What skills or knowledge do you not care about for your kids?

No wonder the pass rate for APUSH is so bad if they are assigning such stupid stuff.

Is it even possible to change a tire yourself? The one time I tried it, many years ago, I failed because I couldn’t loosen the lug nuts, which had been tightened with some sort of device.

The lug nuts/bolts are supposed to be tightened to 70-100 foot-pounds. For whatever reason, lug wrenches are typically about a foot long, so you need to exert 70-100 pounds of force to loosen the lug nut/bolts. If you cannot deadlift 70-100 pounds or otherwise apply 70-100 pounds of force to the end of the lug wrench, you may need to stand on the end of the lug wrench to do this. To avoid knocking the car off the jack, loosen (but do not remove) the lug nut/bolts before jacking up the car.

Obedience.
Never thought I was training my kid to be a soldier. Always wanted him to think for himself and make his own decisions.

I pushed S17 and S19 to take 4 years of Latin each. They cursed me (in Latin) every single day. I’m not smart enough to understand how it will be useful for them.

If I had it to do over, I would push computer languages rather than dead languages.

I train my son to rush ahead of women and hold the door from the other side and make them struggle to get in, so they can get the satisfaction of defeating the patriarchy.

@roycroftmom I think even in schools, crafts are done to make the lesson more fun.

Kids should learn how to sew a button on a shirt, it’s so simple, why pay someone to do it. Cooking is another skill. No, you don’t have to learn how to cook Coq-au-vin, rack of lamb, etc…but knowing how to make pasta, rice and beans, and an omelet is very helpful. Most people don’t have the money to always be eating out and getting take out. Learning basic skills is very helpful.

In regards to holding doors open for people, I do that for everyone regardless of their gender. I consider it to be good manners and to me it has nothing to do with gender…

No doubt some do find it fun, natty1988. But since the primary value of crafts is recreational and not educational, if you don’t find them fun, skip them.

Well, I blew a tire about 2 years ago and … guess what? Cars don’t come with spare tires anymore. At least mine doesn’t have one, and apparently, that’s pretty common. https://www.consumerreports.org/tires/some-newer-cars-are-missing-a-spare-tire/

I would never buy a car without a spare tire.

I’m curious to know what cars no longer have spare tires. Both D’s have new cars bought within the past year and H does as well. My car is 5 years old. Our cars are Acura, Toyota, Subaru and Hyundai and they all have spare tires!

Run Flat tires :smile:

Most BMWs don’t have spares.

Some cars without spare tires have one of the following:

  • Spray-goo tire sealant kit.
  • Run flat tires.
  • Tires with sealant goo built in.

However, Teslas have no spare tires and none of the above, although the spray-goo tire sealant kit can be bought as an accessory.

Ironically, thought Tesla sells the spray goo, they advise against using it as it can damage the sensors.

My car without the spare tire is a Hyundai – https://www.hyundaiofstaugustine.com/blog-does-my-hyundai-have-a-spare-tire — newer model Hyundais do not have spare tires – but spare tire kits can be purchased separately.

The cars do have a toll-free number and 24-hour roadside assistance during the car’s warranty period.

I am with some others here; gave kids AAA cards as soon as they were driving and urged them to never change a tire, particularly on a major road. The number of police vehicles hit with their blue lights on at traffic stops or highway construction sites in our state made a big impression on me.

So I’m in the minority but I think knowing how to change a tire is really important. There are lots of places where you could be stuck with no cell service with a flat tire.

I also think being handy is really helpful. Why pay someone when you can do it yourself?

I may get slammed for this one but I don’t think it’s all that important to balance a checkbook anymore. I check my bank accounts almost every day to monitor the activity. That’s one skill my older D really needs to learn!

Tangent, but if you don’t balance your checkbook in some way how do you know when something hasn’t cleared timely? I’ve had to reissue checks to the lawn guy (who hadn’t noticed he hadn’t cashed one), and once a check I wrote cleared someone else’s account (discovered when I called the recipient to ask if there was a reason they were holding it). I don’t write a ton of checks, but even so, I don’t think I’d have remembered what was outstanding if I didn’t mark the cleared ones and carry forward some record of what hadn’t yet cleared.