Call me old fashioned but I think girls as well as boys should be taught basic mechanical skills from an early age.

[CerberusXXL]

There are kids now a days who don't even know the difference between a socket wrench and a hammer. It is a shame that most of our youth don't know how to check the oil in their vehicle let alone know how to change the oil. When I was growing up we were taught the basics by the men in our lives, it seems that no one is doing the same for this and probably future generations.

[KelleyNice]

As I understand it, cars are far more complicate than cars made in the 1960s and earlier. Therefore, knowing how to repair a car is not not feasible for most people. However, I agree that people should know how to check the oil, radiator and battery. How to change a tire and check tire pressure. How to inflate a tire and how to jumper a car and charge a battery.

As I understand it, in prior generations every service station would check your oil and tire pressure. Now you must pay to inflate a tire that is low so have. Therefore, having an inexpensive tire Inflator will pay for itself in time. Even more if you have a flat at home.

My father has these items in his car. An electric tire Inflator, a very good set of battery cables, a hydraulic car jack and an inexpensive heavy duty lug wrench. They don't cost much and they don't take up much space but will be very desirable if needed. He also has an inexpensive battery charge at home. That was much needed when he or mother left their interior lights on overnight.

The battery cable saved time and maybe some money when the battery of one of our cars wouldn't hold enough charge to start the car. However, after starting by jumpering, it would hold enough charge to keep running so my father drove the car to Walmart to replace the batter.

[WindAtMyBack]

The large majority of things in a car are not really more complicated than they were 50+ years ago. There is a lot more electronics that mainly affects how the engine runs. But most of the car and the engine itself is still mechanical. With the exception of some of the electronic stuff, it's just as feasible to work on a car today as it was 50 years ago.

In the past, we didn't have self serve gas stations. It was illegal to fill your own tank. Full service stations usually washed the windshield, and maybe checked the oil. Checking the tire pressure was much less common. And yea, a small compressor is handy to have around the home.

When you jump start a car with cables, the battery does not hold a charge to run the car. Except for starting, a car doesn't even need a battery at all. After you start the car, you can literally disconnect the battery and drive the car. The alternator generates the electricity needed to run the car. The alternator also charges the battery so it will start the next time.

[Subarugirl]

Lol that’s no old fashioned….. that’s a very modern mentality

[Lost_in_the_Woods]

Man, I'm so lucky to know how to fix things. Saves me so much time and money.

I feel for the people who have to pay someone else $150 for an oil change, wait for a tow truck, buy furniture, throw good headphones away because they can't solder or put up with broken screens and weak phone batteries.

They can't even build a house or an antique motorcycle. I don't know how anyone can afford that stuff without building it themselves.

I don't think people should be forced to learn these skills. I think they should demand to be taught them. But boy would Amazon Walmart and the IRS lose a lot of income if people had the option to keep their stuff working instead of buying new ones.

It's good for the environment, but more important it gives you the power to have what you want for less and spend the different on something else.

My grandad had a hammer he said would last forever no matter how much he used it. Just every so often he'd have to replace either the head or the handle. I have a car and a motorcycle like that, but it's just a bit more maintenance.

[WindAtMyBack]

I agree. I think basic mechanical skills should be a requirement for high school graduation. It's not just about knowing the skill itself. It involves a lot of critical thinking and is good exercise for the brain. Probably the most important thing is that it gives you confidence to try more things.

I was handed some basic tools before I was school age. I was allowed to experiment doing things with them, even including breaking things.

I find that most people who don't know how to fix things have never seriously tried. You learn from doing, so you just have to dive in. Not knowing how to do something is not an excuse for not trying. If you break something in the process, it's a cheap education compared to most other types of education. Although it's not a good idea to start with something very expensive. :)

[bayoubob]

So, why am I pissed about how other people pack my groceries? All jobs are becoming extinct since man got industrial. Yet people are pissed that I can take a self serve line. At one point the man who used to fill your car, and cleaned my windshield became a relic of the past. In Edwardian times or Victorian times, the folks got real pissed. To the point of sabotage.

[Dargil]

Not only YES but it builds their sense of self worth and confidence.
"Honey would you change the air filter element in the Corvette? It's on the work bench."
"Sure dad, can you give me a driving lesson on it?"
"Yep. gonna teach you how to use a manual transmission."

[Jenny-Marie]

My 18 month old granddaughter helping to mend a moped. She was welding a screwdriver. She also fetched a hammer and spanner, (wrench) to mend her grandmother's aching knee.

[Jenny-Marie]

Wielding, not welding

[kespethdude]

Nothing old fashioned about that. Old fashioned would be to NOT want girls to be taught the same things as boys. What you are proposing is a good thing.

[exitseven]

I showed all my kids including my daughter how to change a tire and jump a battery. I even taught them how to do an oil change. It was good for them to crawl around under the car to see where everything was.

[es20490446e]

I think they shall be taught to solve any problem they face with their hands in general.

[Avicenna]

I agree