Apparently mums aren’t passing down these “proper” life skills to their kids

Alison Bough

Millions of kids are missing out on basic life skills because mums aren’t passing down their know-how, including cooking and how to write a letter, according to new research.

A new survey of 2,000 mums of children age two and over, has found that over half of parents don’t have the time to teach their kids basic life skills. Handwriting, washing-up, ironing, and making ‘proper’ gravy are all listed in the top 50 forgotten skills.

The survey, which was carried out by Addis Housewares, includes bad news for socks as the traditional art of darning appears to be doomed, along with how to patch trousers. Hmm, it’s certainly been quite a few years since I’ve seen anyone do either.

On average, modern mamas estimate they learned 22 skills from their own mums and use seven of them every day. Respondents to the survey said that the most important types of life skills for mums to pass down are cooking, followed by being able to look after your money, and moral values.

Eight in ten mums said that their children enjoy learning things from them, but well over half (64 %) think a lot of their know-how is no longer relevant to modern day kids.

Instead of asking their mum how to do something, one in ten kids turn to the internet for help. However, 60% of those polled said they wished they’d learnt more skills from their own mums.

The research also found that us mums aren’t passing down advice on making jam or marmalade, descaling a kettle, polishing brass and silverware or on how to make a trifle,

“Our research shows many traditional skills are not being passed down from mums to their children any more. Some skills, like darning socks, perhaps might be thought of as a little old-fashioned, but some like handwriting and sewing buttons for instance are helpful things to know.”

So, what’s leading to this loss of ‘skills’ then?

“Perhaps as the research suggests, mums are so busy working and looking after their kids – among other things – they understandably struggle to find the time to teach them what they know.”

I have to admit, based on this list, my motherly know-how appears to be significantly lacking. How about you?

TOP 50 SKILLS MUMS AREN’T PASSING DOWN TO THEIR KIDS: