A recent article in The Courier Mail (30.1.11) suggests that 'Basic female skills' such as ironing, cooking a chook, hemming a skirt and baking lamingtons are becoming a dying art. Acording to a social researcher, only 51 percent of women under the age of 30 can cook a roast. How about juicing an orange? I came face to face with this dilemma this morning in my very own kitchen with my very own Gen Y.
TD No. 1 - Can I go down the road to buy a bottle of juice?
Me - Why don't you juice an orange from the fruit bowl?
TD No. 1 - Oh, she replied as she pulled the manuel juicer from out of the cupboard and the orange from the fruit bowl. So...what do I do? she asked, as she put the whole orange on top of the juicer, as if by magic it would turn into a glass of juice. Do I have to cut it in half?
Looks like she's in trouble!!! For a split second, I began to question my parenting skills. Then I thought better of it. How is it that TD No. 2 could be the next Betty Crocker with her amazing cookie-making skills and No. 1 Son can make a mean chicken curry, but my eldest doesn't know how to juice an orange? When I questioned her about it she pleaded ignorance saying she had never juiced an orange before. But she's seen me do it plenty of times - so I just don't buy it.
I think she just isn't interested in knowing how to do it. It's so much easier to just reach for a packet or a bottle...or watch me do it! I don't have an ironing lady, a cleaning lady or a gardener. We rarely have take-away and I make most of my own biscuits and cakes. I ENJOY doing these things.
Maybe these independant young women we are raising KNOW it's no longer a female responsibility to iron, cook and sew. And don't worry, it's not just the females who seem to be lacking in certain gender oriented 'skills'. A survey also found that 'Australian men from Gen Y were more comfortable changing a nappy than changing a tyre'.
Role reversal, modern technology and time-poor families all contribute to this new phenomenon known as Generation Y. And although I wouldn't hold my breath while she makes a home cooked dinner, she's always the first person I call when I want to download songs onto my ipod or interpret slang such as LOL, TTYL or WTF - so it's not all bad!!
TD No. 1 - Can I go down the road to buy a bottle of juice?
Me - Why don't you juice an orange from the fruit bowl?
TD No. 1 - Oh, she replied as she pulled the manuel juicer from out of the cupboard and the orange from the fruit bowl. So...what do I do? she asked, as she put the whole orange on top of the juicer, as if by magic it would turn into a glass of juice. Do I have to cut it in half?
 |
| Hmmm.... |
I think she just isn't interested in knowing how to do it. It's so much easier to just reach for a packet or a bottle...or watch me do it! I don't have an ironing lady, a cleaning lady or a gardener. We rarely have take-away and I make most of my own biscuits and cakes. I ENJOY doing these things.
Maybe these independant young women we are raising KNOW it's no longer a female responsibility to iron, cook and sew. And don't worry, it's not just the females who seem to be lacking in certain gender oriented 'skills'. A survey also found that 'Australian men from Gen Y were more comfortable changing a nappy than changing a tyre'.
Role reversal, modern technology and time-poor families all contribute to this new phenomenon known as Generation Y. And although I wouldn't hold my breath while she makes a home cooked dinner, she's always the first person I call when I want to download songs onto my ipod or interpret slang such as LOL, TTYL or WTF - so it's not all bad!!
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