Do You Know How To?

22 May 2012

In the last couple weeks, two of my friends posted on Facebook about mowing a lawn for the first time ever.  What?  Yes, the first time ever mowing a lawn and they are both in their thirties!  I think it’s awesome and I have to wonder if they felt excited to be doing something brand new.  {Girls, if you are reading, let me know!}

Shortly after, another friend posted that she was watching one of the morning news programs and they were discussing gender-specific chores.  Specifically, to not give your children gender based chores. 

I have written before how spoiled I am, that Davester of mine he does the vast majority of the dirty work, but it wasn’t always that way.  I grew up in a single parent household, so my sister and I had to do things like mow lawns and take out the garbage.  My dad taught us how to change a tire the moment we turned 16, it was literally one of my proudest moments when my mom had a flat and I was able to change it for her.  Likewise, Dave’s parents taught him how to cook and do laundry and the Air Force taught him how to sew a button back on. 

And maybe, we’re odd.

So I want to know…

Do you know how to mow a lawn? 

Have you ever changed a tire? 

Does your husband know how to cook?

Does he know how to do laundry?

And what will you teach your children?  Do you think they should learn how to mow a lawn and do laundry regardless of gender?  Or are there clear gender lines in your house?

13 comments:

Katie said...

The hubs and I both know how to mow the lawn, change a tire, change the oil in a car, and do laundry. I do the cooking (and 99% of the grilling) in our house, because we cannot exist soley on mac & cheese, grilled cheese and hotdogs.

Since G's at home with the kiddos all day, there definitely aren't clear gender lines in our house. He does most (all) of the cleaning and grocery shopping, I help with laundry on weekends so he can do the "dirty work" outside. I think we're teaching our kids by example, that regardless of gender, a chore is a chore and it needs to get done. A will know how to work on cars, just as much as lil G will know how to do a load of laundry and cook food NOT from a box or can.

And someday, my husband WILL figure out how to sew a button back on, damnit! :o)

Melissa said...

The husbo travels a lot for work so I am need to know how to do just about everything that he does. I mow the lawn and plow the driveway. I can run the backhoes and skidsteer so I can move stuff around and maintain our acreage when needed. I have helped him replace radiators in his semi and dump truck. I grew up helping my dad with stuff on the farm and around the yard so it is second nature for me.

On the flip side, B is capable of doing his own laundry, cleaning the house and cooking dinner. I do these things most of time but I enjoy them.

I am lucky that we have a partnership.

Anonymous said...

I have never mowed a lawn, and I really do not want to. I will do all the other yard work. I do take out the trash. My husband only does his own laundry, because I am busy with four other people. I scrub toilets, and he does floors. He is a fabulous cook. We are like a little team. That is what I want to teach my girls. Teamwork!

Just A Normal Mom said...

Yep, I know how to mow a lawn, and occasionally even do it :) Hubs cooks, does dishes and even laundry. And The Boy's chores include not only the garbage and mowing, but also dusting, vacuuming, and scrubbing his own bathroom.

Kelly @ turned UP to ELEVEN! said...

I love that you wrote this. I'm 30+ and I've never mowed the lawn. My father said I'd cut my leg off so he never made me mow it. My guess is he was a lawn perfectionist and probably didn't want me to jack it up, furthermore he probably would have rather me study to get A's since my grades were lacking. My husband mows the lawn but I have offered to help, or do it many times because he suffered from a mild heat stroke one year and has a slightly bad back, but he never takes me up on the offer. We have a push mower so I'm secretly thankful. We sort of have gender roles at our house but it's not intentional. Since I'm not outside I feel it's my duty to clean up inside. That being said he helps every chance he can, AND he also does laundry. I'm a lucky girl!

I do think that all kinds should have all kinds of chores.

Kim Moore said...

Yes I can do all of that.. the mowing, flat tire, oil changes, brake pads. My very recent ex does cook and laundry. I am teaching my kids all the chores because you can not rely on anyone to help you when you are in a bind.

Hayley said...

Nope, never mowed a lawn or changed a tire. My honey only can make mac & cheese! But he does do the laundry :-)
My mom would get frustrated that we wouldn't do the chores as she'd like them (perfectionist!) so she'd end up doing it all herself. My dad would mow the lawn, do yardwork, etc.
I'd like to raise my family so that EVERYONE pitches in, and takes pride in it.
My best friend, Meg, was raised on a farm with HOURS upon HOURS of heavy-labor chores, and she has incredible work ethic from it! I look up to her for it. :-)

Jessica @ Wanting Adventure said...

I think this is a really interesting topic. I don't deal much with the cars in our household but we are both responsible for cleaning and doing the laundry.

Even with my crazy organizational tendencies, he's actually the one that helps us sort and reorganize when the mood strikes. In fact, he redid my craft room with the furniture in a much better arrangement than I ever would have thought about!

But yeah, I still don't kill bugs. That's his job.

Lorie said...

I can mow a lawn, although I have only done it a dozen or so times in my life. I have changed a tire, on the side of a freeway no less. My husband can cook...ish. ;D He likes to overcook eggs and needs a little instruction, but if he had to he could definitely pull it off. He can do laundry. He lived away from home for a few years in another country, then for a few years with roommates here, and even after we were married he lived out of state (because of a job transfer) for a couple of moths before we followed suite.

My son (11) has already been taught to cut the lawn and all of my kids cook with me all of the time. It is about time I teach them to do laundry. They will learn to change a tire when they are old enough to drive and my daughters will have to learn to cut the yard one of these days.

I grew up with only sisters, so I think I have less of those gender boundary lines with kids and chores. There were no brothers to take out the trash. That was my job. My sister mowed the yard. Etc.

MommyLisa said...

I will not ALLOW T-bone to do laundry, but my dad rocks the laundry. Now on the other hand T-bone can cook like nobody's business. :)

Nicole Rodriguez said...

I have never mowed a lawn in my life. I've never even started a lawn mower. I don't even know where to put the gas. And I never plan to - I have 3 boys and a husband! My hubs does know how to cook and do laundry - but I am the main one to do those things. I do know how to change a tire! And as for my boys - they will be taught how to do it all. They can decide when they are grown and married living their own lives with their wives who does what - but she'll never be able to say I didn't teach them ;)

Stacy Kaye said...

Do you know how to mow a lawn? Absolutely, all of my sisters and I had to share this chore growing up. I just mowed the front lawn last weekend because Kev's back was hurting him and I knew that I needed to take over...and I don't even mind!

Have you ever changed a tire?
Definitely! My dad made sure that we ALL knew how to do this!

Does your husband know how to cook?
He can cook...somewhat. He did not learn on his own, but when we got married he wanted to be able to help me out so he asked me to teach him how to cook several basic meals. I love to cook, but on the nights that I don't want to, he takes over with one of his "meals."

Does he know how to do laundry?
YES! He does ALL of his own laundry AND the linens! I do mine and the boys! I think it is pretty sweet!

And what will you teach your children? Do you think they should learn how to mow a lawn and do laundry regardless of gender? Or are there clear gender lines in your house?
I will teach my boys all of these things, just as my parents taught us. For me it has NOTHING to do with gender and everything to do with learning responsibility and how to take care of yourself...and others!

Natalie said...

Okay, I admit I am a little slow at keeping up with you blog, but I just read this about mowing the lawn and I had to reply. I know how to mow the lawn but have not done so since that one fine summer day that we tried to mow your lawn and I sliced my finger open trying to start that mower. I remember running to Churchill's to try to play doctor to fix it too. Boy the good old days! I know have a scar on my middle finger that is a reminder why I don't attempt to mow the lawn ever again. :)

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