by MK

Created on: May 12, 2008

Sewing skills are essential live skills. They should be taught to all children, regardless of their sex.

Boys should be taught how to take in a hem or attach a button, cook a balanced meal and keep a clean house. Girls should be taught how to change a light bulb and fix a flat tire or a leaky faucet.

Childhood is a time devoid of responsibility. Children do have a right to have fun and enjoy themselves. A time will come when adult roles will have to be assumed and with that greater responsibility. Parents need to prepare their children for this eventuality. They need to teach them the skills necessary to grow up to become independent and responsible adults. They should not then become a burden to their family and friends, or society at large.

It surprises me, in this day and age, that grown men are unable to cook themselves a healthy meal in the absence of their mothers or wives. It's shocking that some girls still need to ask a guy for help in changing a light bulb. These skills are simple enough to pick up and do not require extensive learning.

When we get married and share our life with another person, these skills help us become more responsible partners. There was a time when the man's job was to bring home the bacon. Men spent their day earning money while women managed the home. Today, these roles have changed. Women are earning their own money. Those traditional tasks associated with housekeeping that were once deemed a woman's responsibility are no longer just that. Men need to pitch in and help to. They need to get involved in the daily tasks that go towards managing a household and a shared life.

Our most innovative chefs are men. Men also dominate the fashion arena. Male butlers manage the households of the rich and famous. Do these men get laughed at or looked down upon? I don't think so. Why then do boys grow up thinking that it would be less manly of them to learn these vital skills? There are men who earn a lot of money out of performing these tasks professionally.

It might not seem so important now but a helpless adult is no laughing matter to the people who have to bear the brunt of his behavior. So teach your boys to sew and teach your girls to change a light bulb. A day will come when you'll be thankful you did. There will also be many of us, who know your little Timmy or Joanie as an adult, who will also be glad you did.

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