Teaching Kids the Value of Hard Work

All of our neighbors have a lawn service mow their yards.  

My husband mows ours.

When we bought our first house and he said he planned to do his own yard, several friends laughed and said, "Just wait until those 105 degree summer days we have.  You'll hire someone to do it then!"

He's continued to mow our yard, even through the summers, for 11 years now.

We could afford to hire someone to do it.

My husband has a busy work schedule, he shouldn't have to worry about the yard, too.

Even me with my frugal tendencies have suggested a couple times that maybe he should hire someone to do the yard.

But, my husband has always said, "I want our boys to see me doing the yard.  I don't want them to think you hire someone to do that.  I want them to know how.  And then someday I'll turn over the job to them."

For a couple years now, my husband and older son have talked about when he was nine he could start mowing.

The newly-turned-nine-year-old recently got his chance.

I love that image of a father guiding a son!

My husband even has his arms up as if he's pushing the mower, too!

And the nine year old really loved the chore!

Teaching my kids the value of hard work is very important to me.  I think a lot of young people these days lack the ability to work hard and see a task (especially a menial chore) to completion.  Everyone wants to start at the top.

I've often felt we'd so far failed with our boys in this regard.  We'd send them upstairs to clean their room and there would be complaining and then we'd go up 10 minutes later and it would be not a bit cleaner!

But, there is still time to instill a good work ethic in our children.

I told my oldest son that the yard mowing will be his job now for the next four years until his little brother turns nine and then he could pass it on.  But, my younger son asked about his sister that is 2 years older than he is, "What about her?  Won't she mow?"  To which, my 6 year old daughter immediately replied, "Girls don't mow!"

Ha!  Perhaps we need to work on the gender stereotypes around here, too?  Nah, she's right.  Girls don't mow!

And besides, my husband's not the only one who gets to turn over his chores.  My girls are totally on deck to take over the laundry soon!


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