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Original poster

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

671 replies

Annoyingwurringnoise · 26/12/2022 23:39

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?

OP posts:
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5
LindaEllen · 27/12/2022 13:08

My partner's son was using the tumble dryer one afternoon in the summer (because he couldn't be arsed hanging it out, but that's another issue) and he sent me a text asking how you add water to it. I said what do you mean. He sent me a photo of the water light, saying it's asking me to add water but there's already water in it.

I said no.. you need to EMPTY the water. A tumble dryer takes water AWAY, it doesn't ADD it!

(It's a condenser dryer).

I don't know why, but I just found that astounding, that a supposedly clever young man couldn't understand why you wouldn't ADD water to a dryer.

TeenDivided · 27/12/2022 13:08

Theredfoxfliesatmidnight · 27/12/2022 13:00

I work with quite a lot of 16 year olds, and none of them have heard of the Radio Times

I'm not surprised by that, we haven't bought that since TV listings started being given away in newspapers.

I think if you don't take kids to modern museums you don't get opportunities to point at things and explain them. We have been places and bored our DC by saying - oh my Granny had one of those, or we had that when I was growing up etc.

Even everyone being on their own devices impedes conversations. No shared TV watching Call The Midwife or Richard Osman's House of Games (where is Kazakhstan?) no chance to fill in gaps in general knowledge.

cakeorwine · 27/12/2022 13:10

Even everyone being on their own devices impedes conversations. No shared TV watching Call The Midwife or Richard Osman's House of Games (where is Kazakhstan?) no chance to fill in gaps in general knowledge

DS and I watch House of Games. He is often astounded by celebrities lack of knowledge about geography. Saying that, he is also astounded by his geography teacher's lack of knowledge at times.

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OwwwMuuuum · 27/12/2022 13:10

This is why I insist on reading - non-fiction books eg encyclopaedias - and limit screen time.

Agree with the PP who said you then just discuss obsolete facts and why they’re no longer relevant/believed.

Things like telling the time have to be learned at home. The way they teach it to young children in school is rubbish and mainly a craft lesson (making the clock). My DD came home not knowing the hands only go one way around (clockwise), they just hadn’t been shown, only asked to guess random times.

Goldenbear · 27/12/2022 13:20

My 15 year old knows what an album is as he buys vinyl. He would be shocked by friends not knowing what an email is. Tbh he is on a par with most of the adults (except my Dad) when we play general knowledge board games. He was playing chess online with his friend last night but also plays loads of FIFA and real football. I think the difference is that he reads books, non fiction and fiction. I really don't think many teenagers read books anymore and that is the difference. I think it is odd when a teenager defaults to the explanation of not being alive when a band, a writer, an Artist was popular, so proclaiming they don't know who the Rolling Stones are for example as the music is not of their era but when I was a teenager in mid/late nighties, I would have known this stuff as it is common knowledge, they are not musicians of my generation but I still have that knowledge!

PuppyMonkey · 27/12/2022 13:23

Surely even modern pop stars still release albums - for streaming I mean. Young people must see Stormzy or Billy Eilish or whoever announcing their latest album on social media sites?Confused

Goldenbear · 27/12/2022 13:27

I was surprised how Shakespeare is studied in DD's year 7 English class, I appreciate it is in the curriculum but a huge homework task that involved summarising and quoting from three plays of her choice. I studied English Literature at university so helped her as she doesn't have a clue about any of the plays, she had heard of Romeo and Juliet. I don't understand why the task is summarise plays you've never seen or read, why not look in detail at one of the plays and the language and meaning.

SaladBarNanny · 27/12/2022 13:34

bridgetjonesmassivepants · 27/12/2022 07:36

My Year 9 class have terrible general knowledge. Things I have had to explain are what an ice age was, glaciers, segregation, the whole South Africa race thing, the whole southern American states race thing, what a recession is and how a depression is different. How soil erosion works, inflation, pensions and compound interest. Quite like explaining this stuff as it makes a change from what I am actually meant to be teaching them.

I don't think that 13 is particularly old to be learning about a lot of the things you've listed!

TheMoth · 27/12/2022 14:04

Just been reading this thread and firing questions at the 13 yr old.
He knows what an album is.
We get the radio times every Xmas.
He has email but never uses it.
He can't use the washing machine- so I will teach him after.
He knows about apartheid.
He has a fair knowledge of music from 1950 to today.

Dh was preening because he likes little simz, so thinks he's down with he kids. I pointed out that modern kids do not listen to radio 6 and like music we have not heard of. Although depressingly, lots of kids I teach think Oasis are the greatest band in the world.

Andante57 · 27/12/2022 14:27

I think if you don't take kids to modern museums you don't get opportunities to point at things and explain them

I knew I was old when I saw a mangle in a museum - I just remember one being used.

SchnauzerEyebrows · 27/12/2022 15:00

I'm 38 and wasn't taught the times table at primary school

dizzydizzydizzy · 27/12/2022 15:14

bridgetjonesmassivepants · 27/12/2022 07:36

My Year 9 class have terrible general knowledge. Things I have had to explain are what an ice age was, glaciers, segregation, the whole South Africa race thing, the whole southern American states race thing, what a recession is and how a depression is different. How soil erosion works, inflation, pensions and compound interest. Quite like explaining this stuff as it makes a change from what I am actually meant to be teaching them.

I had to explain to a 27yo a few months ago what a recession was.

cakeorwine · 27/12/2022 15:18

dizzydizzydizzy · 27/12/2022 15:14

I had to explain to a 27yo a few months ago what a recession was.

Show quote history

How many adults know what a recession is?
How many adults could explain growth, GDP etc?

When does a recession become a depression?

dizzydizzydizzy · 27/12/2022 15:22

BellePeppa · 27/12/2022 13:04

We were playing some quizzes over Christmas with various teen family members and I can’t believe how poor their general knowledge is. All sorts of stuff I knew or was familiar with growing up in the 70s they’ve never heard of - world leaders, famous global landmarks, famous fiction, well all sorts of things really. It was quite shocking.

But they will know lots of stuff that you don't know. Technology, social media, staying safe online, mental health etc. I'm pretty tech-savvy but I had not heard of an NFT. My teens taught me what it was.

SinnerBoy · 27/12/2022 15:37

Andante57

I knew I was old when I saw a mangle in a museum - I just remember one being used.

I'm 52 and my nan had one, which she used to move over to her top loading tub washer. She'd move the washer to the back door first. I remember being 4 and trying to help, then trapping a couple of fingertips.

Ouch!

Nimbostratus100 · 27/12/2022 15:51

Andante57 · 27/12/2022 14:27

I think if you don't take kids to modern museums you don't get opportunities to point at things and explain them

I knew I was old when I saw a mangle in a museum - I just remember one being used.

some of the things I've seen in museums have been decades younger than mangels! space invader video games! for example.

Andante57 · 27/12/2022 15:52

I'm 52 and my nan had one>

They are environmentally friendly if not finger and button friendly.

borntobequiet · 27/12/2022 17:08

I used this washing machine with integrated mangle when living at MIL’s in the early 1980s. It was great for nappies because the boil wash was was pretty much actually boiling. You had to be careful.

imnotthatkindofmum · 27/12/2022 18:35

Our local museum has a through the decades section of gadgets. My dyson was in there. To be fair it was the first Dyson vacuum and I'd had it for years but it did make me feel like I needed a new hoover!

Dizzywizz · 27/12/2022 19:29

Surely learning to tell the time should be taught at home? People still have clocks with hands etc don’t they?!

Dizzywizz · 27/12/2022 19:30

And I don’t get teenagers not knowing what an album is - like pp said, all musicians still release albums!

Zonder · 27/12/2022 20:01

@Dizzywizz but teens don't seem aware of that. My teens listen to music on Spotify or YouTube so you don't necessarily get the albums. It's a disappearing concept, sadly.

SaintLoy · 27/12/2022 20:17

Zonder · 27/12/2022 20:01

@Dizzywizz but teens don't seem aware of that. My teens listen to music on Spotify or YouTube so you don't necessarily get the albums. It's a disappearing concept, sadly.

I asked my 14 yr old niece if she knew what an 'album' was in a music connection, and she said 'What you mean like Rubber Soul or Revolver?'. She never ceases to amaze us.

gawditswindy · 27/12/2022 20:23

SchnauzerEyebrows · 27/12/2022 15:00

I'm 38 and wasn't taught the times table at primary school

I'm 43 and I was.

We find teens really struggle with the 'close reading) section of their English exams (not sure what it's be called in England) as their general knowledge is so poor. A lack of general knowledge is a weakness, without a doubt. And a pub quiz is still a thing!

Lubli456 · 27/12/2022 20:37

Well I’ve just been through most of these with my two teens, 17 and 15. They knew practically all of them and said they’re not imbeciles. They also said they don’t believe that any teens don’t know what an album is since they’re still very much a thing.