it was mother or noone). But it’s great he wants to be out and about doing interesting things

  8. Lovely post. That’s sweet that he wants to spend time with daddy on the farm. My daughter has recently been running out of the front door as she wants to go to the park so i guess she doesn’t want to spend time with me haha!

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