My grandchildren have a chicken run at the bottom of their garden.   My (nearly 4 year old) grandson’s job every morning is to go and collect the eggs every morning in rain and snow before he goes to school.  The family try to produce as much food in their allotment as is possible, and the chickens are part  of their self-sufficiency system.

I asked my grandson what he wanted to be when he grew up.  He replied that he wanted to to be a farmer.  “In that case you can have your very own chickens”, I said to him, thinking it must be fun going out and finding the eggs.  “Oh no,” he replied , ” I’m going to buy those in when I grow up.”

You can try to impart a zest for a particular way of life, but you can also be sure that your children will have their own ideas, some from a very early age.

Epicurus would comment, “Whatever gives you ataraxia and peace of mind”.