Re: How can I teach my sons tractors?

Posted by Straw Boss on January 17, 2016 at 15:48:43 from (66.35.124.248):

In Reply to: How can I teach my sons tractors? posted by Farmgirlintheburbs on January 17, 2016 at 05:43:05:

I for one applaud your efforts to cultivate your sons interests. The mind of a young child is a thirsty sponge that absorbs all
around him. But try to keep him away from the video games and the electric baby-sitter because after watching all the crud on TV,
his brain will be a wasteland of lost potential. At four years of age he might not be quite ready for a real tractor to tear
apart but I can understand his fascination with them as I was the same way as was my own son. When I was a little shaver, I used
to gather up all of my Dads farm magazines and I'd cut out all the tractor and combine pictures and put them into a scrap book. I
learned more about tractors at a very young age from doing that than anything else. Of course there was no internet back then or
trips to town unless we were going to the dentist or somebody's wedding. Ugh!

All of my kids responded very well to the library. Also pre-internet but still relevant. Reading books to them as toddlers and
preschoolers was an everyday ritual. Maybe at nap time, bed time or just for fun anytime they wanted. Then we discovered the
library in a bigger town 30 miles away that had a story time program. Our kids loved it. As parents, we made the sacrifice and
effort to get them there every week. As the stories were read aloud to them (with much animation) the whole group of kids would
be wide-eyed and engaged, their imaginations running wild. Then they could go check out books of their own to read at home. This
is where it gets fun. You start to learn where their interests are by the books they pick. Because they picked their own books,
they had much more fun reading them or having you read to them. Your son no doubt will find every tractor book on the shelf.

Some libraries won't have a lot of tractor books but with the internet or a stop at a Barnes and Nobles book store, you should
have no problem finding available publications on most any subject be it a childs story book to a repair manual. eBay also can
have very cheap new or 2nd hand books often with free shipping. The point is, it will reaffirm his interests and fill the void of
not being with the tractors at the moment. Buying books can be expensive but a library card is pretty cheap to have access to any
book on the shelf.

Otherwise toys can be a great teacher also. A sandbox outside in the yard is a must for little boys. Grandpa can help with
that. And the bigger the better. I think ours was an 8' X 12' box made of 2 x 12s on edge. Never mind the sand drug into the
house, that's what vacuum cleaners are for. Winter time sucks but spring through fall there's a lot of acres that get farmed with
1/16th scale tractors. Not to mention all the road building and lakes and rivers created when a garden hose is added to the fun.
Play invigorates the imagination, curiosity and learning.

I highly recommend a good 4H club also but I think the child has to be 8 years of age to join. But that doesn't mean you can't
start now doing the same stuff. One easy project for a kid stuck in town could be rabbits. Gramps could put a hutch behind the
garage. Teaches about caring for animals, keeping them fed, watered, sheltered, attention to their needs instead of their own
self-absorbed problems kids have now days. Having daily chores not only teaches responsibility but also teaches a little self
sacrifice and giving of ones self when you don't always feel like having to do chores or do for others in general. When I see
parents doing the kids chores for them I cringe because it is doing more harm than good. They learn they can manipulate an adult
to get them to do the things they don't feel like doing at the moment or they learn they can shrug their responsibilities if they
whine enough.

Other activities could include baking...(sugar cookies in tractor shapes and frosted according to brand or jello tractor shapes in
JD green, IH red, MM yellow, or Ford blue), Grandma could help with that. Photography....(pics of tractors at a tractor show or
an ag. museum or a farm visit at the neighbors), Sewing....(throw pillows, blankets or bed sheets with tractor prints on them).
Carpentry....(bird house the shape of a tractor with room for a nest in the cab) You get the point. I feel for any kid who
wants to be around tractors on the farm but that doesn't mean he can't be involved with tractors in his mind in so many ways. My
son was also tractor crazy at that age but he's now 25 and living in the big city. He still loves tractors but has to fly home to
go to tractor shows with the old man. Enjoy it while you can. I'm sorry about your situation but feel for the little guy more.
Wished I lived closer to you because I have a couple of Case 7 and 8 hp garden tractors just his size that I would donate when
he's ready to pull wrenches.

I maybe didn't answer your question directly but at his age, learning to do the mechanical work and restoration might be putting
the cart ahead of the horse. Many of the responses I read sound like advice for an 8 to 12 year old. I think you just need to
keep him connected to the tractor world any way you can and that will be helpful. You will be surprised what he will learn on his
own once he is older and becomes an avid reader. I think once he's old enough to be able to safely handle a lawn or garden
tractor, (maybe in another 4 years), then working on them bit by bit and learning how will just come on naturally by way of
reading and asking questions as the need arises. A mentor who he can ask questions of would be good for both of you but I guess
that's the gist of your inquiry here wasn't it. Sorry I went the long way around the barn and don't have a good answer you, just
some cheap opinion and a few suggestions for what its worth.

Replies:

Add a Reply! You must be Logged In to Post Name: E-Mail: Subject: Comments: Optional Link URL: Link Title: Optional Image URL: Optional Video Title: Optional Video URL: Advanced Posting Options Email Notification: If you check this box, email will be sent to you whenever someone replies to this message. Your email address must be entered above to receive notification. This notification will be cancelled automatically after 2 weeks.   Advanced Posting Tools   Upload Photo  Select Gallery Photo  Attach Serial No List  Return to Post  Upload Photos/Videos Choose Files from your local computer Upload one or more videos to your post. Photo filesizes should be less than 300K and Videos, less than 2MB. Formats allowed are gif, jpg, png, ogg, mp4, mov, and avi. Be sure to use filenames without spaces or special characters, and filetypes of 3 digits lower case.

TRACTOR PARTS	TRACTOR MANUALS

We sell tractor parts!  We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]