Homemade

Taking a back to basics approach to raising children, or life in general, can involve many different things. One of these things that I haven’t discussed on this blog yet is making things by hand at home: food, clothes, crafts, gardens, maybe even carpentry for the more skillful. Whatever it is, the basic premise behind it is taking care of basic needs by making the end product instead of buying it. As little as several decades ago in our own country (and currently in other cultures around the world) making things by hand was a necessity instead of a hobby. Today we have the luxury of stores and the internet to meet all of our material demands and so the passing down of skills to make products by hand has started to die out along with the value that homemade goods once had.

I feel like these days the word “homemade” sometimes gets a bad rap. It brings to mind art projects made by small children serving as Christmas gifts, ugly baby booties crocheted by an elderly relative, and gifted baked items that you think twice about before eating. There’s a sort of mentality attached that being homemade is somehow inferior to something that has been mass produced and store bought. For others, like me, the mention of the word ‘homemade’ conjures up a whole different set of images that are more associated with comfort, quality, and great care taken by those doing the making. I was raised by a mother who was (and still is) skilled at many crafts. When I was young she knit sweaters, hats, and mittens for my sister and me (which my children now have the benefit of wearing); she sewed clothes for us and smaller versions so that we could coordinate with our dolls; she was also known to weave baskets, stencil, and needle point back then. She also made many of our common food staples from scratch on a regular basis: bread, soups, jams and other canned items, snacks, desserts, and of course all of our meals. I have aunts and a great aunt who are also very talented at these and other skills. They are all wonderful role models of what homemade really means. And I am so jealous of the talents they possess and so I am in the process of slowly trying to increase my own abilities in these areas.

I know, taking a more ‘homemade’ approach sounds silly, right? Why would anyone in this modern era with malls and Amazon at their immediate disposal want to take the time to make something they didn’t have to? Well, it’s certainly not for everyone, but there are several reasons why being a little more ‘homemade’ has its benefits.

For one, as a modern industrialized society we are quickly losing the basic skills of survival and creativity that our culture was built on. How many women in their thirties and younger know how to knit and sew or bake from scratch? How many men in the same age group know how to do any type of carpentry or fix their own car? How many people know how to grow a vegetable garden? To the younger generations, these skills seem like a tradition lost to the ages and unnecessary since we can buy everything we need. But, there is a sense of pride and accomplishment, of being self-sufficient, that comes with being able to create something with one’s own two hands; a feeling that can’t be recreated by watching TV or playing a video game. Our kids and teens these days won’t develop an appreciation for making things by hand and they can’t learn these age old skills to do it themselves unless someone takes the time to teach them. The passing down of this knowledge now falls on the responsibility of family members as programs like home economics and shop class are being deleted from schools at a rapid rate. My mother took a lot of pride in the things she made for us and to this day I treasure the items I still have. My daughter is now benefitting from the adorable wool sweaters and doll clothes that I once used. Although my mother taught me many of these skills along the way, I didn’t have much use for them before and now I find myself with a renewed interest, not only so that I can make things for my family, but also so that I can pass these skills on to my own children some day. It also feels really good to create a finished product with my own two hands that can be enjoyed by others, whether that be homemade bread, soup from scratch, homegrown vegetables, or clothes for my kids.

I think that as a modern culture our country has lost its value for things made by hand because of the disconnect between the product and the creator. We want everything cheap and quickly and don’t think twice about where it is made or who makes it – I am guilty of this as well! Another benefit of teaching kids the skills to create on their own is that it provides children with an understanding of how things are made and where they come from. When they do it themselves or a part of the process they learn to value the product for the time and hard work that went into making it. This sense of value then projects to things that other’s have made by hand. It also translates the old adage of “a job worth doing is worth doing well” in real terms when the product being made is for oneself or a gift for someone else, and ultimately promotes a good work ethic.

Learning a new skill or craft is also good for the old attention span without the distraction of entertainment technology - something that kids today could do with a little more of. When the project being worked on has an end product with some meaning (food to eat, a gift, pride for one’s accomplishment, anything….) then there is motivation to complete the task. When there is motivation to stick with something to get the end product then the time spent focusing one’s attention is increased. Kids today have attention spans far shorter than those of their parents when they were kids, and this has a lot to do with the high-speed technology that kids today spend so much time engaged with. But turning the TV or the computer off and engaging in activities that sustain active brain power on one thing for a while helps to improve the attention span – but only if this happens on a regular basis! If the activity also involves physical action (like gardening or building) then it’s a great way to get the body moving; even baking bread and kneading dough involves more movement than lying on the couch watching TV (and actually is a good activity for young kids to do because it builds strength in the hands and arms, which is needed for handwriting, and gives them a good sensory experience).

Engaging in the process of making or fixing something also requires and promotes the development of creative problem solving – a skill that does not get the chance to develop when kids spend too much of their time involved with entertainment technology that does all the thinking for them. Creative problem solving is really a very important skill, not only for excelling in academics and occupations, but also for everyday life.

And another great thing about teaching your children how to make things by hand is that it gets the whole family involved in homemade projects and promotes time spent together, talking, laughing, and making memories without the TV on. It forces you to slow down and enjoy each other’s company. And in the end you have something to show for your efforts and to be proud of!

Well, there you have it – a few reasons to get creative at home and involve the kids.