Victoria sponge cake (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Our Mothers Were Better Than Us; Modern Mums Missing Traditional Skills
It seems us mums are becoming far too lazy according to this new report and should be making more time to do more things. Traditional household skills are drying out because we are too busy or too lazy as the case maybe to learn those skills our mothers had- making pastry, baking and sewing buttons are amongst the list. Researchers found mothers struggle with the skills that their own mothers had.
I admitted I don’t bake with my kids and I have no desire to make jam, and I do not alter clothes for the simple fact they don’t fit the kids long enough to care.
The study also found most modern mums wished they had the skills their own mothers had but said they didn’t have the time or patience to learn them.
The research was commissioned by Neff as part of their Bake It Yourself campaign. Who conducted the study on 1,000 mums under 35 and 1,000 mums over 45?
Sue Flowers, Brand Manager for Neff, said: “We know that modern mums are under different pressures today compared with 40 years ago. As a result, many mums find it difficult to do some of the daily tasks their own mums may have done. However, our research has shown that many do want to learn how to do these things and feel as passionate as we do about ensuring skills such as baking and sewing don’t die out.”
Our local Sure Start centre ran a cooking course a few months ago and I was invited along, but to be honest I don’t want to learn how to cook more healthy meals, trust me cooking for 10 each night is bad enough without spending even more time ensuring its completely healthy.
The survey found nine out of ten younger mums don’t know how to starch a shirt, while more than half struggle to sew name tags in their children’s clothes.
Why would you starch a shirt? You can buy a brand new dazzling white one from Primark for a few quid? I pay an extra £2 and the seamstress attaches all the kids name tags onto their uniforms.
I had no idea that gravy could be made from scratch, I buy Bisto and I add hot water and presto. What is a Victoria Sponge? Oh a cake you mean? Yes Asda makes delicious ones.
You may be amazed to know that I can knit, my grandmother taught me. I can knit a square anyway and that counts right?
Young mums were also more likely to try and pass off shop bought products like cakes and sauces as their own with 34% admitting to taking credit for something they bought. – I do this all the time and my friends think I am amazing.
Sue Flowers from Neff added: ”We all like to rely on our mum for help and advice, which is why it’s such a shame that younger mums today find themselves too busy to enjoy time spent baking with their children and other traditional tasks.”
I ask you my dear readers; Were our mothers better than us? Are Mums These Days Missing Traditional Skills?
Related articles
- Death of the Stepford wife? Traditional baking and sewing skills die out as modern mothers say they are too busy to learn them (dailymail.co.uk)
- Working Mums Are Healthier Than Stay At Home Mums (therealsupermumblog.com)
- I Am A Horrid Mother Because I Don’t Bake With My Kids (therealsupermumblog.com)
About The Real Supermum
I can honestly say i can do all these things, and have done them all several times at some point x
I an bake a simple sponge, have baked fruit cakes love to cook from scratch and a can sew my dad taught me to cook and my mum to sew i an next going to atempt dress making
See, I bake cakes, apple crumble, make homemade pies and lobby/stew and soup too, mmm and I’ve made homemade bread in the past too. If a button falls off or is loose, or seem is a bit loose I’ll sew it. I don’t know how to sew a name tag into school clothes as most them that I buy have a little label to write their names on lol. I don’t know how to starch a shirt because I’ve never had to, if I had to I guess I’d have to learn, lol
Omg i want that cake! Yum!
Annnnyway, what a crock of crap!
I cook every night for my children. They eat what I give them and no its not always healthy meat and two veg stuff. Its hot, homecooked and better than nothing.
I refuse to iron. I dont get on with irons, they like to burn me and i like to scream. My oh does it. I do however know how to starch stuff. My dad taught me.
I do cook cakes , baileys cakes and birthday cakes but not often.
I have a list of my daily chores and i do them methodically every morning and night. They get done quickly leaving me time with my kids.
I refuse to spend my days chained to any kitchen object i much prefer being tied to stuff at night when im dressed like a slut! Lol
Lifes too short to be a traditional housewife. I dont want to be on my deathbed going oh i didnt take my kids to the park but at least my floors were clean..screw that!
My house is a lived in house , five messy kids live in it and it aint never gonna be showhome ready. Ive made my peace with that and these stuffy fuddy duddy stuck in the 1950s ones need to too! Yes vinegar is good for all kinds of cleaning but its better on chips with some salt!
Im such a good catch me lol
that gave me a good giggle shell x
What a load of poo!
I’m 24, I can cook & bake from scratch, sew, knit, iron, clean using non-shop bought cleaning agents. The only one I’ve never done is starch a shirt x
Hmm not sure how i feel about all that! I bake, Sew, Crochet, Work from home, make meals from scratch and DO know how to make gravy from scratch too. I think to generalise all women like that is wrong. I personally think as with all things there will be a divide between these types of women who do and who dont! My mother shared all her skills and i intend to do the same
My mum Didn’t/couldnt do these things with me, she wouldn’t let anybody buy me cleaning toys etc because she didn’t want to be gender-whatever you call it. She was also ill, so in and out of hospital, I taught myself how to bake (with a Littke help from school. If I had the money to buy ingredients to experiment, I would. I also took textiles in school so I know how to attach a button to a shirt LOL. I can also cross stitch lol. There will always be somebody who likes to be traditional =)
Well I’m 18 I make cakes I sew alot of badges on my partners jackets and I can crochet !! I have no desire to be likethe older generation !! Smacking as disaplin and whiskey as medicine … Yeah there amazing arnt they ppfft
Lol ok maybe there are a few out there that rely on easier methods but I can cook, bake, sew, knit and crochet. I often make home made pies an desserts. I don’t sew on name tags as all ready said there is a place to write my childrens name. We ain’t in the generation where a woman’s place is in the kitchen etc, we are self sufficient and a lot of us work hard either at home or at the work place. I make pies an desserts etc for my own pleasure not because its what’s expected of me. My kids love getting involved when I’m cooking, my 9 yr old daughter has started to take an intrest an most what I do has beenself taught as my mother was of the opinion that life was easier if she didn’t do it all when there was ready made.
I don’t think it really matters. Times are changing, instead of baking we do other things with our kids, we don’t HAVE to know how to alter clothes or sew buttons onto clothes because you can nip to primark n stock up on clothes cheaply. In 40 years mums will be doing different things to what we do now
Ive read the post and all the comments and for some reason Stepford Wives have popped into my head.
Next they’ll be telling us that women should have the kids standing by the front door to say goodnight to daddy in their dressing gowns and slippers as he walks in, his slippers warmed and waiting for him, a drink and his paper on his fav table next to his fav armchair and the aromas of a 3 course meal wafting through from the immaculately sparkling kitchen – and you dressed and looking like you have just stepped off the front of a Vogue magazine. #ineedtogoanddrinkgin
Helen have you been looking through my windows? Lol
I’ve always been the one to watch my parents cook and sew and now I love doing homemade stew and pies and things and yes I can sew lol x
Im 24, i can bake, i love homemade gravy.mmm yum. I can iron well but hate to do, i usually dont oops. I can sew and alter some clothes
I can knit a square using a basic stitch lol. I dont have the foggiest what starching a shirt means :/ I dont think im doin too bad tho haha x
i bake with reanne. she loves it and so do i
x
Lol, I’d say I’m more traditional than my mam was!! I bake, sew, cook from scratch, and I am learning to knit… So :0P