Really obvious things you didnt teach your child (Lighthearted)

[Unorganisedchaos2]

Lighthearted, please don't come for me; I honestly do all the homework, reading etc just had a massive blind spot and looking to feel better.

DD6 had some homework this week to do her immediate family tree, lovely, she drew a big tree and we printed off some photos of everyone and it became clear that DD had absolutely no idea how all the random adults in her life were related 😅

She has a pretty typical set up 4 grandparents, 1 GGparent, 2 sets of 1 aunt and uncle and a couple of cousins, who we mix with at least weekly. I thought referring to my Mum as "Mum" for the past 6 years would have helped her make the connection but apparently not, bless her.

Anyway, it was an interesting learning activity and I think she's mostly grasped it now so no harm done ...right?

I agree with this. My son can tell the time and I have never taught him so school must have!

That one doesn't surprise me at all. I used to work in a library attached to a school and kids used to come in and ask us to phone their parents if they wanted a lift home (as the details were on the library computer if they were members). We told them to go to school reception but I found it astonishing that they didn't know their home phone numbers (when everyone still had landlines) and when I went home made sure my ds knew ours!

Although I don't know his mobile number off by heart. Or my mum's (I do know her landline no). Back in the day I could remember everyone's landline so why can't I remember mobile numbers? Is it the lack of geographic context, eg 01803 is Torquay, 0151 Liverpool etc?

I definitely did time with DD2 and so did school repeatedly but she just took a while to grasp it. Think it's something to do with ADHD/processing/memory.

Geographic knowledge is woeful.

My husband has worked with graduates who didn't know where Jersey or Brussels are.

My 5 yo thinks my husband is my brother and I grew up in the house we live in now (200 miles from where I’m from)and when I was a baby and slept in his bed despite visiting grandparents and my old bedroom and despite being told multiple times and drawing it out. It’ll click one day…I hope.

COVID definitely can't be blamed. My DH's son is 28 and him and a godd few of his mates can't tell time off an analogue clock. I've met quite a few teenagers who can't too😳

I remember reading an article once about someone who had explained it to her 9 year old and she said "but how does that work - what do you do with your legs". The journalist said that people kind of just work it out but she was bemused.

It was a while ago now so maybe she's experienced it and has worked out what to do with her legs!

Although, let's face it, didn't most of our parents freak out for a bit in 1982 because they thought Argentina had taken over some islands off the coast of Scotland?

Loving these.

The not being able to read an analogue clock is very common in lots of people under about 30. Nothing to do with covid.

We called a couple of friends Aunt and Uncle to our first child. When 'Uncle' was due to marry a Japanese lady, DS asked if he(DS) was now part Japanese....😊

Or she can do what my son did. I'd not tied a tie since primary school so had to remind myself via Yourtube on his first day at secondary school. After that first day he always loosened it so far and put it back on again and tightened it up again! I suspect if he had to tie one now he'd have to go to Yourtube too!

My DH used to occasionally undo it if he found it lying around and DS used to get quite annoyed!

My husband often worked away over night. We always just said dad's away. A few years later it transpired that DS had thought he was on holiday each time......🫣

My sister lives in the US and worked with someone who couldn’t understand why Hawaii was so hot but Alaska was so cold as they’re next to each other on the map

I was an adult with my own home before I knew hair clogged the plughole! 🤣

When I was in my teens, my father saw me watching him do the family accounts (reconciling cheques etc in those days), grabbed the papers away from me, and did a theatrical scowl with the most aggressive body language. I said 'I have to know how to do these things, you know!'

Even my mother thought he was being ridiculous. I knew my parents were perpetually broke, this was no secret. I never did get any instruction in how to budget. I think both my parents assumed I would pick it up through trial and error.

My father was, of course both financially and emotionally abusive.

I think a lot of small children are slow to grasp the concept of a birthday being a celebration and present giving event just for one person. Not like Christmas when everybody gets something.

Unless it's their own, "Hapsy Burtsday" when a sudden moment of clarity takes over and everything is for, "Me's! Me's! Me's!"

"My Hapsy Burtsday cake!" and so on.

Teacher here. As ever, invigilating Y6 SATs this year showed how many children don’t know how to spell their middle name - it’s not something that gets used usually in school and obviously it never occurs to some parents to teach it.

And dates of birth! You’d be amazed how many 10/11-year-olds don’t know their birthday (not just the year they were born, some don’t even know the day and month).

Going back to geography when I was very small I thought Switzerland was further away from the UK than China is!

The other day my son and I were discussing the "no return within an hour" signs that you see on parking signs and said that we both found them confusing as kids.

When I started at primary school I thought all the teachers lived there. My mind was blown when one of the teachers bought a house on the other side of the same housing estate where we lived.

This. I lost my phone recently so my DH lent me his for the few times I had to make a call before I replaced it. It's a good job the number appears on the screen of the person you are calling, because I haven't a clue what it is. Of course it's in my contacts but to access that I need my phone... I'm trying to learn it for emergency situations but it's not sticking 😥

I used to watch Casualty and guess what the accident was going to be!

My DM has a much younger brother, he was 15 when I was born so when I was little he still lived at home with my GPs. DM thought it was hilarious when I asked why nanny had two husbands but she only had one.

Actually similar thing OP. Despite calling us all aunts, Uncle an grannies my 5yr old nephew was absolutely shocked when I told him we his dad and uncles were my brothers. He just thought the auntie and uncle things were part of our names.

It took my brother starting school for me to question why was he using my name (surname). I was age 7 and didn’t realise my brother, mum and dad all had the same name. (Also my dad was NC with his parents and I didn’t understand why everyone had two sets of grandparents, as I didn’t know nanny was mums mum etc).

My then nearly 5 year old came home from school upset all the other children knew a "funny jumping dance" but he didn't know it.
It was the hopscotch. Somehow in his first 5 years of life he had never come across a hopscotch