Cab Mom point of view.
Harvest tips from the farm mom point of view.
Snacks, Toys, Busy Minds and Comfort!
Our kids have been in the cabs of tractors and combines since before they could walk or talk. This is the life we have built with them and I may have a hack or two along the way to share with another new Mom.
SNACKS: This is a must. We all know hunger plays a big role in boredom. Sometimes when a kiddo has exhausted all toy options, and has napped all the naps…they get hungry. My favorite on the go snacks are pouch applesauces, Motts fruit snacks (these are actually suggested by my Registered Dietitian friend as best), string cheese, beef jerky, danimal yogurts. I always have tons of water but like to throw in a pop or juice for something fun for them. You can never have too many snacks.
TOYS: Each of our kids have a “harvest bag” that goes to the field and stays for the duration of harvest. I let THEM PACK IT. Thats the key here, they will pack only things they will actually play with. A few favorite throughout the years have been: brain flakes, Lux Blocks, Magna Tiles, Any type of busy cube or sensory play, Always coloring books, colored pencils, blank notebooks and Kids books. EXPO MARKERS are a game changer and so fun to pass the time. We play tic tac to, draw pictures, practice math and the alphabet, play hangman and so much more with a $10 set of colored expo markers!
BUSY MINDS: Now you can be the screen police all you want, but screens save us and are a necessary evil when in the field for 14 hours with kids. We take an i pad that has service through Verizon and the bigs have nintendo switches. The i pad only has Amazon Prime for movies, The Noggin app (highly suggest for toddler age) Some word search and word find games, candy crush and Farming Simulator on it. All of those apps keep the kids plenty busy. We share take turns and do limit to an extent. But an i pad i would never go without!
COMFORT: This is another big one. When our kids were smaller and couldnt sit up on their own we used a reclining high chair. I would strap it in the buddy seat or sit it on the floor, since it reclined the little took alot of naps in that too! I would never leave home without this exact boppy, this thing has gotten LOTS of love and Rowdy is 3 and still uses it in the cab. Each kiddo brings their own blankey from the house and this boppy doens;t leave the cab all harvest. Letting your kids choose what they bring to an extent is a big deal.
I use this organizer: in my tractor. It holds a first aide kit, some of the things I like to bring along (chargers for screens, air pods, a book, notepad and pens) we keep the trash in a sack each day and toys in there and blankets once we leave for the day. I clean my cab every evening and this holds the loot from the day!
“Let’s not allow ourselves to be upset by small things we should despise and forget. Remember, "life is too short to sweat the small stuff".'
-Dale Carnegie.
Being a cab Mom isn’t always easy, but what a blessing to be able to bring my kids to work with me and teach them about so much at the same time! Where else do we get that opportunity but on the farm?
You can do hard shit. Whit