Kids without life skills?

[Tamara (Homes Down Under)]

I never really thought about it but the article makes some interesting points.

I tried to give my children some life skills...but with the grandchildren it's astounding what "simple things" they don't know!

 

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/rendezview/cant-cook-cant-clean-cant-count-a-generation-with-no-basic-life-skills/story-fnpug1jc-1227471663116

[chrisda]

Too true. They learn lots about lots but little about everyday life.

[spanners]

I think if I were the author of the article I'd be somewhat shocked at my failure as a parent. Kids don't go to school to learn life skills, they go to learn very particular subjects. Is it not the job of the parent to teach life skills? With the exception of the obvious ones like driving, I'd be pretty confident that that my 11 year old would be able to perform most of the skills on the list as would the majority of her friends.

Interestingly she recently had a school lesson on understanding the media which heavily concentrated on how to interpret adverts and that what is said in adverts, be it TV, radio, or print media, is not necessarily true!

[Diane]

Haha I can't accept blame as a parent - I have one child who is fiercely independent, cooks amazing stuff, does her own washing etc, and another who calls me up at work (40 minutes drive away) to ask me what he can have to eat - when I tell him to look in the cupboard/fridge/freezer himself, he doesn't even know what an egg poaching pan looks like and sends me a photo of the pan cupboard from his phone so I can point it out to him!! (oh, neither of them are children either - one's 20 the other 18..but I think the hopeless one is operating on the 'why keep a dog and bark yourself" principle of if he can get someone else to do it for him, problem solved!)

[snifter]

I do agree, its something parents should be doing with their kids. School isn't the place my son should learn about how to clean or make a bed. Or other simple life skills. Too much is being put onto teachers and we can't expect them to teach our kids about what they can do at home.

 

He does those things at home with me. His Dad is teaching him how to maintain his bike, they clean the car, he helps in the garden and other stuff. Sure he has an iPad and plays on that but its about balance. Its sometimes a tussle as he doesn't always want to help or do something but then he knows he doesn't get it all his own way.

 

My one real gripe is he can't be bothered to cut his food so would rather stick the fork into the huge chicken portion and knaw away at it. Drives me bonkers as he knows how to use cutlery and cut his food. He is only 7 so I guess I have time to work on that

[kelbert]

Hahaha I have a 7yr old boy who does exactly the same! Must be a boy thing! Reminds me of Shrek when he does that!

[snifter]

Hahaha I have a 7yr old boy who does exactly the same! Must be a boy thing! Reminds me of Shrek when he does that!

 

Its like a caveman thing isn't it. He tries to eat entire meals with just his fork!

[kelbert]

Yes, if I don't nag him to use cutlery he would just eat with his fingers!

[snifter]

Yes, if I don't nag him to use cutlery he would just eat with his fingers!

 

Ha yes! Mine too. He looks at me as he's dangling a piece of spaghetti into his mouth from on high in his hands. Or a pea at a time. Arghhh

[Diane]

I blame the schools for that!!! No seriously, in the UK schools at lunchtime they (used to) get food they have to eat with a knife and fork, sitting at a table; here everything from the canteens has to be able to be eaten with no utensils, and the encouragement is to eat as fast as possible so you can get out to play. Bring back sit down school dinners, I say!

[snifter]

I blame the schools for that!!! No seriously, in the UK schools at lunchtime they (used to) get food they have to eat with a knife and fork, sitting at a table; here everything from the canteens has to be able to be eaten with no utensils, and the encouragement is to eat as fast as possible so you can get out to play. Bring back sit down school dinners, I say!

 

Actually, thats a fair point re the canteen lunches. I won't let my son buy anything from the school canteen, he has a packed lunch every day. But again, using his hands. Though it is intended to be eaten with them.

 

And yes, there is supposed to be 10 minutes to eat lunch but it seems often they get less and can't take their last bit of sandwich or some such outside so end up leaving it.

 

I did used to like son having school dinners a couple of times a week back in England. Made for a good foundation of deciding what to have from the menu, collecting it and taking your seat to eat at a table with 7 other kids.

 

I'n not a fan of kids all sitting in their classroom to eat lunch every day I must admit.