Weston needed to mail something today. Kids today–they don’t know how to send a letter. You know, that old-fashioned thing that’s not an email or a fax. I gave him an envelope and he scrawled the address all the way across the front, starting at the top left corner where the return address should go.
Then he asked if he was supposed to seal the envelope.
It’s sort of stunning when you realize that something so basic is so unfamiliar to kids growing up today. He has a debit card, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t know how to write a check. And I’d love to see what he’d do if the TV had a knob on the front of it instead of a remote.
I think survival skills around here need to start with how to use the U.S. mail………
boulderneigh says:
Yes, I think your son needs remedial training. My 10-year-old is well versed in the U.S. Mail; I make him WRITE old-fashioned thank-you notes and MAIL them to people.
On August 7, 2012 at 11:42 am
Suzanne McMinn says:
I’m pretty sure he USED to know how to address an envelope because I had him send thank-you notes when he was younger, but not since he got older, so I think he forgot! And will probably forget again. He said he didn’t think he’d ever have to use the mail, and for the most part, he’s probably right.
On August 7, 2012 at 11:49 am
claycath says:
I was just thinking about this the other day. My 21 year old son wanted me to address an envelope for him because he didn’t know how. Now this kid is no dummy. He’s studying engineering at VA Tech but yet he couldn’t address an envelope.
And my 24 year old daughter who is a manager of her own hair salon and a mother herself had to have me show her how to write a check a few weeks ago. She’s had a checking account since she was 16 but has always used a debit card. But when something came up where she had to write a check, she didn’t remember how.
It’s nice to know I still know how to do some things that my kids don’t.
On August 7, 2012 at 12:25 pm
Joell says:
It is both sad and scary that most kids today dont know how to do many things if they can’t use something computerized or just push a button, give most of them a list of numbers to add and an unsharpened pencil and they are lost, how many times do we go into a store to make a purchase and when change is given back to the coustmer, it is just handed back, not counted back.
My Neighbor showed me a thank you card her grand daughther had written (most likley Mom’s orders) and you could barley read her hand writting, a Senior in high school and most of it was printed, not cursive. Sad.
On August 7, 2012 at 2:46 pm
Marge_in_Michigan says:
This reminds me of the time my grandchildren were younger. Grandson Nick wanted ice in his drink and asked where the ice-maker was on the fridge. I giggled and told him to open the freezer door and he would find ice cubes in a tray…ice the old fashion way at Grandma’s house.
On August 7, 2012 at 3:14 pm
bonita says:
be glad Weston could at least scrawl the address–some schools are no longer teaching cursive, claiming kids don’t need it. Maybe when we ‘put down the grapes’ we can (re)teach the young’uns some basic skills!.
On August 7, 2012 at 3:30 pm
CATRAY44 says:
My son did a very similar thing this week. Made me do a double take… he can program anything but did not know how to properly address a letter, lol. Refresher course was given.
On August 7, 2012 at 3:58 pm
princessvanessa says:
When I was growing up, and up until now, I never bothered to match songs with their title and artists. I enjoyed the music but figured that I would never really need to use up precious memory space (as in brain cell) to recall songs-titles-artists. I think that Wesley is thinking along the same lines. Since he graduated high school with nearly a 4.0–I would say that he has used his “memory space” well and there are worse things to forget–like where the car keys are! haha
On August 7, 2012 at 7:15 pm
emmachisett says:
I have made it a point to start using a nibbed Shaeffer pen and to try to send handwritten cards to a few people. What with only seeming to get bills and adverts in the mail all the time, I think getting something personally written is a real treat. Yes, we are losing the art of cursive, calligraphy, the art of writing with our hands…as individual as finger prints. Fonts usurp all THAT!, sadly. I urge people to take the time to actually “write”…even a note and see the warm response that results.
On August 7, 2012 at 9:25 pm
leneskate says:
😕 I know one of my girls asks often how do I do this again mama?
Address and envelope, use the mixer….
On August 8, 2012 at 1:14 am
Spiderjohn says:
That’s sad……..
On August 8, 2012 at 7:22 am
Diane says:
I’m not surprised. I work in the school cafeteria and last year we had to call back several kids who wrote out their own checks to come an correctly fill them out. Had to send a check back to a parent because they did not fill their check out right. And the check came from a Reality company! Kids cant write a resume even. I had to help a girl do that one time. I do wonder what they learn.
On August 8, 2012 at 7:47 am
SarahGrace says:
hehehe, that made me giggle. Just think of all the other things he knows that we don’t and how long it would take us to learn those things! Those things are more his world than addressing an envelope. At least a refresher course on how to address an envelope only takes a minute or two.
On August 8, 2012 at 8:04 am
mamawolf says:
My middle-school age nephew asked his dad for 20 dollars only to be told he didn’t have the money right then. The boy went to his dad’s desk and came back with a box of checks, saying “we have lots of money here in this box”. Sad.
On August 8, 2012 at 9:23 am
wildcat says:
Times sure have changed! These days I depend on my GPS when I’m driving someplace I’ve never been before. Back in the day, I would plan my route ahead of time, by consulting a paper map of the area. I wonder if kids today are even taught how to use a paper map?
I know that they are no longer taught how to spell. Kids figure that as long as you understand what they mean, then it doesn’t matter if it’s spelled correctly. They also assume that spell check will catch their errors when they type. However, spell check doesn’t catch everything. Spelling and grammar are still important. At least they are important to me.
On August 8, 2012 at 10:03 am
auntbear says:
My 13 year old niece had the same problem.I had to give her a lesson in envelope addressing.They are mesmerized by the technology today.
On August 8, 2012 at 8:25 pm
yvonnem says:
I totally agree with Wildcat. I see errors in almost everything I read.
On August 8, 2012 at 8:26 pm
STH says:
Well, it makes sense that he’d forget it, because how often do you have to use that skill these days?
What I think is sad is my mother having to learn how to write checks at age 80 when my father went to go live in a nursing home. She’d never written a check in her life, never paid a household bill, and had no idea where the money was going or how much was coming in. It was a tough adjustment for her, and I don’t what would have happened if my sister and I hadn’t been here to help her. Oh, and she doesn’t drive, either!
On August 8, 2012 at 11:51 pm