My Kid Just Doesn't Want to Show a Steer
Jeff This is part 7 of a ten part series, go back to July 13th to read from the start.
This seems awfully negative by now, I’m sure, it’s really not meant to be.
When I was a kid it took me several years of working on my parents for the opportunity to show a steer. Unlike most kids nowadays, I hadn’t already bred half a dozen show heifers for the bred and owned division by the time my first birthday came around. I had to show rabbits to start, then we moved to pigs which we had no business showing. I finally got to show heifers for two years because they made more financial sense than showing a steer because they worked as replacement females too.
I was throwing fits trying to show a steer the whole time.
My kids?
Not so much.
I know making a life changing decision based on the whims of a seven year old doesn’t make a ton of sense…but my seven year old just doesn’t have any desire to feed a show steer. Seven is pretty important because that’s second grade, which is when you get started in that stuff.
So?
I’m not going to make him do it if he doesn’t want to.
Huh? I don’t get it.
I’m not going to make my kid show steers if he doesn’t want to.
I still don’t get it.
I’m not going to get my kids to show steers because they have not shown any interest in it.
So, you’re still going to have steers you pay somebody else to feed and then have your kids show them at the majors, right?
No.
So you really aren’t going to make your kids show steers? Okay. How many show heifers will they feed?
None.
Is that even legal?
Yes.
Are you sure? I don’t think that’s legal.
It is, I promise.
You might want to check on that, I don’t want to argue with you but I’m fairly certain that kids are required to show calves regardless of whether they want to or not.
Seriously, my kid that would show next year just doesn’t want to feed a steer and I have absolutely no desire to force him or find a way to do it just because I want to live vicariously through him.
He LOVES competition and he’ll practice livestock judging or chess for hours on end. He just doesn’t want to feed and wash a show steer.
There are plenty of kids that weren't all that interested in showing calves when they were younger that ended up becoming absolutely great sticks. I'm just going to wait and if they want to show calves, that's what ag barns are for.
Frankly, if he were half as in to showing calves as other kids his age at shows, I’d probably have found a way to accept everything else that led to the decision to change directions and done it.
But he’s not, so we do other stuff….