my worst investment yet

 My four-year-old is perched in the back of the ute throwing hay to our hungry livestock.

“I am the sheep Santa!” he announces with delight.

The rest of the kids are doing their jobs – scattering out grain, mineral lick blocks and lucerne rounds.

Life on the farm is bloody tough right now. We’re in drought, so there’s bugger-all grass, and I’m spending $250 a day on feed. Every. Single. Day.  (Jesus may have rested on the Sabbath, but not these munching mutton-chops.)

And I know what the sheep are thinking:

“This bloke reckons he’s a financial expert, yet every afternoon he’s got his kids throwing $50 notes at us from the back of his ute! We’re eating better than he is!”

Bahhh!

As old farmers love reminding me, once you get to this stage, you’re not making money. But, with heavily pregnant ewes, I’ve got no choice – I need them in good nick for lambing.

And, right on cue, our first lamb of the season has arrived.

“We shall name him Kade Chandler!” announced my footy-mad nine-year-old. (Tip for new farmers: don’t let your kids name the livestock after their favourite AFL player.)

Still, there is a silver lining.

Getting my kids to pitch in on the farm may well just be one of the best things I can do for them.

A study in the Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics followed nearly 10,000 kids and found that those who did chores in kindergarten were more confident and socially capable by Year 3.

Then there’s the Grant Study out of Harvard, which has tracked people for over 85 years. It found that kids who did chores grew into more resilient, empathetic and capable adults.

It’s a blinding flash of the obvious, really.

If you give kids the chance to roll up their sleeves and take responsibility, they grow. 

If you do everything for them, they don’t.

And yet here we are, in the middle of a youth mental health crisis, with the Government spending millions trying to teach resilience in classrooms. Now I appreciate it’s a complex issue, and kids today are facing pressures I never had to think about growing up.  

Yet maybe there’s something in the simple stuff too. Like giving kids a job to do. Letting them feel needed. Helping them see that their contribution matters, even if it’s just taking out the bins or feeding the household pets.

Then again, maybe I’m the one who needs resilience training:

After we finished feeding the sheep, my daughter asked me to help her down from the ute.

It was a trap.

She looked me dead in the eye:

 “Daddy, you need to promise not to sell these lambs. They can’t be eaten. We cannot eat Kade Chandler.”

“Oh. Ummm. Let’s talk about it on Sunday ... over a lamb roast.”

Tread Your Own Path!

P.S.

Farmers are among the most resilient people on the planet.

They have to be.

So if you’re on the land - or you love someone who is - know this: there is help.

Rural Financial Counsellors get what you’re facing. They can help you apply for drought assistance, talk to your bank, and be a steady financial sounding board when things get tough.

They’re free. They’re independent. And they’re in your corner.

Call them on 1300 771 741.