I'd like to expand on the cooking thread that expounds on the importance of teaching our children the basics of cooking.. We need to teach our kids other things besides cooking. We need to teach them how to prevent injury, to defend themselves, rope skills, how to maintain their homes as in basic plumbing, wiring, safe use of gas/electric appliances, etc.
For what it's worth, here is what I did with my own children, and how it helped them.
1. Loved and played with them from the time they were born - taught them that they are important, and gave them self confidence, and feeling of safety and joy
2. Assisted them in learning to crawl, and later, to walk. - helped them learn, and gave them a bit of a headstart in exploring their world
3. Taught them what hot meant through experience - Held their little hands in mine, from the time they could craw, close to hot charcoal. When it became uncomfortable to them, I pulled away and said, Hot!. I did that three times, and whenever I said to them the word hot, they new it was not to be touched. I never said that anything was hot that wasn't.
4. Taught them falling techniques - Wen my eldest son was two years of age, he fell lout of a 2nd story window on aun-baked clay, and rocks. He was unhurt except for a few abrasions on his forearms. The doctor who saw him stated that the techniques i had taught him, save him from injury, and maybe death.
5. read to them at an early age - taught them the joy of reading, whether ti was fiction, or non-fiction.
6. Sang to them at an early age - cmforted them, and gave them a love for music
7. created our own "Fractured Fairy Tails" form the classics they learned from me reading to them.- helped to develoop creative thinking skills.
8. Played pretend games that required imagination, and activity - helped keep me in shape, them in shape, and allowed us to develop very close bonds.
9. played with them, first in the bathtub, getting them used to water, and water in their face - helped erase their fear of water, and opened the door for more water training.
10. swam in a pool, with them on my back, often, underewater - further got them used to the water, and to the idea of swimming
11. Taught them various swimiing strokes. - built thier confidence in the water.
12. taught them rope skills, i.e. proper knots and what they are used for, lashing techniques, how to whip the end of a rope to keep it from fraying, etc. - they can build a chair, or even a tower out of sticks, saplings, and rope. They know which knots to use for most situations, whether it be to ti different size fishing lines otgether, or to create a bowline for rescuing someone, or knowts that will allow them to rapell down a steep hill, etc.
13 how to safely enter and exit a canoe, choose prpper and effective life jackets, remove the water from a swamped canoe in deep water, then righti the empty canoe and climb back in. - Keeps them from drowning, or being stranded in deep water.
14, how to start and maintain a safe fire.- stay warm, cook food, not burn down the forest
15. How to build emergency shelters from pine boughs, snow, sticks, and tarps. - life saver technique to stay warm and protect against critters.
16. How to pitch, and secure a tent - ever try to pitch a tent on a sandy beach, and watch the wind pull the tent stakes right out of the ground so that your tent gets blown away. This won't happen if you know the correct techniques for anchoring your tent.
And as they grew older, how to ride/drive vehicles with 2, three, and four wheels, and tracks (snowmobiles)
Somewhere in there, at about age four, they started learning basic food prep, and knife skills.
The list goes on, but you get the idea. Where I live, you can easily get caught in a blizzard that can leave you stranded where no one can get to you, and cell phone reception is either non-existent, or sketchy. at best. People have died in such conditions, frozen to death because they didn't know that the car is made mostly of metal and will easily transfer your body heat to the outside. Snow is a great insulator, and on the coldest days, if made properly, a snow shelter will warm to 45, to 55 degrees from just your radiated body heat. It may not be what most people consider warm, but it's a lot warmer that the -10 degree F. temperatures outside of the shelter. Put a couple of candles in there for light, and the temps soar into the 60's.
i believe it is our responsability to lear how to survive under emergency conditions, to take math classes that will give us problem solving skills through lab work, field trips, and just plane problem solving, such as math. These are brain push-ups that will help us find solutions when our environment gives us complex challenges that we have to deal with. And I'm gonna say it, as it has given me answers, sometimes immediately to difficult problems that needed to be solved, and that is prayer.
Lastly, the most valuable lesson we can give our children, and those around us, is our good example. I used to detest the saying that was so popular among adults when I was a child - do as I say, not as I do. I still detest the concept. My mantra is - I need to set the example, whether it be using proper technique in the kitchen, or casting a fly onto the water, driving safely, or treating others with respect.. Our children watch every move we make, and try to imitate us. Then they rebel to some extent, large or small, as they begin their teen years. But the paths they choose, and the quality of their lives depends much on what kind of parents we are. I gave my children a challenge - "I gave you a better home than I, or my wife enjoyed growing up. Now it's your responsibility to do the same for your home, family, and children. So far, so good.
Seeeeeeeya; Chief Longwind
"There is no success that justifies failure within the home.
