Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Flip

Original poster

Bringing children up on a farm

15 replies

Flight · 29/03/2008 15:49

Bit worried and interested to know your experiences.

Looking at a super house, which is set on an arable farm. It's to rent but it would be a big upheaval as we have loads of stuff.

Anyway it's about a mile from the nearest little town, which is fine, but though it has its own garden, there's not much to stop Ds's escaping (I will put up a fence I think) and there's a lot of agricultural machinery around.

I'm also not sure if Ds will love it or hate it - quite isolated and not any other kids around really. Unless they get loads of farm workers in the Summer and he could play with their kids?

I'm also a bit nervous about being there alone, without a DH. I know it's within the farm so there'd be some people nearby, but I don't want to have to depend on them if there's an emergency etc.

My parents are about 10-15 miles away if we move there. They're up the road atm!

Any thoughts appreciated

OP posts:

FioFio · 29/03/2008 15:51

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster

Flight · 29/03/2008 15:52

Ooh Fio, really?

I am in love with it

OP posts:

WallOfSilence · 29/03/2008 15:56

Go for it!

I live on a farm with my 2 children (and dh).

My 2 love it!

There is room for them to play outside and they have their own swing & slide & trampoline to play on. A bit like their own personal playpark!

There is loads of room for them to play on their bikes & tractors outside too.

We all love it! And think of the nice fresh air too!!!

Original poster

Flight · 29/03/2008 15:59

yes it sounds gorgeous WOS...I am just nervous about not having any help iyswim! But we manage mostly here anyway, just would have to wait till weekends when parents could visit to do anything requiring absence of children...like putting up shelves and that kind of thing. Or fences!

Do yours respect the machinery etc? I am scared Ds1 would stick his fingers in them. He's a bit like that.

OP posts:

WallOfSilence · 29/03/2008 21:33

Well, they have grown up with the machinery. We grow potatoes so there's rotavators, ploughs, drill ploughs, etc... lots of tractors and stuff & they only ever go near it if dh or their grandad is going up.

All the machinery is locked away anyway if it's not being used.

I'd be more worried about them eating/drinking fertiliser or insecticide or something like that, than breaking machinery...

And they also know never ever to go up the yard without making sure their dad or grandad can see them.

I would take them there for a couple of visits & see how they get on

Original poster

Flight · 29/03/2008 21:34

Thankyou, that's really helpful

OP posts:

Miggsie · 29/03/2008 21:36

I grew up on a farm and it was GREAT!
Although how me and my friends never killed ourselves in the hay barns, driving the tractors and falling off roofs I don't know, but it was the best.
I still miss the freedom.
BTW I was aged 4-12 during this time

edam · 29/03/2008 21:41

Sounds great but you do need to have a Big Chat and set some very serious ground rules about not playing with machinery/messing around in haylofts and all that sort of stuff. Ask the farmer what you should be warning your kids about.

Eve · 29/03/2008 21:43

Have you lived in the country before? or somewhere isolated like this?

I grew up on a farm and it was great, but I had siblings around to play with...and like Miggsie, how we weren't killed is amazing.

...but sounds like you have 1 DS... which could be quite lonely for him with no-one else around to play with and I doubt the owners would be happy with him of exploring around the farm.

bogwobbit · 29/03/2008 21:55

Loads of kids grow up safely on farms, although they can be dangerous places. Like most things, it's a matter of common sense. There is plenty of guidance here to give you an idea of what the potential dangers might be.
I would probably be more concerned about him feeling lonely or isolated unless you are prepared to spend a lot of time taking him to friends houses. how old is he btw?

bogwobbit · 29/03/2008 21:56

guidance here

Original poster

Flight · 30/03/2008 07:48

That's good stuff, thankyou...he is nearly five...the little one is still only a baby, that's not such an issue, but I do worry about possibly as Ds1 gets older, he might take it into his head to go off and I wouldn't know where he was, that would be bad.
There's a large garden around the house and I think the plan would be to get some good fencing in place, so at least they could have some freedom in the garden.

Ds would be going to school, probably, so would have little friends there...quite happy to bring them back to the house, it's only a mile from town. Plus it's going to have summer workers I am sure - it's a cabbage farm I think?! (bit smelly)
Or do they pick by machine these days?
The best thing is that if you walk across the fields (there's a bridleway) you get straight to the beach. So I am thinking lots of our friends who have children, could come to stay over the summer.

Yes, the farmer did look a trifle concerned about the children but he hasn't specified no children with the agent - I guess it's down to his discretion. He just said' 'We'd have to teach him', that's all.

I was wearing my Hunter wellies at the time and hoping to impress him.

I've lived on a remote farm in Wales but didn't have my own kids then - it was a dairy farm and the family had four children, who were very sweet and spoke in Welsh most of the time.

It was about 3 miles to the nearest phone box, let alone town. Got a bit boring but I am busy nowadays with having the boys to look after, and we have each other, so I think it would be ok.?

OP posts:

bogwobbit · 31/03/2008 15:44

Glad to help, Flight.
Might be worth having a chat to the farmer. If he's brought up a family himself, he might be able to advise of the issues. However, as I said lots of kids grow up on farms and most grow up okay.
I'm sure you'll be fine. Hope you and your dcs enjoy living there.

FuriousGeorge · 31/03/2008 20:24

I grew up on a farm & it was the best childhood I could possibly imagine.However,there were 5 of us,so we were never short of playmates.It is a wonder none of us came to grief,falling out of haystacks,climbing on machinery ect,but we all survived.We had camp fires in the fields,had rope swings,pulley rides,had a home made swimming pool,ponies,a caravan to camp out in,drove tractors,landrovers,stacked bales,lambed sheep,scrumped apples from the orchard,swam in the brook.It was fab.

In fact,we purposely bought a house near to my parents,so that the dd's can do the same stuff we did.

FuriousGeorge · 31/03/2008 20:28

One thing you might want to check out,is if they use bird scarers,being arable.You mightr find it hard to stand listening to a shotgun like blast every 3 minutes or so during the daylight hours.Look out for little red cannon like objects in the fields.

Flip

Swipe left for the next trending thread