Things you can’t believe your teenager doesn’t know

[Annoyingwurringnoise]

My teenage DS, who went to a Church of England primary school, does not know the song Little Donkey. I am utterly perplexed as to how this can possibly be. He’s been a donkey twice in nativity plays, once at preschool and once at school, but he swears he doesn’t remember Little Donkey.

What things have you found out your teenagers don’t know that’s just left you scratching your head in disbelief?

PuttingDownRoots - that's good to hear. Because it's moments like this that inspire. A kid whose interest was sparked by something like that might be set on a course that would shape their life.

It’s the parents job to teach their kids to ride a bike. I didn’t learn till I was older because my parents never bought me one and never taught me. Blame lies squarely on the parents for this one in my book.

Yea I know it is.

I agree, DH didn't learn to ride a bike as a kid because his parents (and older sibings) didn't teach him. Apparently his older brothers were bought bikes and didn't ride them much so once DH came along, his parents couldn't be bothered.

He has learnt as an adult but doesn't like it. If he'd learnt as a child he'd probably be comfortable with it. It is very limiting, more so than not being able to swim in my view.

Sometimes a postcode IS for one house :)

I used to work in a library on a school site and was amazed at the number of secondary school aged children who did not know their home phone numbers (this was about 10 years ago so people had more landlines then). I went home and made sure my ds knew ours AND our full address :) And my mobile number. And his dad's mobile number. He was 9 at the time.

Google: "1069 AD" - > Wikipedia: 1069 events in England: Northumbrians kill the new Norman earl of Northumbria, Robert de Comines, at Durham, and attack York. King Sweyn II of Denmark lands a fleet in the Humber in support of the Northumbrian rebels and they join him to burn York, attacking its two castles and destroying the old Minster. At Stafford, William the Conqueror swiftly defeats a rebellion led by Edwin, Earl of Mercia. Winter of 1069–1070 – Harrying of the North: King William the Conqueror quells rebellions made by his English subjects against his rule, campaigning through the north of England with his forces, burning houses, crops, cattle and land from York to Durham, resulting in the deaths of over 100,000 people, mainly from starvation and winter cold.

Also events all over the world. Lots things to research for an hour or so and write up.

My kids learnt by the age of five (I wasn’t going to let them go though childhood not being able to like me). As it turns out they haven’t ridden since they were earlyish teens and none of their friends seem to bother. They’re young adults now, I’m assuming they can still do it as they say once you learn you don’t forget. If we’d lived in a flatter area they probably would have done it more and there’s very heavy traffic with a lot of buses and lorries here.

@SaintLoy

Googled that as well - poor York. Gets attacked by the Vikings and then William did his "harrying"

@lieselotte Sometimes a postcode IS for one house
Is that a fact? I think it might be possible for one building, or one very rural dwelling, but unlikely

Anyway, my 14 year old cannot tell the time. No hope at all on an analogue clock. He can read the numbers of a digital clock, but could not tell you, for example, that 21:00 was 9pm, which is 15 minutes after 20:45 and would be the tone he'd be going to bed on a school night.

Our teens sort of learnt 24 hour clocks as their alarm clocks for a few years were 24 hour one - so it got automatic to take 12 off hour and convert.

They did all get a wrist watch with the to and from and minutes in 5 and quarters etc like I had as a child but both primary schools they attended dislike watches are they frequently weren't allowed to ware them. So it does come from conversations with us and they still convert to digital.

Bike riding - youngest two can ride - eldest seems afflicted with dyspraxia like me but to a worse degree as I could ride as a child. As an adult not riding has really impeded my life.

Bikes are expensive though and I agree with PP it can be sign of family wealth - swimming is something ours can do can do but it was bloody expensive and took moving to a location with decent lessons nearby. Not all their friends can though secondary school does have a pool and they do have a few lessons.

1069 - think Welsh and Normans had clashes - but all I could find was- Anglo Saxon baron with welsh support fighting in Shropshire against the Normans -
www.shropshirestar.com/entertainment/shrewsbury-entertainment/2018/04/02/1069-and-all-that-welsh-and-normans-face-off-at-shrewsbury-castle---with-pictures/

I used to work for the post office. It does happen. In Jan 2021 there were 55,540 full postcodes in England and Wales that contain only one household.

Weirdly, Martyn Percy, who was ousted as Dean of Christ Church College, Oxford, said the massive deanery had two post codes. (He came from a humble background and the College wasn't pleased when he requested money to buy furniture - all previous deans had brought their own with them when they moved in.)

In a thread poking fun at clueless teens an adult questions a comment that could be easily googled😂

www.ons.gov.uk/aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/numberofukpostcodeswhichonlyhaveonehousehold?:uri=aboutus/transparencyandgovernance/freedomofinformationfoi/numberofukpostcodeswhichonlyhaveonehousehold

@Stripedbag101 , On a thread where a poster asks a genuine question, another poster pokes fun at her.

I didn't use the aforementioned search engine.

Spey Kirsten - I was responding more to your dismissive tone - as of that poster couldn’t possibly be tight. It is a trigger for me, and I shouldn’t let it take over.

Sorry not Spey! Autocorrect has gone mad.

It wasn't meant to be dismissive. It was a genuine question. My SE said it was unlikely that a single dwelling would have a unique postcode.

I don’t think you can compare buying a second hand bike for a tenner and running along next to a child teaching them how to ride with £30 an hour driving lessons and £thousands to buy a car. ….. which coincidentally the kids I know who don’t have these skills have 2 working parents, brand new cars, the latest iPhone bought upfront etc…… so the 2 don’t go hand in hand at all…..
infact round here all the poorer kids are out playing and cycling around, the bikes are just handed down from sibling to sibling rather than shiny new ones being bought for each kid.
I get swimming lessons cost money, and often aren’t cheao… but again if you can afford an iPhone, even if on a £40 contract a month, a car, costa coffee, lunches out etc and a holiday every year then surely swimming lessons are an investment?! It’s lovely going on holiday… but when I was 11
i witnessed a non swimmer almost drown… I’ve also had to drag a child out of the sea before because her parents thought her being able to swim One length was somehow a good enough reason to stop lessons. Of everything my parents did for me, teaching me to swim is the one thing I’m most grateful for…. It makes holidays so much more enjoyable and water sports a possibility. It’s a skill I’ve always insisted my child also does, when money is tight her lessons still happen, I go with out other stuff…

My parents taught me to swim. I am not a great swimmer but can swim.

I don’t think you can compare buying a second hand bike for a tenner and running along next to a child teaching them how to ride with £30 an hour driving lessons and £thousands to buy a car. …

I don't think anyone is making that comparison. .

My teens won't be learning to drive because we don't drive - don't have a car - it will have to be a skill they pick up later in life -and we couldn't afford lesson for them anyway. They do know how to get around on buses and trains and taxis and walking even by themselves.

But in this area second hand bike aren't a tenner - they are quite pricey especially at older ages possible to due fewer being bought new in first place so fewer circulating. We are in poorer social economic area - if that's not the case for people you know they I've no idea why they haven't been taught.

If we'd move here earlier other end of city there were council school break programs up to 7 teaching bike riding skills which provided the bikes - I've also recently seen rental schemes for children bikes that mean kids outgrowing bikes is avoided - all of which would have been helpful to us but despite that we still tried teaching ours to ride bikes.

We did get our kids swimming as well -I do agree it's a useful life skill but FIL in his 70s now has never learnt to swim he just avoids water deeper than he stand in. However DH and I learnt through school lessons - and the very few lesson our kids got weren't enough to do that so it really does fall to parents these days.

I don't have teens and haven't rtft, but I can tell you something I just learnt - nativities are bought in!

I've spent the last 5 years watching the nativities and wondering which of the teachers writes the play and the songs 🙈🙈🙈🤣

The school I invigilate at uses analogue clocks and we can't tell students how long they have left until the 5 minutes left announcement.

I'm in my 60s and my kids in their 40s

I couldn't believe how clueless they were in their teens about everyday general knowledge (despite them knowing everything and me knowing nothing). 25 odd years on and they can often beat me in general knowledge quizzes and have even come to admit I DO know some things they don't and that experience does have values.

I however have been shocked to learn how close my young life was to the second world war about which I had absolutely NO interest in as a child or teen.

And I cannot understand now why they have so little interest in the political (small p) topics that are relevant now (gender and climate change to name 2). I suspect, as I am retired, I have more time.

Until I remember, when I was a young parent the fact that nuclear war was considered imminent was irrelevant to me. (I was too busy meeting everyday needs)

Sixteen year old and nineteen year old in my house today.. neither know that the foil top of a glass milk bottle is opened by gently pressing down on the centre! Both did however - rather indignantly - assert that they knew how to use a landline.

Part of the problem with bikes where I live is that lots of people live in flats and there’s not much room to store a bike or two in a flat.