A friend used to lead a youth group. One day, he handed a broom to a young man of about 10 years old to sweep an area of the dining hall.
He returned a few minutes later to see the boy standing and holding the broom.
He asked why he wasn’t sweeping and the boy replied that he didn’t know how.
Yep. I wasn’t kidding.
That boy should have been raised by my family.
I was taught all the typical farm related outdoor work by my father, grandfather and great uncle.
Then my mother and grandmother taught me to cook, clean, sew and all other things “the women folk” usually attended to.
My family believed a well rounded child learned everything that a household may need done.
My wife and I raised our boys the same way.
“He asked why he wasn’t sweeping and the boy replied that he didn’t know how
So did he teach him? Or just retell the story to make himself feel superior?
Part of parenting and kids is putting them with people who will help you teach them your values. If a youth group leader can’t teach a kid a basic skill but would rather run around telling people how clueless the kids and their parents are then he’s a snob and a gossip. Who needs that?
There’s nothing wrong with a gen year old not knowing how to use a broom.
I graduated from high school in Venezuela, and my first job was at McDonald’s as a college freshman at UT Austin. The (large, gruff, black) guy working the grill saw me standing there and said, “Go make up some mop water”. I said, “Okay, how?” He looked incredulous and said, “Your mama never taught you how to make up mop water?” I said the worst thing I could have: “No, the maid always did it...”