Posted on 10/03/2010 7:23:17 PM PDT by Immerito
NEW YORK — Second-graders who can’t tie shoes or zip jackets. Four-year-olds in Pull-Ups diapers. Five-year-olds in strollers. Teens and preteens befuddled by can openers and ice-cube trays. College kids who have never done laundry, taken a bus alone or addressed an envelope.
Are we raising a generation of nincompoops? And do we have only ourselves to blame? Or are some of these things simply the result of kids growing up with push-button technology in an era when mechanical devices are gradually being replaced by electronics?
Susan Maushart, a mother of three, says her teenage daughter "literally does not know how to use a can opener. Most cans come with pull-tops these days. I see her reaching for a can that requires a can opener, and her shoulders slump and she goes for something else."
Teenagers are so accustomed to either throwing their clothes on the floor or hanging them on hooks that Maushart says her "kids actually struggle with the mechanics of a clothes hanger."
Many kids never learn to do ordinary household tasks. They have no chores. Take-out and drive-through meals have replaced home cooking. And busy families who can afford it often outsource house-cleaning and lawn care.
(Excerpt) Read more at thechronicleherald.ca ...
I can remember buying cigarettes for the parents. I also remember being allowed to go shopping at age 14 or 15, and my parents gave me their Sears & Roebuck credit card. And the store accepted it, trusting that my parents said it was ok to use the credit card. I know that wouldn’t happen today.
LOL
Did you also use only hot water and put in bleach with everything.
Three years ago, I had a surgery and thought I might die.
My 6 and 9 year olds were taught to do laundry, cook on top of the stove, microwave, read directions for food, read recipes and bake, and mow lawns.
I’m still alive but they know how to run a house in case I get hit by a bus.
And yes, both can tie their shoes.
That's amazing, because it's much quicker to tell time on an analogue clock than a digital clock. Meters (like speedometers, etc.) only take a quick glance to impart information.
Something I've never forgotten: when I was in kindergarten there were columns of "stars" on display to indicate the achievement of various milestones by the class members. In the "ties own shoelaces" column, it came to pass that I was the last vacancy. After some time, the teacher cornered me and asked, "You can tie your shoes, can't you?" "Yes," I admitted, and she had me demonstrate. I swear I remember doing it. She forthwith added my star. Not sure why I remember this incident so well. I think it's because I knew I didn't have a star, but I wasn't sure what to do about it. I think I assumed they had forgotten about me.
I am enjoying this thread!
Did you know that the minute hand of a clock is a Vernier scale? This is because the angular displacement of the hour hand by itself is already an analog of the exact time, and the minute hand is merely an aid in reading its position, in principle.
As am I. :-)
There are far, far too many helicopter parents around. In my neighborhood, kids can’t even go trick or treating anymore cause the parents have decided to have Halloween parties to protect their little munchkins from us dangerous neighbors. These little kids are going to be know nothings when they grow up and afraid of the world - big difference from when I grew up in the 50’s and 60’s.
I’ve seen some modern watches where this is not the case. It took me a minute to figure out why I was having trouble telling time. But the hour and minute hands are not true analog on some watches. the hands click from one position to the next like a second hand clicks from one second to the next.
on a standard analog watch, the hour hand moves gradually from one hour to the next so if it’s 5 til one, the hour hand is almost on the one. but not so on some of these modern watches. the hour hand JUMPS from 12 to 1 all at once when the minute hand reaches 12. So when this watch reads 5 to 1, you might misread it as 5 to 12 if you don’t look closely.
I got ticked off at the step-kids for not doing their chores the other week so I unplugged the 50 inch projection tv they play video games on , shoving the cord behind the TV. I then got an old digital alarm clock, plugged that cord into the outlet and put the clock behind the TV.
A week later they asked what was wrong with the TV. I told them it wasn`t plugged in ( which they replied it was plugged in , they checked ). Two days later they finally figured it out. ; )
Chores are getting done again without issues....
Susan Maushart, a mother of three, says her teenage daughter "literally does not know how to use a can opener. Most cans come with pull-tops these days. I see her reaching for a can that requires a can opener, and her shoulders slump and she goes for something else."
Whose fault is that? A real mom should tell her to grow up and open the damn can.
Believe me, this dumbed-down generation is now at the worksite...and they can’t distinguish their derriere from their iPod. However, they perceive themselves to be quite technologically advanced because they can text at the speed of light.
And when you finished doing that, you brought in the dog and put out the cat, yackety yack!
heck, just tuning in an AM radio used to be a whole lot tougher. Or shifting gears on a bicycle. or putting air in your bicycle tire. Or adjusting the television. Or starting a car. OR lighting the oven.
Kids don’t need to know how to...write cursive...”
Is this woman absolutely whacko?
Parris Hilton island?
My husband spent his preschool years in a bar because his mother worked and his father hung out at the bar.
When he was in college, before all the NCAA rules when the athletes had money galore and no one cared if they went to class, my husband made a living beating them at pool, especially bumper pool. We probably would have starved without all their money.
Another trick he had was he could make a vertical jump to the top of a bar stool, he could always make a lot of money in a new crowd.
I still remember the moment I figured out if you pull one side of the loop it tightens the knot, if you pull the other side of the loop, it pulls the loose end out. It was a huge “aha” moment for me. Then there was the time I figured out the conversion factor 2.54 cm/in doesn’t work on square inches and cubic inches. that was a huge epiphany. I got addicted to math at that moment...and ended up studying engineering in college.
These days, their helicopter parents will show up at their dorms to wipe their bottoms, tie their shoes and do their laundry.
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