Do you worry about the youth of today?

[moose man]

My old man , as much as he wanted to be practical couldn’t bang a nail in a piece of wood without bending the nail , splitting  the wood & breaking the hammer , my mother begged him not to do stuff around the house , knowing it would turn out a disaster 😂 ..I earned my living in the building trade , not academic in the least , my daughter on the other had has just been made ceo of her company ( financial analysts ) , my son teaches people to drive just about every bit of kit on wheels or tracks ...Just horses for courses ..

[southeastpete]

Do you think parents from the Middle Ages look at kids (and adults) these days and think, why can’t that 8 year old kill and gut a chicken or goat?

or even in more recent history, that 17 year old hasn’t even learnt how to swing a sword never mind been in battle. 

Or that girl is 15 now and not married!

 

Times change, and kids of the future won’t need the skills, as everything becomes more and more single use, mollycoddled society, blame everyone else etc

[Scully]

3 hours ago, AVB said:

My son, 16, is a bright lad. 10 A/A* GCSE’s, studying Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Economics at A Level. He went to the fridge the other day and got the milk out. Next thing I hear him say is “how do you open the carton”. It had a screw cap on it which he had managed to remove but then it also had one of those plastic ‘ring pulls’ on it which he had never seen before. He stood staring at it not having a clue. Now I am nowhere as bright as him but at his age I am sure I could open a carton, change a plug, understand the workings of a two stroke/four stroke engine, light a fire, use an electric drill etc. I don’t think my father taught me these things as he was pretty ‘hands off’ so I must have learnt it at school. 

🙂 I wouldn’t read too much into it, and I don’t think today’s youth have the monopoly on such things. 

[Applepress]

I'm delighted to say my boy (just turned 16) has spent his childhood in the workshop with me and is very hands on. There isn't much he can't do and all of it is with old machines. We joke that he's the youngest thing in the workshop!

He now runs his own successful blacksmithing business and has bought old/ancient machines and serviced them himself and brought them back to life to use. He is probably the only person under 40yrs of age who knows what a shaper is!

He has nothing but contempt for the throwaway attitude of his generation and the poor quality of modern items. Makes me feel good knowing he has the skills to get by with.

[udderlyoffroad]

18 minutes ago, Scully said:

🙂 I wouldn’t read too much into it, and I don’t think today’s youth have the monopoly on such things. 

This.  You just don't remember your...momentary lapses of sense from that age.

Anyway, half the time they're trying to wind you up.  Or do you not remember doing that either?

 

3 minutes ago, Applepress said:

He is probably the only person under 40yrs of age who knows what a shaper is!

Back when I was at college in the early noughties, the engineering apprentices still were taught to use a shaper.  Briefly.  Wasn't much call for their use in industry!  I'm 38.  They were also taught CNC.

[JohnfromUK]

3 hours ago, AVB said:

I don’t think my father taught me these things as he was pretty ‘hands off’ so I must have learnt it at school. 

My father was quite 'distant' until I got interested in things mechanical and DIY.  He wasn't a 'touchy feely' type and I tended only to see him at meal times ........ rather Victorian and I think had more than a little of the 'children should be seen and not heard' mentality.

But when I began to be interested in things mechanical, he took an active interest (he was only 'moderately competent' himself, though quite good at DIY) and he did teach me a lot - and gave me a lot of tools and the like - many of which I still have.  He always wanted me to get interested in gardening (his main hobby), but I was never that keen, though I did LOTS of mowing!

[amateur]

3 hours ago, Walker570 said:

..... I went to an old fashioned Grammar School and was seriously peved because the Secondary next door had metal working facilities, lathes and all that but we only did woodwork...

I too went to a Grammar, but in the A stream we did Latin, not woodwork. I used to be very envious of my B stream brothers who brought home the pipe stand, boot scraper and hat rack for parental approval. Somehow my translations of Caesar's Gallic Wars didn't really do it! Fortunately in the sixth I had a spare free period and persuaded the woodwork master to show me how to use a lathe. The teak fruit bowl sat on Mother's sideboard for many a year.

Cheap British motorcycles taught me my mechanical skills, together with evening classes for machine tools in my 30s. 

When lockdown eases it's my intention to teach my 9 year old grandson how to use my lathe and mill.

Edited November 17, 2020 by amateur

[JohnfromUK]

1 minute ago, amateur said:

When lockdown eases it's my intention to teach my 9 year old grandson how to use my lathe ad mill.

👍

[WalkedUp]

1 hour ago, team tractor said:

just remember we all can’t be doctors and the local bin man is just as important as the teachers in the school . We all do our bit 

Agree. 

People assume architects earn huge amounts due to our high level of education, but most of the skilled tradesmen earn more than us. Desirable professional jobs are now so oversubscribed with applicants that the bottom has dropped out. It’s a natural rebalancing, skilled craftsmen are incredibly important and that is forgotten. 

One of the architects who works for me was a bin man during sixth form to pay his way as he didn’t have family support. He probably earned more per hour back then but he is doing what he’s always wanted so fair enough. He remembers being a binman fondly. I was a shelf stacker at 16 for beer money. 

[islandgun]

My 17 yr old son worked with me "building" over the summer, he really enjoyed the satisfaction of practical work as opposed to making music or using computers, my point is that, given the opportunity most young people might surprise us

[AVB]

30 minutes ago, amateur said:

 

When lockdown eases it's my intention to teach my 9 year old grandson how to use my lathe and mill.

Wanting to teach them is a good idea. Whether they are receptive to it is another. I’ve tried to get my children involved in shooting, working on the Defender, fishing etc. Absolutely no interest. There must be knack to it! 

[WalkedUp]

My 5 year old was denailing pitch pine purlins over the weekend and my four year old was picking up bricks and putting them into the wheel barrow. They love working on the shoot with me. I hope it lasts but know it won’t and that I’m living in the golden years of my life at the moment. 

[amateur]

1 hour ago, AVB said:

Wanting to teach them is a good idea. Whether they are receptive to it is another. I’ve tried to get my children involved in shooting, working on the Defender, fishing etc. Absolutely no interest. There must be knack to it! 

He's interested in the bike and showed some skills when we were building the Airfix models earlier this year.

We will see! If not, I still have the younger grand-daughters to convert

[Walker570]

2 hours ago, amateur said:

I too went to a Grammar, but in the A stream we did Latin, not woodwork. I used to be very envious of my B stream brothers who brought home the pipe stand, boot scraper and hat rack for parental approval. Somehow my translations of Caesar's Gallic Wars didn't really do it! Fortunately in the sixth I had a spare free period and persuaded the woodwork master to show me how to use a lathe. The teak fruit bowl sat on Mother's sideboard for many a year.

Cheap British motorcycles taught me my mechanical skills, together with evening classes for machine tools in my 30s. 

When lockdown eases it's my intention to teach my 9 year old grandson how to use my lathe and mill.

[Lloyd90]

5 hours ago, WalkedUp said:

Agree. 

People assume architects earn huge amounts due to our high level of education, but most of the skilled tradesmen earn more than us. Desirable professional jobs are now so oversubscribed with applicants that the bottom has dropped out. It’s a natural rebalancing, skilled craftsmen are incredibly important and that is forgotten. 

One of the architects who works for me was a bin man during sixth form to pay his way as he didn’t have family support. He probably earned more per hour back then but he is doing what he’s always wanted so fair enough. He remembers being a binman fondly. I was a shelf stacker at 16 for beer money. 

10 years ago it was a race to the bottom in prices with no thought for quality. 
 

Super markets put all the small independent traders out of business. 
 

Currently we are going through a massive resurgence in small independent traders. Small old fashion time butchers. Dry aged quality meat, fresh high quality produce. Grass fed beef milk. 
 

People have started to care more about the quality of what they are receiving not just the cheap price. 
 

It seems to go in cycles. I imagine it will go on until the prices of the independents get unaffordable or they get too greedy. 
 

I always thought venison and game in this country should make lots of affordable meals, yet it commands a premium price in shops. 

[Mice!]

7 hours ago, AVB said:

Wanting to teach them is a good idea. Whether they are receptive to it is another. I’ve tried to get my children involved in shooting, working on the Defender, fishing etc. Absolutely no interest. There must be knack to it! 

Have to admit I did laugh that he didn't know what to do with the carton, or couldn't work it out.

As to whether they want to do stuff? Many kids these days do things on their own on computers or tablets so will go about things differently. 

Nearly every time I go in the garage I'll end up being asked to make something and it's not a bad thing.

As a comparison my daughter showed an interest in playing draughts last year, we've played occasionally and the board came out again this week, now I much prefer chess, we had one game of chess this week showing her how pieces move, and I realised that at around her age I was already playing quite well, and used to walk to a mates and play with him, we don't even let her go out alone yet, they are different times and we do different things. 

My kids want to go shooting with me, and haven't caught a fish yet, I guess you just don't force it?

[ClemFandango]

I must be the exception to the rule. I'm super intelligent AND practical. 

Last week I describe Pi to a million decimals for a laugh then I built a small frigate out of old fosters cans and a Fiat Panda engine and then I made a 98% effective vaccine for Corona virus out of stuff from under the sink.

[TIGHTCHOKE]

11 minutes ago, ClemFandango said:

I must be the exception to the rule. I'm super intelligent AND practical. 

Last week I describe Pi to a million decimals for a laugh then I built a small frigate out of old fosters cans and a Fiat Panda engine and then I made a 98% effective vaccine for Corona virus out of stuff from under the sink.

You may be the new Ditchman Mk2!

[enfieldspares]

19 minutes ago, ClemFandango said:

I must be the exception to the rule. I'm super intelligent AND practical. 

Last week I describe Pi to a million decimals for a laugh then I built a small frigate out of old fosters cans and a Fiat Panda engine and then I made a 98% effective vaccine for Corona virus out of stuff from under the sink.

During the war my grandmother organised the village WI to knit Spitfire engines out of wire wool and, later, plait the fuselages for Dr Havilland Mosquitos from wood wool. And you tell people that now and they don't believe it.

Edited November 18, 2020 by enfieldspares

[Jaymo]

1 hour ago, TIGHTCHOKE said:

You may be the new Ditchman Mk2!

Nah, he just drinks what he finds under the kitchen sink....

 

[Demonic69]

I grew up playing on, then building computers. Aside from a couple of years I've spent the last 23 or so working in IT, being a "Solution Architect" these days. I'm OK at DIY, can usually fix most minor engine issues on my older bikes and will give anything practical a go.

As my hobbies evolved I ended up into electronics, with a 3D printer and a LASER cutter, then a lathe, a mill, a welder and more tools than I know what to do with. I have an idea, then figure out what I need to make it, then learn as much as I can to realise my idea. Or that's usually the plan

I do wish I'd done more with my hands as a youth, especially around metalwork and machine work. At my school we had an amazing machine shop, but nobody ever used it. We did a bit of CDT, but the muppets usually spoiled that by ******* about.

[JohnfromUK]

2 minutes ago, Demonic69 said:

At my school we had an amazing machine shop, but nobody ever used it.

Opposite our office (about 7 or 8 years ago - before I retired) there was a combined 'training centre' built financed by 'education budget' money.  It had workshops - well equipped with modern machines and tools, and very well equipped (latest high tech stuff) lecture theatres.  The idea was to have the local schools share a central high grade resource to provide a facility that was beyond the budget of an individual school.

It was never much used - and when it was (I used to see it from my office window) the 'pupils' (teenagers) seemed to spend most of their time hanging around the car park smoking!

It soon fell into disuse and apparently lost a lot of money.  We used to hire the lecture theatres for bigger company events (the rooms probably had a capacity of 100 -150 people which was more than our own rooms could hold) and they also had a very good catering facility that did good buffet lunches etc. and they tried to make ends meet by selling sandwiches and snacks!

Always seemed like a good idea to me - but for some reason - it didn't work.  It remained empty for some time and was eventually sold off and  is now a different (unrelated) business, though still in the training field I believe.

 

[Aled]

Interesting and amusing comments all! My children have very little interest in anything other than getting good grades in school (which fair play they do and i don't push them, i was pushed,and swore never to put my children through it, me and exams don't get on! I'm good at course work though and chose that academic route) and either gaming,  Netiflix and You Tube. Now i do worry about them as i can't see them ever socialising exercising, or getting fresh air and the much needed vitamin D!

Cheers

Aled

[Bigbob]

Working in a large University the youth of today scare the **** out of me 

I usually find theirs two types first type mums lets them do a bit and there socialized 

The other lot mums done everything for them first week at university they cut there finger opening a can and want a ambulance to take them to hospital 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

1 minute ago, Bigbob said:

Working in a large University the youth of today scare the **** out of me 

I usually find theirs two types first type mums lets them do a bit and there socialized 

The other lot mums done everything for them first week at university they cut there finger opening a can and want a ambulance to take them to hospital 

You may well be correct, my youngest Son is up at Lincoln and he is becoming the dad for all the "I can't do that" brigade at 18!