I had to go to the mailbox to drop off a check, and I asked my son to put the envelope in the mailbox. He asked me how to do it. He didn’t know how to put the letter into the blue bin. He had seen it on TV but had never done it in real life. That got me thinking—Oh my, what are basic life skills today, and how much have they changed since we were kids?
Now, in the age of technology, AI, and everything else happening out there (Do we really believe those drones are just surveying?), the question we need to ask is: What are life skills today?
In New Jersey, we don’t even have to pump our own gas—it’s full service. So, what happens when my kids travel out of state? Will they know how to put gas in the car? (Don’t worry, they figured it out! 😊) But with electric cars on the rise, pretty soon, we won’t have gas-powered vehicles at all.
All kidding aside, when the zombie apocalypse happens, what will basic life skills look like? I don’t think it’s going to be the same skills we grew up with. You no longer need to go into a bank to deposit a check—everything is done online. Groceries are delivered to your doorstep with Instacart. Who even mails anything anymore with email around? And if you do mail something, FedEx and UPS will pick it up for you. And let’s not forget online shopping—and, of course, Amazon (cue the holy grail music).
The day TikTok was banned, my child almost had a minor meltdown. So, what do kids today consider valuable skills? What should they be learning, and what should we, as parents, be instilling in them?
My nine-year-old niece has a YouTube account, and I’m not going to lie—she creates some pretty impressive content. Her editing skills amaze me. Shaan created a voice-over post for his dad in under five minutes using AI. So, is this new generation’s version of life skills about mastering online tools and AI?
My kids have Robinhood accounts and are actively trading stocks. I remember opening my first checking account and receiving a booklet to manually track my balance. It was such a big day for me!
Many years ago, I watched the Will Smith movie I, Robot, and ever since then, I’ve been a little paranoid. I don’t even let Siri into our home—even though I know our phones are always listening. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this. When they go off to college, what do they actually need to know? Will they figure it out? My kids know how to do their laundry, order groceries, and handle household technology. When my computer isn’t working, they fix it. When our router goes out, they troubleshoot it. When I’m struggling to do something more efficiently, they have an app for it. My oldest even introduced me to an app that tracks my macros and built an entire nutrition plan for me online.
But their handwriting? Atrocious. They barely write by hand anymore, and I don’t think their schools even taught cursive. You should see their signatures! But does it matter when everything is done with electronic signatures now?
In this post-COVID, AI-driven generation, what should we expect? It’s almost nostalgic for me—still going to the bank to deposit checks, picking up groceries in person, stopping by the dry cleaners. These were all normal things for us, but our kids have no connection to them. They either have an app, a delivery service, or some tool that simplifies their lives.
My concern is: by not teaching them these traditional skills, what will happen in the future? Maybe their digital signature will be enough. Maybe I can still handle birthday cards written in first-grade handwriting. At least they still make them write out their math problems by hand.
I don’t know. I’m conflicted. I’d love to hear your thoughts. I know we need to move forward—this is a new generation, and AI is leading the way. But I’m also concerned about what we are losing in the process.
I remember when my kids were little, and a Wiggles guitar could keep them entertained for hours. Now, kids have iPads. Instead of handwriting lessons, they’re learning typing skills. I suppose my mother’s generation would have said the same about us.
And when Elon Musk inevitably builds robots to handle all our household chores, will kids even need to learn them?
This is more of a reflection than a lesson. Each parent has to decide what they want their children to learn. Our youngest is already focused on his career—he has over 1,000 LinkedIn followers, and people actually reach out to him to put in a good word with me when they have an interview.
Hmm. I guess at the end of the day, we’re getting old. I remember watching The Jetsons and thinking, Wow, that would be a cool future! But now, I think I’m nostalgic for the past.
I know technology makes life easier, but at what cost? Are we forgetting to teach our children basic skills, or are those basic skills simply evolving? It’s a conundrum.
Feel free to comment below with your thoughts. Just a mother lost in thought—wondering if I should really challenge my child by making him go into the post office and buy some stamps. Let’s see how he does with that. 😊
