I just turned 61. I am the end of the boomers. I started working at 14. At 16 I was mowing three different lawns. Plus still working at home. We had 5 acres, horses, and my father was an Owner Operator long haul truck driver. So, when he came home we had to work on the truck. I worked throughout college. Mostly doing landscaping and other outdoor physical labor jobs. I never worked in an office until after graduating college.
I made both of my kids WORK around the house. They never got allowance. We trimmed trees. Trimmed bushes. Painted the house. Vacuumed the pool. Mowed the lawn. Shoveled the sidewalk in winter. Snow blowed the driveway. Cut down trees. Burned brush. We built decks, Sheds, a barn, three fences. Planted fruit trees, bushes, grass. We ran electric, installed toilets, plumbing, laid tile, grout, built cabinets, refinished furniture. Maintained the tractor including sharpening blades, changed oil, tune ups.
I remember building a small barn with my son. He asked ME how I learned to do stuff like this? I told him I learned to build things from MY DAD.
The problem with so many kids today is that their parents NEVER made them work around the house. They have no idea how to fix something. They have to hire people to do those things.
I give her the same answer as you: my dad. My grandfather had a farm in North Africa where my dad grew up during WWII. No gas, so my grandfather built a CO trailer to feed the carburetors on the car and farm machinery. They did all their repairs and my uncle learned how to machine parts from blocks of soft steel with a drill press and files. Plus the usual farming chores.
Wow, amazing upbringing! Kudos to your dad. I did a lot of stuff around our house growing up, but never that workload. Our kids did usual chores, but nothing severe. They were all expected to work from 14 onward and worked a lot of jobs from the local boathouse at the lake, to retail, pizza delivery, tire shop, and equestrian training.
I taught all of them how to use tools and build things. I gifted a lot of tools to both daughters and they know how to use them. Ironically, neither have very handy spouses, so they dig in, make things, and get things done. There’s no job too tough for them. The older one just completed a major remodel and did a lot of the work herself (with my help) and learned how to select and manage contractors. Her house foundation had settled about 3 inches on one side and she evaluated alternative ways to deal with it. Jacking up the foundation was going to be a permanent fix, but $40k to $50k. She thought about their expected stay in that house and decided it wasn’t worth it so she had a contractor install long wedges and a new subfloor on top of the wedges. Since their roof is angled, you don’t see the fact that the floor was adjusted like that. Our middle daughter is laying floor, building shelves, installing a workshop in the garage, and now installing a barn-style door to her home office.
I’m really proud of both of them for their can-do attitudes and willingness to tackle new challenges around their houses. It’s very gratifying as a dad to see that.
I remember building a small barn with my son. He asked ME how I learned to do stuff like this? I told him I learned to build things from MY DAD.
The problem with so many kids today is that their parents NEVER made them work around the house. They have no idea how to fix something. They have to hire people to do those things.
A lot of kids today grow up without Dads. Some don’t even know who there’s is.
100% true, I am a mid boomer I am 69 now, my parents made me and my brother work around the house as kids. As teens it was you want money find a job. My brother did lawn mowing. Me I washed windows and babysat. All this crapping in boomers is stupid, also people forget the war babies born between 1942 and 1945