Many of us don’t take time to do the tasks previous generations used to do themselves: change oil, sharpen a mower blade, or paint a room. Instead, we hire the professionals. After all, they will do the job better and quicker. Of course, there are those of us who have the Do It Yourself mindset. But, I know I often prefer to do a project without “helping” hands. Combine these realities with the busyness of the average family and I wonder what is being lost when opportunities to teach our children practical skills are becoming scarce.
Some of you may be saying to yourselves, “there’s nothing wrong with this. My kids won’t ever need to sharpen their own lawnmower blade.” Possibly true. But, have you considered the learning that happens through these often mundane tasks? Hands on tasks have the potential to teach our children a lot about physics, biology, and problem solving. These skills and learned knowledge are transferable and desirable in many fields your child may enter. Frank Wilson, professor of neurology at Stanford has observed:
“Instructors in medical schools find it increasingly difficult to teach how the heart works as a pump, ... because these students have so little real world experience; they’ve never siphoned anything, … they may not have even hooked up a garden hose. For a whole generation of kids, direct experiences in the backyard, … have been replaced by indirect learning, through machines." (Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louc, 2008, p.67)
By observing and helping, our children are gaining skills and knowledge to apply to a variety of purposes. Children with a wider variety of hands-on experiences will be better prepared to meet the challenges of complex tasks. This is what I want for my kids.
Here are a few tips:
1) Cut back on some activities so you are at home and can schedule time for select projects.
2) Make sure you get your kids involved on their level. Sometimes just handing you a tool is enough. They might play half the time, but they are watching! (Teach safety, too)
3) Go help out neighbours or family if you don’t have your own projects or tools.
4) Learn how to do new tasks. It’s extremely valuable to let your kids see how you approach learning a new skill. (Tip: Tool libraries are great!)
5) Assign projects for kids to do and provide the guidance to complete them (i.e., paint their own room, build a bench, fix a flat tire).
Everyone’s experiences will be different depending on the skill sets and needs in our homes. The main goal is to give our children a variety of hands-on experiences. Don’t underestimate the learning that occurs by doing simple tasks. So when the next project comes along, ask the following: Can I do it myself? How can my children help?
And then go find out.
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