I was born in early-1980, does that make me a Y'er? I'm not sure. Anyway, I was raised by a single mother who relied on me to do "man work" around the house. I was mowing lawns by 8, had a job and savings acct. at 13 and rebuilt a 429 cid. Ford motor at 17.
This article proves, to me anyway, that the American family is incapable of passing on crucial components to a common sense life. From basic lawncare and maintenance to replacing leaky faucets and hanging drywall, I learned it all on my own with a little help from DIY books and the internet. I honestly believe some people just don't want to get their hands dirty.
My cousin, for instance, absolutely refuses to change a tire. He got a flat on the NJ Parkway and called someone to pick him. It took longer for the person to come pick him up than it would've to pull off the flat and replace it with the spare. Inconceivable to me, really.
I've had to limp an old Chevy from northern NC to Maryland with a blown exhaust manifold gasket, and despite being tired and dirty, it worked. Without my family support and some common sense, I would've left that POS at the VA border and found another way to get where I was going. Here's to resilience!
My parents wouldn't let any of us drive until we demonstrated the ability to change a tire.
All three of us changed the tire and passed the test.
I have had many a flat, and while sometimes I've been lucky enough that a nice man has pulled over to help, other times I've changed that bad boy myself and gone on my merry way.
I assume the same thing applies to my brother, except I bet nice men don't pull over to help him since he's one himself.
However, my sister has NEVER changed a tire since she did it in the driveway that one weekend. She has always called whatever boyfriend she had at the time, and every one of 'em dealt with it for her.
There are some people who are completely incapable of manual tasks, but they're very few. My sister considers it beneath her to do any household tasks. She's a single mom, and she is not at all embarrassed to call the older man next door to help her with the simplest tasks.
My wife offered to buy some sewing materials for her young teenage daughter one Christmas, and my sister said, "I don't want her to have to do that kind of thing." She did send her kids to sailing lessons this summer though.
I can't believe we came from the same family.
I was thinking something similar. For the Gen Y generation, a good bit of them, both parents or single parents really had to work outside the home. Kids learn so much through modeling. It's unlikely, between the video games and the time at day care or after school activities, that many Gen Y-ers had much opportunity to watch the plumber or construction men, etc, or even parents, perform repairs. My earliest memories include sitting on the curb with my little sister eating a box lunch (under the watchful eye of mom on the porch) watching repairs on our street.
Like your mom, I'm a single parent. I've done, and been assisted by my son, a number of simple repairs and construction of items like a bookshelf, a bike, for example. But I'm surprised by the number of my son's friends (and their parents) who can't or won't - and by those who can - do the simplest of things for themselves. I think the early exposure is helpful and crucial.
"This article proves, to me anyway, that the American family is incapable of passing on crucial components to a common sense life. From basic lawncare and maintenance to replacing leaky faucets and hanging drywall, I learned it all on my own with a little help from DIY books and the internet. I honestly believe some people just don't want to get their hands dirty."
I'm 56 and was raised to do everything myself. I was taught a lot by my Dad who was constantly involved in some project at home and he was taught by his Dad. I learned a lot by working in construction for years and trial and error (sometimes BIG errors).
After I finished college and started working in IT I just didn't have as much time as I used to and when I did I was to tired to do anything. I think that's a lot of the problem these days. People are working their butts off to get by and just don't have the time or inclination to learn things and finish projects.
refuses to change a tire? Good grief.
nah you're an X'er
I was born in 1980 too.
I wasn't very good at repairing things before I bought a house, but that was because I'd never done it really.
Now I'm passable.