21 Aug Raising Kids on a Mini Farm: Lessons in Responsibility and Resilience
On their semi-rural property, Lisa Burling’s sons rise at dawn to feed the goats and collect eggs. They’ve gone from city living with no connection to the natural world, to life in-tune with the seasons, and for Lisa, as a single parent, it’s been an absolute game-changer.
From City Streets to Country Paths
The first sound I hear most mornings isn’t my alarm clock – it’s the chickens clucking, and the mini goats and sheep bleating for breakfast. Before the sun has fully climbed over the hills, my two boys are pulling on boots, buckets of water and biscuits of hay in hand, heading out to feed them and collect the eggs.
On our semi-rural property, mornings belong to the animals, not the humans. It’s a far cry from my old life in cities like Sydney and London, where days were dictated by traffic lights, not livestock. These days, I know the smell of fresh hay, the weight of a full egg basket, and the satisfaction of a clean water trough. Somewhere along the way, I even became the registered owner of a PIC (Property Identification Code) – our farm’s “number plate” for livestock. Who would have thought?
Learning Responsibility in Real Time
Animals don’t understand “I’m taking the day off.” They need to be fed and cared for every single day. My boys have learnt that another creature’s wellbeing depends on them showing up – rain, shine, or heatwave. Preparation has become second nature, from keeping hay stocked to taking weather warnings seriously.
Teamwork in the Paddock
As a single parent, I love watching my boys bond through this shared work. Instead of “siblings at war,” they’re teammates. The farm has given them a shared purpose I didn’t expect, and it’s teaching them lessons that will outlast childhood.
Main Image: Lisa Burling: Nate with Kakenzie
In part 2, Lisa Burling explores how life on the farm has become an unexpected teacher, offering her boys lessons about empathy, grief, routine and resilience.
Find Lisa on Instagram @lisaburing_writer and listen to her podcast, Unscripted with Lisa Burling, available wherever you listen to podcasts. Also, Instagram Coralvale Hatchery
