In today’s The Daily Caller is the article about the Department Labor’s Farm Child Labor Law new proposal that could be voted on as earlier as August.
I may ruffle lots of feathers with my post today, but I have decided that I’m expressing how I feel about this. I’m so glad that my husband and I grew up in a time that we could work on our family farm and take care of livestock and run equipment.
It seems to me that we are raising children to rely on technology (cell phones and computers) instead of their brain and hands. Where do you think Veterinarian’s got their start, they started young working with animals and realized they had a love for the animals and the science behind animal husbandry. That could be all gone with the new law.
It is a proven fact that the earlier you start a child learning the easier it is for them to grasp the concept and move on. That is why children in Kindergarten are learning far more than I did in Kindergarten. I learned to tie my shoes, finger paint, take a nap, have milk and graham crackers and to leave my Mom for a few hours a day to be with other children my own age. Now children are reading by the time they get to Kindergarten and doing simple math facts. This is not just about children working on their family farm, this is about a society of children that will grow having to learn skills at 18 that they could have already learned and be proficient at as a younger person.
Working on a farm teaches children time management skills, leadership skills, public speaking skills, critical thinking skills, writing skills, team work, money management, etc… We allow children in the state of Maryland to get their driver’s license at the age of 16, that is a dangerous piece of equipment if not operated properly and yet the law says they can operate the vehicle. It is a proven fact the teenager’s are the cause of more automobile accidents then any other age group accept for the elderly. But what do we keep doing we keep offering strategic driving courses to help improve the younger driver ways to be a better driver, not get them off the road. Does this mean that we will allow the Government to tell us how we can raise our children, what about the students in school that are studying food production? They use knives, blenders, can openers, ovens and such. I’m just showing here how ridiculous this is and that we are letting our Government tell us how to live. This is more than just about children being raised on farms, this is about standing up for our freedom as American’s.
Not only would this law punish the family farms but it would hurt society as a whole. It would be very naive to think that all food costs wouldn’t increase if this law goes into effect. To pay your child as part of the farm is a lot cheaper than to hire an adult to work on your farm. Then you have the whole issue of are farms then going to hire individuals that are not US citizens to work their farm because that is all they can afford? It seems to me that we have people in our Government that are not for the people by the people. They seem to have their own agenda and forget who they really work for. I think that is one problem with our officials getting to make a career out of their elected position.
I highly encourage you to read the proposed bill and this article and then get in touch with your representative and tell them this can’t go through. There are a lot of ramifications to this that people need to wake up to. I am personally proud to say that our children wake up each day and care for our livestock that helps to feed our community and our family. I sure can vouch for the fact that our youngest son has developed great time management skills when he wants to watch his favorite TV show and knows that he has to care for the livestock first. It is our way of life and glad for it.