FOR RELEASE THE WEEK OF OCT. 4, 1999:
Both my husband and I did chores when we were kids, but of course that was a different time. Our own children are still very young but we’re thinking about getting them started. Are chores still important and, if so, how soon should children begin doing them?
"Chores are part of the great developmental endeavor," says Harriet Shaklee, University of Idaho extension family development specialist. "When children help, they gain self-respect and learn competence. Kids feel good when they see how they can contribute to family life."
Even toddlers can carry clothes to the laundry, says Shaklee. Pre-schoolers can carry their dishes to the sink and put away their toys at the end of the day.
Vary your children’s assignments to keep up their interest: let them select which chore they’ll do or write chores on slips of papers and let each family member choose one or two from a can or small box.
"Treat chores as a normal part of life, not as punishment," Shaklee says. Take advantage of the time spent working side by side to talk about the day’s events, share laughs or even bring up serious matters.
Whether you should pay your children for chores depends on your own family philosophy, Shaklee says. There are pros and cons to both approaches. Experts agree, though, that you should reward your children in some way for their efforts. "A child’s version of a job may not be as tidy as an adult’s, but it deserves praise and an extra hug," she says.
We have a very large evergreen tree in our backyard. The ground below it is totally bare. People tell me that the needles "poison" the ground and that nothing will grow. The tree’s branches are at least 10 feet from the ground and the area beneath it gets morning sun; surely something will grow there! Nancy Lindsay, Idaho Falls
According to Extension educator Brian Finnigan, the naturally occurring turpentines in pine needles can indeed make soils extremely acid. "They don’t poison or sterilize the ground, but they definitely restrict growth of a lot of plants," he says. "Bulbs and ground covers like Vinca minor will grow better than small plants or seeds."
Try scraping off the pine needles and the top inch of soil and tilling in good compost. With improved soils under his Austrian and Scotch pines in eastern Idaho, Advanced Master Gardener Bob Hanson of Blackfoot has had good results with hostas, begonias, impatiens, pansies, wild strawberries, tulips and daffodils. Make sure you provide enough water and fertilizer to compensate for the tree’s share–but don’t overwater: you could provoke root rots and actually lose the tree.
While Hanson’s flowers flourish in raised beds beneath his trees, these beds require careful planning and management. Piling soil right against a tree’s trunk can also cause rot, so it’s best to taper the raised bed or build retaining walls 8 to 10 inches from the trunk.
According to the height-weight charts, I’m 10 pounds overweight. I have been at this same weight for about 15 years. I eat a pretty healthy diet and exercise two or three times a week. I don’t smoke, and I limit my alcohol intake to one or two drinks a day. Should I try to lose weight?
People who are obese have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, diabetes and certain cancers, says Martha Raidl, University of Idaho extension nutrition specialist. But if you’re just 10 pounds overweight, the research is not convincing that just losing weight will make you healthier.
"It sounds like you have a healthy lifestyle, so unless your doctor has a specific reason for you to lose weight, just keep on with what you are doing," she says. "Stay active and don’t put on any more weight."
Our new yard is a moonscape. We’d like to fill it with tall trees as quickly as possible. Would starting with 4-inch-diameter trees make a big difference, or would 2-inch trees catch up quickly?
It’s hard to predict if a 2-inch tree would catch up to a 4-inch tree, says Yvonne Carree, University of Idaho extension forestry associate. That’s because tree growth depends so heavily on species, site, after-planting care and even the genetic makeup of an individual tree.
The decision as to how big of a tree to buy really comes down to how fast do you want a mature landscape on a particular spot and how much money are you willing to spend. Landscape professionals use this guideline, says Carree: "Buy the biggest tree that the budget will allow."