VIDEO: Toddler Meets New Baby Sister for First Time—And Her Reaction Is the Sweetest Thing
For Michigan farm kid Hans Fenner, driving a tractor isn’t just a spectator sport. The hardworking 8-year-old can confidently drive a tractor, a golf cart, and a Bobcat vehicle on his family’s farm.
The youngest of the three Fenner siblings, Hans has had a special interest in tractors from the time he could pull himself up to the window and watch his grandfather, Bryan Fenner, and father, Jonathan Fenner, work on the family’s 1,900-acre farm.
Now, as a preteen, his fascination with wheels hasn’t left him.
“He’s up at 6, and he’s begging to go outside and work the tractors in the fields,” his mom, Devon Fenner, told the Epoch Times.
How It All Began
One day, Mrs. Fenner had left her kids to play on the swing outside when she noticed Hans, then 2, climb onto the family’s golf cart and drive it “flawlessly.”
“I knew at that moment that he was going to take this farm on and be driving equipment at a very young age,” the 34-year-old stay-at-home mom said.
That summer, the toddler again surprised his parents by raking hay with an old Ford tractor, with a look of pride and accomplishment on his face.
This moment made the Fenner family confident that Hans would be “very capable and eager to get out and farm.”
Around the age of 5, Hans—who’d been sitting on the buddy seat in the tractor since he was a newborn—started driving the tractor himself. Obviously, with plenty of safety precautions and care on the part of his parents.
Now, he has progressed to driving other equipment like the Bobcat and bigger planter tractors and has been feeding cattle with one of the family’s smaller tractors.
When asked how he feels about driving a tractor, Hans has a simple answer: “Cool.”
While Mrs. Fenner and her husband encourage Hans and his siblings—Evelyn, 12, and Hudson, 10—to help out on the farm, they’re very well aware of the need to protect their children from the dangers inherent in operating farm machinery and ensure they have plenty of supervised practice sessions.
The elder Fenner is “very gentle and soft-spoken” and has a humble nature that draws children to him, and Hans has been able to create many fond memories of farming with his beloved grandpa as he drives the tractor around.
Throughout the year, Hans helps out on the farm with various tasks. During calving season, he ear tags the cows; in the spring he disks out the hay field; in the summer he is focused on working with hay, wheat, and rye; and in the colder months, Hans helps load up the tractor with corn.
“Hans has a work ethic at the age of 8 that we don’t see in a lot of adults,” his proud mom said.
A typical day for Fenner kids involves homeschooling until noon.
