What to teach kids?

dizzyb99_2

I think everything that has already been mentioned is so important. Particularly DIY for both sexes. My father was and still is keen to teach anybody anything and as such I have a good basic knowledge of car maintainence . A few years ago I went to pick my (then) 7 year old up only to find him welding, with my dad supervising. The same child (now 13) was asking me if I could get my sewing machine out because he had an idea for a top he could make.

liuhut

Wow thanks guys, I didn't expect to get so many replies!

DD1 used to go to Brownies in England but there is not one near us in Oz so thats a no-go.
At school assembly they were saying they have spaces to learn guitar so I will ask DD1 is she wants to do that when she gets home.
I will get them started on some sewing...we need some sausages dogs for the doors for winter so that might be a good thing to start them on!!!
They are expected to help around the house but I think that I will start getting them to do their beds and separate clothes, etc.
Reading wise....DD2 only just started school but I do read to her and we have started learning words. DD1 has a reading age ahead of her years so thats all good.
DD2 is very good at saving, she has her piggy bank and is currently saving to go to Dreamworld (theme park in Queensland!)...might take her a while!
oh and I loved the car one about helping Dad...its me that does the car stuff...he doesnt have a clue lol.

One of mine...I work in a library so I took DD1 in and showed her how to find Non-fiction books on the system and then how the numbers work, thought it would help her later!!!

Thanks again, going to go through and write a long list and start to put things in place.

Laura xxx

MindaJ

The two big things I can really see have served me and my brothers well are how to spot the reduced stickers and the fact that value items are just as good as expensive brands. Also saving for things. "Credit card" is almost a naughty word in my house. When I was a kid everything was homemade and homegrown. We had a massive veggie patch, all meals were homecooked, most of my dresses were homemade by mum or passed down from my older cousins or the kids up the street. They would then be passed down to other people we knew when I outgrew them. I remember when I was in my early teens I was at my old primary school with my mum and she saw a little girl wearing a dress that she had originally made for me several years ago. We didn't know her, but mum loved that this dress she'd made was still making the rounds.

My parents got out of the habits a bit as we got older, I guess the money situation improved, but we've all retained the habits to a certain extent. None of us are perfect little OS-ers, but we have our moments. I love cooking all my meals from scratch and would rather make a cake myself than buy one. I've also started up the veggie patch again, with Dad's help. My brothers and I all have savings, and I'm the only one with any kind of debt (student loans). We all bought our first cars with cash. My younger brother loves to brag about his surround sound system, he picked it up at a ridiculously low price at a carboot sale because it wasn't working. All he had to do was by some new plugs and apply his handiwork to get it going. I'm wearing homemade clothes again. I can design them, but I still have to get mum to sew them for me. I don't have the confidence yet.

I say get them involved in whatever OS stuff you're doing and they'll unknowingly learn it. I know I often had a grumble about it as a teenager (didn't help that my friends would look down on me for having homebrand stuff or not owning all the latest gadgets) but now I'm so grateful that I was raised the way I was.

Swampmonster

liuhut wrote: »

Wow thanks guys, I didn't expect to get so many replies!

DD1 used to go to Brownies in England but there is not one near us in Oz so thats a no-go.
At school assembly they were saying they have spaces to learn guitar so I will ask DD1 is she wants to do that when she gets home.
I will get them started on some sewing...we need some sausages dogs for the doors for winter so that might be a good thing to start them on!!!
They are expected to help around the house but I think that I will start getting them to do their beds and separate clothes, etc.
Reading wise....DD2 only just started school but I do read to her and we have started learning words. DD1 has a reading age ahead of her years so thats all good.
DD2 is very good at saving, she has her piggy bank and is currently saving to go to Dreamworld (theme park in Queensland!)...might take her a while!
oh and I loved the car one about helping Dad...its me that does the car stuff...he doesnt have a clue lol.

One of mine...I work in a library so I took DD1 in and showed her how to find Non-fiction books on the system and then how the numbers work, thought it would help her later!!!

Thanks again, going to go through and write a long list and start to put things in place.

Laura xxx

How about looking into starting your own Brownie pack.

I'm sure the girl guiding association would have some info. I bet there are some Mum's near you who would be really keen to help so their daughters could go to!

Good Luck

Swampmonster

Norman_Bean

I agree with all the suggestions here. Not sure if it's been mentioned already but I think along with sewing etc we are going to teach our two girls basic DIY skills i.e using a screwdriver, how to use a handsaw propery, how to bang in tacks, change a fuse etc
Basically I want them to be able to do all the stuff I'm rubbish at :rotfl:
HTH a bit
Norman x

rachbc

Just get them involved in family life and they will learn by your example - cooking, gardening, crafts, basic diy - let them watch, join in and take part and encourage their natural curiosity and interest that way

sandraroffey

at the risk of sounding like MY mother, we were taught all this sort of stuff as a matter of course (i am 62) at home as well as at school. we were taught how to manage LIFE.

we had needlework several times a week and everything was made by hand; when i was still at junior school i made a skirt for myself by hand. it had french seams as well. at seconday school, housecraft - not cookery - was done a whole afternoon once a week. we were taught how to manage a home, ironing, cleaning, stripping down the cooker, everything, as well as cooking.!!!!

i always helped mum at home with the ironing and cooking. i could change beds when i was ten and when i was 11 or 12, i could cook a full sunday roast. and i always dusted and polished, along with my brother, on a saturday morning.

i dont quite know how young women (and it is still left to the women - mostly) can take proper care of their families. they all seem to live on takeaways and mcdonalds and nothing ever gets mended, or altered.

such a shame and such a waste. even now i get huge satisfaction from making and cooking. i make everything; jam, pickles, bread, ice cream. and all meals are from scratch. the younger folk, friends of my children or girlfriends, look at me like i am crazy. they dont understand the point when you can go to the shop and buy it.

think i was destined for a different generation!!!!