<p>Please, 07dad! If H cared so much about its students learning how to cook, they wouldn’t require that they all live on campus and take a meal plan. Nothing prevents them from adding a cooking distribution requirement, but somehow they haven’t done so.</p>
<p>We always change our own oil.
When you take it in, they don’t allow enough time for it all to drain out properly. I also don’t trust them to check all the hoses and caps. (It just took one bad experience to do it ourselves- we also do our own brakes & serpentine belts-et.al. Im sure many will say its isn’t worth their time to do so & Im happy for you. For us it is worth the money we save)
If you have a shop that services your car that you are happy with, I expect they will do a better job than one of the fast lube joints.
You can recycle the oil either at the same place you bought it or our city will pick it up with other recycling ( in closed container)</p>
<p>Poetgirl and pizzagirl, we live near the coast. Fishing and crabbing and weekends at the beach were entertainment and food all in one. We were not going to a lodge or a restaurant. We were catching, cleaning, cooking and eating our own food. And it was fun family time for us…well, except for the cleaning part which was just a necessary thing to get to the family meal part.</p>
<p>I believe that the skills like "learning to cook, clean, being responsible for remembering to buy toilet paper and milk, etc. " are not the most important in life anyway. What is there? I get get all instructions on internet or call a friend. I am very close to retirement. Do not like to cook, clean, and shopping is my least favorite activity. If I could live my life with the min. skills in these areas, then everybody can do it also. Unless you are a person who really loves any of it, if so, go for it.<br>
As far as I can tell based on raising 2 who are adults and have been out of my house, the most important skill is being able to connect to others at various levels. Both of mine somehow have it and kids of on them (my grandkids) also have it and reaping great benefits personally while helping lots and lots of others around them. I do not know what is contributing to this, but being very busy and involved and out of the house for most part of the day is probably one way to develop this skill.<br>
The things like cooking, cleaning, etc. are treated as breaks in my D’s very busy life (Medical student). Basically, she has to ask herself every day if she can afford doing any of these. For most part, she cannot afford spending time on going out at all. Then, there are granola bars, boiled pasta and frozen meatballs. These will do just fine for some extansive period of time. It was nice to hear though that one patient told D. that she was the best Med. Student that she ever talked. That makes a real difference in personal life, cooking will wait or maybe her future spouse will like to cook or they will do it together, who knows, who cares?</p>
<p>I cannot believe people change their own oil anymore. I guess I place more value on my time than my money when it comes to certain things. As a single mom with a full-time job, outsourcing is an important part of sanity for me. An hour or two spent under my car (gross) on a nice weekend day when I could be spending time with my daughter or dogs or (god forbid) doing something for myself? No thanks. Not to mention, even if I knew how to change oil, I have nowhere to do it–no garage and a sloping driveway.</p>
<p>^Outsourcing is the way. No cleanning, there is a cleanning lady who appreciates very much the opportunity to work for you, there are people cutting grass (not on a weekend, please, do not want all these noise) and all kind of repair men and there are dealerships for cars whatever they need (we do not trust independents with our cars). I have an exercise routine that takes 2 - 3 hours every day and I have also very hice hobby, that i love to be involved on a daily basis after my full time job that sometime also takes few hours after normal 8 in a office. I will stick only to activities that I love and hope that the rest of my family can afford doing the same.
People do appreciate greatly when you hire them, nobody can deny that!</p>
<p>If I could live my life with the min. skills in these areas, then everybody can do it also</p>
<p>If you earn more after taxes than you pay out to pay for someone else to do those things for you then I would agree.
Otherwise no.
:rolleyes:</p>
<p>Life skills = skills you have to be able to perform/accomplish certain tasks in life that are needed/necessary to carry through general daily routines.</p>
<p>Great if you can hire a cleaning lady.
Great if you can afford to purchase healthy satisfying meals for take out if you don’t want to/can’t cook.
Great if you have the $$$ to hit Jiffy Lube four times a year for an oil change. </p>
<p>But what if you are a new college graduate and can’t afford it?
What if you lose the job that allowed you to purchase these services when you are “any” age?
What if you live in a very rural area that doesn’t offer many grocery stores, cleaning services - you are just lucky to have a gas station in town???</p>
<p>These are real life circumstances for many people of all ages. The point being whether it is a parents job to make their child capable OR a young adult being motivated to make themselves capable - being capable of daily living tasks is a fundamental of living and at some points in life may be necessary for survival. So, encourage your kids to be able to survive - as in, to live a simple lifestyle if a simple lifestyle is necessary. </p>
<p>It might mean cooking, cleaning, car care, laundry, etc. It might mean some of these. I personally am really turned off by the idea that young adults or mature adults are conditioned to believe that everything can be solved by picking up a phone and asking someone else to do it. If your daily life is so busy that you have to do this, are you really “living”???</p>
<p>To be truthful, to take the car in to have the oil changed is actually more time consuming than doing it myself. Combine that with the jiffi lube place not allowing for enough time for the oil to drain & overcharging for the oil & other fluids & it makes sense that some people would opt to do it themselves.</p>
<p>But I understand if you opted to save money by not having a garage for your car that you would find it difficult to do so. We have both a garage and a long relatively flat driveway as well as ramps that we drive the car up onto.</p>
<p>Some people may opt to go to the gym for 2 or 3 hours, others to actually use their body to perform work. Theres enough room for everyone.
:)</p>
<p>
Hiring help does not constitute that one’s life is too “busy”. Neither does it constitute that they aren’t “living”. “Living” is highly variable from person to person due to the difference of values and preferences. </p>
<p>I do not mind if someone hires help to handle the basics of their life. These basics, earlier defined by previous posters, could be cooking, cleaning, laundry, home maintainence, etc. I feel that it is necessary to have a simple understanding of what needs to be done. There must be some level of knowledge, no matter how rudimentary one might consider “simple” to be, that one must posses in order “survive”, to “get by”. </p>
<p>Are these “essential” life skills? I would not say so. It is so easy to hire someone to do it for you that it is not necessary to be able to perform these skills. They are nice to be able to perform, but not everyone must be able to perform them; therefore, it is not “essential”.</p>
<p>
Apples to tomatoes.</p>
<p>To be honest, when I popped into this thread, I imagined there would be more talk of inter(intra)personal skills or at least more social skills rather than survival skills.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Oh yeah, my idea of “living” is definitely ignoring my family and my own well-being (not to mention risking my job) while I try to grow my own crops on my rocky wooded property, make all my food from scratch, clean gutters on a steeply pitched roof using the extension ladder I don’t own and of course do all my car’s maintenance. It’s 2013, not 1850 on the Kansas prairie.</p>
<p>Anyway, abasket, I think you are really not accounting for differences in living circumstances. Not only do families vary in terms of how many capable adults are in the household to take care of certain things, because of financial circumstances some people find it necessary to work long hours (or multiple jobs), endure long commutes that take away from time that could be spent on menial tasks, or perhaps just believe it is more important to contribute to local businesses in their community that supply convenient goods and services.</p>
<p>Picking up social skills is something kids do from the moment they are born.
As they increase interaction, they increase their skills.
As they add to their repertoire of accomplishments, they increase confidence and are able to learn to adapt to the situation.
Of course except for those who cant stick it out for six weeks if everything isnt to their liking.
;)</p>
<p>
You say this as if there aren’t leaps and bounds made as the become young adults. </p>
<p>There are different levels of inter and intrapersonal skills that are gained as one gains new levels of knowledge. A toddler will not and is not able to understand the relation and roles of the people in their life. A young adult, however, has the ability to gain a deeper understanding of these relations and roles. </p>
<p>
Say what you mean, emerald.</p>
<p>Adaptation is necessary when the environment is fixed. If the environment is able to be changed, adaptation is unnecessary. One would just have to hunt for the environment which fits their needs. Adaptation is also necessary when one’s actions are unfit or even prevent one’s ability to grow and learn.</p>
<p>“If you earn more after taxes than you pay out to pay for someone else to do those things for you then I would agree.
Otherwise no.”
-Not everything is measured by the laws of economics. The least economical thing in a world is having kids. Why do we have them? You know the answer which is the same exact answer why I much rahter swim and go for a walk than clean my house and cook.</p>
<p>I have learned a lot about changing oil from this thread and quick internet searches, and it probably took a combined total of 10 minutes to do it!</p>
<p>abasket wrote:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>One of the things I learned is that you are not supposed to change your oil four times per year. It is wasteful and bad for the environment. You can probably do it just once per year, or up to every 15,000 miles. Apparently, there have been advancements in engines and oil quality that permit this.</p>
<p>See, for example,[Stop</a> Changing Your Oil! - Edmunds.com](<a href=“http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop-changing-your-oil.html]Stop”>http://www.edmunds.com/car-care/stop-changing-your-oil.html)</p>
<p>Sigh. Clearly this is a really touchy issue it seems. I was not referring to everyone or every example or situation - but examples given above (in the 12+ pages) of why people feel it’s not necessary to have these skills. </p>
<p>Will disagree with some of the most recent comments respectfully and without trying to prove points that I don’t agree with - and quietly bow out of this thread.</p>
<p>It’s fine to disagree. I admire people who have the wherewithal and patience to figure out how to do practical things and do them. I also envy those who have the luxury of time and space to garden, putter around in a woodshop, or take classes on subjects that interest them “just because.” I only object to the judging and lack of sensitivity to individuals’ needs and circumstances.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>…or those who must take a gap year because they are not ready for college??.. ;)</p>
<p>Hey I like to cut hair, and I do it. We saved $$ on my H’s haircuts…and few moments of my great disapproval when he goes to salon for it. I do not like the way they cut his hair, more so I absolutely hate it. Yes, I ratehr spend 20 min. myself. And again, I love doing it, why not? Never had any professional training though. The conclusion, it is definite that anybody can cook absolutely anything their heart desire using internet instructions! I would not do sushi at home though, unless you can purchase sushi grade fish.</p>
<p>Explanation is not needed. If you have the money, spend it on what you want.</p>