People who can't do very basic household tasks.

[Careofcell44]

I've seen a couple of posts on my local social media for people asking for recommendations for someone to come and change a lightbulb and put a new plug on a kettle, it emerged in the coments that these people just didn't know how.
Now someone has set up a business doing basic tasks but he was asked about going to silicone a bath and decline because that was beyond him.
Obviously some people have disabilities and other limitations but I'm surprised at adults who can't do simple tasks, especially with YouTube videos.

I wasn't taught anything growing up. I try to learn as.much as I can as I want DS to be able to do things and be more confident than I am.

I am terrible at all manual things - painting, sewing etc. I have no interest so just rush it and it shows.
My attempt to put up a picture was pure Daddy Pig.

Haha I have a friend who is totally useless at that stuff - one went to their house to find a handy man putting up a baby stair gate. Good for him i think!
I'm pretty handy, can do tiling, grouting, lay lino, put up shelves etc. I learnt a few things from my dad (basics like how to hammer nails and drill), and some from D.T. at school (like using a jigsaw).

And I meant to say... All the rest (like tiling) from YouTube!! It's brilliant for that stuff. Also replaced my ipad screen using a YouTube tutorial!

I made an explodeing box card from youtube today and loved it.
flossmequick do yoi think she has blown a fuse and doesn't no it? :/

Especially high ceilings can make changing lightbulbs difficult. We have some we can reach with a special tool, but I’m not sure I’ll be able to manage it when I’m officially a senior. There are also a couple that require a ten foot ladder. I can’t carry that by myself and don’t trust myself climbing it to the top and then reaching up to twist the bulb.

@Smallhorse
"She genuinely he no idea how to sew"

I think this Dr is a cheeky fucker. Surely basically wound sewing is a feature of med school (unless she is a doctor of philosophy or whatever). She clearly just couldn't be arsed and convinced you to do her dirty work!

I cannot cook - I want to but i dont have a mind that thinks up recipes. I cooked mince steak for the first time last night and couldn't believe how easy it was I've had my own place for going on 6 years . I just never had the chance growing up as mum just did it before i got home from school

We moved from Uk to mainland Europe. Being able to change a plug has been super handy as otherwise all of our uk appliances, chargers etc would have either needed to have travel adapters added to everything permanently or new ones bought. The European 2 pin plugs cost about 20p in a local hardware store, and literally required about 2 mins to change each plug over time.

Many things we have saved a small fortune being able to DIY rather than pay someone else to do. Most i have had to read up on or youtube videos of how to beforehand but didn't take long to learn.

If you can read a recipe, you can learn to cook

My dad told me when I was a teen that had I been a boy he'd have taught me all about vehicles and maintenance, DIY, all sorts of 'male' activities but because I was a girl he didn't want to, didn't think it was worth it. I do wonder what skills I'd have had I been male! That's not saying being female has stopped me going out of my way to learn, I just lost a major avenue of learning through childhood. Then he got exasperated that I had no idea about adding air to tyres and checking pressure, I literally had no experience of of that because I'd never known it was a thing, if that makes sense. Once he asked me if I'd checked pressure, making me aware of the entire concept, I did research and got on top of it. Hard to learn a skill if you don't know it exists.

Sadly I've ended up proving my dad right, that women can't learn or do DIY, as I now have severe arthritis so I depend on him changing lightbulbs etc. All my years living alone in London and various countries, he didn't see me coping so to him I just don't know how.

I always wondered about changing a plug, it's so often mentioned as an essential life skill people just don't know nowadays. I always pictured someone slicing off the plug mid wire and gluing another one on the stump!

Googling how to remove the old sealant from a bath to redo it is the first thread that brought me to Mumsnet!

Some of these things are learnt at school. They do Food Tech, so at the very least simple cookery and nutrition. There's nutrition in biology lessons too. Wiring a plug and basic electrical circuits is done in physics. DT is just about still a thing so using hand tools and such are done in those classes.
A lot of it (I have been a teacher so this is first hand anecdotal evidence) is that parents aren't teaching it, because they don't know. There's still a sad lack of dads teaching girls to do this stuff at home. We also don't twiddle with cars any more because everything is electronic and Halfords will do your bulbs for cheap.

I think all these skills like seeing, cooking, changing a plug etc are being lost. My parents never taught me how to do anything!! My mother couldn’t cook herself. I learned at school. I’ve never known how to use a drill. I learned to change a plug st school. I have no idea how to silicone a bath, it just gets mouldy and starts peeling off!
I once tried to paint a room and it was a total disaster.
I know what to do if a fuse blows with a modern fuse board, but we’ve moved into a house with an old one, and no clue what to do!!
Of course, anyone can change a lightbulb!
I wish I had been taught a lot more practical skills.
I can’t change a tyre or check tyre pressure. No idea about car mechanics really.

Sew

Who clears their gutters by the way?

I can do a lot of things, but I cant do them well which is where I call for help. Bath sealant is a classic example. Yes it's technically easy to squeeze the lever to make it come out the nozzle, but you need a steady hand and to just know (from doing) the speed at which to move along the join. Ditto cutting in when decorating.

So sometimes it's better to throw money at a problem and get it done properly, than DIY and bodge it

I clear my dads' gutters

If I did not, he'd do it himself and at 84 I don't want him climbing the roof!

That is not a skill though, is it, just doing something

We clear our gutters. Just did them last weekend actually. Well, those we can reach. Can’t afford a taller ladder so can’t do the rest.

I had a colleague once who paid her dry cleaner to see buttons back on. She couldn’t work it out herself.

How to wire a plug is on the GCSE physics curriculum and has been for at least 13 years as I've taught it every year for 13 years. Every student in the country (except for very good reasons) should have had that lesson!!

The concept of fuse rating and current flow, identifying a blown fuse and changing them (ensuring the same rating is used) is also on the GCSE physics curriculum so this should have been taught too.

I'm surprised by this too. Many things are not now taught in schools, or by parents. And things/skills are being lost. Such a shame.

I remember learning how to be wire a plug at school around 20 years ago. I've never needed to since though.

DH is very practical and as he says these things aren't rocket science. If you don't have the money to pay someone to do a job then you have to learn to diy.

Mil still has some of the family school woodwork lesson outcomes in her house. Her brother made her a table in the 1960s and DH made an ashtray in the late 70s. In my D&T lessons in the 90s I made a perspex keyring .

Silicone on the bath is not easy because you have to prep it properly and then do it properly or it looks shit, and then peels off. It is quite a specific job. And a pain in the arse.