When did men give up doing man stuff?

[neilb740]

I'm getting a little bit exasperated with the amount of men in their 20's that I'm getting called in to help with the simplest of tasks!

Change a brake light bulb, change a tap washer, assemble flat pack, paint a wall, put a spare tyre on. This is not brain surgery lads!!!!

When I was younger I would ask my dad for help with jobs, That's the key word HELP.
It meant "I'm not entirely confident and I might mess this up, can you be there as backup while I do it and give me a few tips"

Now it seems to be "You do it and I will make you a coffee then go and play X-box"

What happened to their curiosity about how things work? maybe its an outdated concept.

My daughters can do more than most of them, at least they can change a flat, fit a plug, put a shelf up etc!

[Annie]

my dad took me into the garage at work from when I was ten. I always wanted to know how stuff worked, but I fear for this generation of know nothings who have no interest in learning basic principles.

I've taught two of my boys to have inquisitive minds, the third just watches tv soaps and thinks the world revolves around him

[Mason6]

The modern outlook of a 'throw-away' generation!

[SCP440]

One of my sons is a chip of the old block and he cant wait to get his hands dirty especially when it comes to mechanical work, while he has been at University he has been earning money fixing other student push bikes . When I asked what sort of repairs he told me adjusting chains a punctures were the most common but even had to do brakes on some. He is on an Automotive engineering course at Loughborough and a lot of the other students had never even seen an engine before they arrived. They are given an engine to strip and rebuild over a few days, he did his in the first morning, some had not even managed to strip it after 3 days.

He has bought himself a ready built kit car and over the last 18 months has rebuilt it, he built a new loom from scratch and changed it from hydragas to coil overs including having to engineer the adaptors.

The other son will do stuff if it saves him money but his ambition is to earn enough money so he can pay somebody else. We did the timing belt on his Fiesta and a few other jobs so he is able just not that willing.

Personally I have got both my sons involved since they were old enough to walk, it is very useful having small hands available for some of the jobs on the Jensen.

[Sprinter]

A couple of weeks ago I spotted a newish car stricken by the roadside. Returning from shopping it was still there so I doubled back to see if I could help.

Not a damsel in distress but an adult male who managed to get the spare from the boot and was waiting for the AA to change the wheel.

I remember standing on tiptoes peering over the front wing of whatever car my Dad was working on (his own, friend's, neighbour's)

The whole of this weekend was spent stripping my lad's Kawasaki GPz500S to replace the head gasket. He's not mechanically minded at all, but was always there helping and indeed pointing out my mistakes. I love spending that time with him.
It's all good now and he's away to work on it this morning.

[jackatesme]

It's the future,i can remember when my younger brother and myself were helping my father with some labouring jobs,like fencing around some ground he had bought,he used to stand behinds us muttering to himself "kids today have not got a clue how to do anything". Then i have a son who i tried to teach some simple jobs but he would rather pay for someone else to do them,now i have a grandson,though very helpful with my laptop problems shows no interest in any basic jobs around the house. In a few more generations we will be dependant on robots to do the most menial of jobs.

[planenut]

My daughter is in her late thirties; she loves creating craft like things, and therefore is always asked at work if she can prepare desks and things for people's birthdays, babies and retirements. Sounds nuts, but sometimes she hasn't got time because she is doing some welding or work on her and her partner's cars and projects, making fire pits, dismantling the vehicles for working on. Jobwise, she is a secretary.

My son, forty years old, needs a kick up the rear to do things but will eventually change bearings or suspension. He certainly would sooner pay someone to do things, but as he hasn't any money, I persuade him to have a go.

[Lancpudn]

They were proper men in the old days.

[Jay]

"When did men give up on doing man stuff?"

I think it was when the nearest a man would get to smell nice was the odd weekly dab of Brute or Old Spice aftershave after a razor blade.

All this woman's products designed for men these days is a joke.
These men wouldn't want to get their manicured nails dirty

[clf]

I spent a lot of time with my grandfather, who looking back now, didnt have a lot of cash, but in my mind, he always had money lol. I could never understand why he never paid someone to do things, that he couldnt do. But it wasnt that he couldnt afford to pay someone, but it was wasteful not to do it yourself, with the stuff you had.

He always did a lot of joinery, even moving a shed during three house moves. It wasnt a particularly good shed, it was just that there was nothing wrong with it lol. It was only in his latter years I learned he was actually time served cobbler! His father was a joiner, and he learned all he knew from him, and aside from car maintenance and electrical I learned most of what I know from him. (electrical stuff, I learned from watching my time served electrician dad though).

Although he knew nothing of car maintenance that was from my grandfather kind of though, he would let me tinker on his car, washing servicing, upgrading and encouraging me. So much so, he used to ask me to borrow his car lol. But it was the quiet encouragement. ''Do as I say, not as I do'' or, ''if you think that will work, do it'' then inevitably he would have to sort it for me lol, but I learned and then he showed me why ...........

One thing, sticks in my mind, and always will. We were rebuilding the shed I mentioned above. After clearing two skips of old timber and junk (you know, the 'it may come in handy someday' junk lol), he was wanting to fit it out for canaries. An old worktop was to be used for a bench, with old plywood fashioned into doors below. ''put the match sticks below the door as you screw the hinge'' he said. ''dont be silly, what is the point of that?'' the 17 year old know it all that was me said. ''it will stop the door scraping on the framework when you open it'' . ''what???? sure the match will fall out every time you open the door, and you will have to refit it'' errrrm ''all that money on education!'' - that was his favourite phrase.

Nowadays, electrical appliances come pre wired, a fuse blows ''what's a fuse?'' - do they not listen in school???? Car insurance has bundled in recovery, which do tyre changes, ''so why should I learn to do it?'' ''I pay £99 per month on my car, after three years I will take it back and they will swap to another, they have warranties, why do I need to know how to do anything else but put petrol in it?'' (well it is a diesel, that's why! lol)

Unfortunately, it is a disposable society we live in, with no 'make do and mend' attitude. Some things I understand and can appreciate. How many kids will know what a log table, slide rule, an encyclopedia, are? With mobile phones, google, wikipedia, in reality, I dont think we need to learn these things any longer. Setting up a carburetor, grinding valve seats, it is nice to know, but no longer needed. Even spelling!!! I am losing my ability to spell confidently, but there seems to be a relaxed attitude to spelling and handwriting nowadays. Musical instruments??? All can be done by a mobile phone now! Music???? I am going to stop, I have just realised, I AM my grandfather! lol.

Sorry Granda, you were right