Educational programs designed to teach representatives of Generation Z basic household skills have appeared in Canada, daily.afisha.ru reports with reference to the New York Post.
Canadian universities, including the University of Waterloo, have developed an online program called Adulting 101, which teaches students essential skills such as doing laundry, cooking, choosing groceries, and building relationships.
Toronto Metropolitan University freshman Alden Garcia admitted to struggling with basic household tasks: “I don’t know how to change a tire. I don’t even have a car. I can’t sew, I can’t do much other than cook.” He also noted that he and his peers lack financial literacy, which he believes should be taught in schools.
Gene Twenge, a psychology professor at the University of California at San Diego and the author of Generations, points out that today’s 20-somethings are entering adulthood with minimal knowledge. “Kids are growing up less independent. They don’t learn much about adult things in high school. Then they go to college and still don’t know anything about life,” Twenge notes.
The professor sees the reason for this state of affairs in "helicopter parenting," when parents overprotect their children, solving their problems for them and not allowing them to make independent decisions. This leads to a protracted adolescence and, as a consequence, to an increase in the number of young people who continue to live with their parents and depend on them financially.
The students believe that the education system is responsible for the lack of necessary skills. New York City 10th grader Zach Leitner recalled that until the 1960s, high school students were taught cooking, cleaning, and sewing as part of the standard curriculum, but these classes were later eliminated.
