That's true. As parents we must introduce all kinds of stuff to our kids so they can learn and discover what they like. The toughest thing is to judge what is "a solid effort". For example, when my parents told me as a kid that I had to try a musical instrument, I hated it for the first few months. But after a year I started liking it, gained proficiency and still play music today in my 50s. When my Dad introduced me to mechanics, I took to it like a fish to water from day 1. Two very different experiences but they both "stuck" just with widely different notions of "a solid effort". If they considered 6 months as a "solid effort" for music I would have quit and missed out on a life enriching experience.
Kids and wrenching
- Thread starter xspeedy
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That sounds pretty wonderful.
That's a valid disposal method in some places.I just don't plan on teaching my son to pour antifreeze down the storm drain, like my dad did
Mine are very young but I try to bring my oldest out if I’m doing stuff as long as I don’t feel it’s unsafe. She has a good time with "helping" with some stuff picking up lug nuts or bringing over a bottle of oil or a tool. Hoping the spending time with Dad will equate to an interest as she gets older at least in understanding basic maintenance and preventative care but TBD.
My oldest isn’t real keen on helping, my 2nd is interested but he gets frustrated easily, my 3rd loves to help, the 4th isn’t old enough yet.
I still got his, although it hasn't been on the road in over 20 years. I can't recall him ever checking a dipstick letalone doing any work on a car, so I didn't get this car thing from him.
I've always had the motto you can't force your kids to do things, especially things they don't have interest in.
I have 2 sons, both are very different.
The youngest is 20 and has no use for the garage or anything mechanical. He did show some interest in a small grass cutting scenario that had him responsible for maintaining my mower but unless it equaled money for him, no thanks. This kid loves sports and so do I.
The oldest is soon to be 22 and he has been out in the garage since he was 18 months old. He loves to wrench on our vehicles including his 1/8th scale Nitro buggy. This kid loves to work on cars and so do I.
In short my advice, find a way to connect with your kids. Spend the time with them on things that matter to them, not so much to you. Yes this is hard but it makes your relationship so much better. It's no fun pushing a rope. At some point they figure out what motivates them. I feel lucky to have found both passions in my 2 boys!
Just my $0.02
I have 2 sons, both are very different.
The youngest is 20 and has no use for the garage or anything mechanical. He did show some interest in a small grass cutting scenario that had him responsible for maintaining my mower but unless it equaled money for him, no thanks. This kid loves sports and so do I.
The oldest is soon to be 22 and he has been out in the garage since he was 18 months old. He loves to wrench on our vehicles including his 1/8th scale Nitro buggy. This kid loves to work on cars and so do I.
In short my advice, find a way to connect with your kids. Spend the time with them on things that matter to them, not so much to you. Yes this is hard but it makes your relationship so much better. It's no fun pushing a rope. At some point they figure out what motivates them. I feel lucky to have found both passions in my 2 boys!
Just my $0.02
Here is my dad’s from when it and I were both a baby.
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The first task is getting kids off the sofa and putting down their phones.
AutoMechanic
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My dad is who got me started on fixing cars. I tried to be out with him as much as mom would let me lol. She was always worried a car would roll off the ramps or something like that it’s understandable that’s just the mom being protective like they should haha. Fortunately nothing like that ever happened. I remember my dad buying special low profile ramps to do his Alfa Romeo oil change on after he had a falling out with the local Shell shop and the guy told him never to bring his car back again if he was going to tell them tricks on how to change the oil in it. You had to cut the side out of a 2 liter bottle and let it drain into there otherwise it would get all over everything. What really sparked my interest and made me want to be a mechanic is when we were doing spark plugs in our Jeep Cherokee. He got mad a few times which I always thought was funny and then he would get more mad lol. He was really surprised when I wanted to be a mechanic but he was always very supportive of it and told me to do whatever I wanted.
I hope one day I’ll have kids and they will take interest in tools and doing things in the garage with me. I’ll do my best to get them their own project car. And just have a good time. I like teaching people. Maybe they will take on my car and tool and license plate addiction haha. I really hope that will all come true one day for me.
I hope one day I’ll have kids and they will take interest in tools and doing things in the garage with me. I’ll do my best to get them their own project car. And just have a good time. I like teaching people. Maybe they will take on my car and tool and license plate addiction haha. I really hope that will all come true one day for me.
Kid(s) could be gifted and wants to be a doctor or something. Not everyone needs to know how to turn a wrench.... Every auto repair shop I drive past usually has a pretty full parking lot of people who don't want to fix their car, aren't able to, etc.
I agree. My kids do not. That's my whole point.
While I agree, these are two totally different topics. Working on cars is not synonymous with putting down phones.
Plus, what's the first thing we do when we can't figure out how to do something on our cars? Pull out our phone and open YouTube. Kind of ironic, IMO.
Kid(s) could be gifted and wants to be a doctor or something. Not everyone needs to know how to turn a wrench.... Every auto repair shop I drive past usually has a pretty full parking lot of people who don't want to fix their car, aren't able to, etc.
This guy gets it.
I'm just trying to give my boys the basics, checking oil, stopping and looking at the thing when something sounds or feels wrong, mixing 2 stroke gas, not mixing up diesel, straight gas, and mixed gas, changing tires, and also they have to help fix stuff they break.
I'm not that great with electrical stuff and electronics which would probably be useful to know in the future.
I'm not that great with electrical stuff and electronics which would probably be useful to know in the future.
This was a routine thing I heard when I got an iPod touch when I was 12… except I wasn’t playing games, I was reading about “obscure” stuff on Wikipedia (I had/have this fascination with 80’s Cold War tech and Chernobyl) and technical manuals, as well as books that were either not available or a PITA to get at my local or school library.
Great thread! Found that demonstrating through example sets the stage. Learned on my first motorcycle that my Dad rode back from the store (against Mum's wishes) before I had learned to ride. Top-end rebuild. Then replaced a cracked manifold on Dad's Mini....very tight in there!
Have partnered with my son and daughter on repair projects. Daughter has some interest, but son became engaged and is now an engineer, so maybe I planted a seed? He definitely showed an aptitude for dismantling and putting things back together at an early age, so I can only take a small credit.
More recently have had to curtail my enthusiasm for repairing things when it comes to offering assistance if a member of the extended family has an item/vehicle in need of fixing. Well intentioned, as I hate to see people I care about being exploited, but have learned sometimes it is best not to get over invested. Continue to work closely with my son on projects around our homes and vehicles. As a trained engineer he has superseded me with his knowledge, and I have taken the opportunity to learn from him. Have had some good "discussions," as he challenges my assumptions while I challenge his logic.
Working together is usually a good bonding experience, and with his growing maturity our mutual respect has grown. Assume much of this forum's readership is substantially hands on as compared to the average Joe. Whether working on a DIY project, or something completely different, key is finding common ground to do it together and come away from with a positive experience for all engaged. In my mind that's what memories are made of.
Have partnered with my son and daughter on repair projects. Daughter has some interest, but son became engaged and is now an engineer, so maybe I planted a seed? He definitely showed an aptitude for dismantling and putting things back together at an early age, so I can only take a small credit.
More recently have had to curtail my enthusiasm for repairing things when it comes to offering assistance if a member of the extended family has an item/vehicle in need of fixing. Well intentioned, as I hate to see people I care about being exploited, but have learned sometimes it is best not to get over invested. Continue to work closely with my son on projects around our homes and vehicles. As a trained engineer he has superseded me with his knowledge, and I have taken the opportunity to learn from him. Have had some good "discussions," as he challenges my assumptions while I challenge his logic.
Working together is usually a good bonding experience, and with his growing maturity our mutual respect has grown. Assume much of this forum's readership is substantially hands on as compared to the average Joe. Whether working on a DIY project, or something completely different, key is finding common ground to do it together and come away from with a positive experience for all engaged. In my mind that's what memories are made of.
Don't force it, just expose them.
I've never made my 23 yo daughter do anything as far as car repairs except maybe hold a wrech/etc for a few seconds and assist me with bleeding brakes (up, down, up, down). She has slid under a vehicle a time or two when I'm changing the oil. One time I needed to clean out some threads on the bolts that fasten the skid/rock plates on my Tundra. She asked how I learned all this stuff. I told her a vast array of ways - mostly by doing it.
She has slowly taken an interest in car maintenance/repair. Two weeks ago, we were having lunch and she told me her door open light won't go away on the dash, she figured out that she can't lock the doors with the remote, etc.
We looked at the door jamb switch and sure enough, it's broken. Seems common on Hondas. We went to a couple of parts stores (to show her they rarely have some specific part outside of brakes/hoses/belts and alternators/starters for GM/Ford/Fiat.... We ordered the part (OEM) on Amazon, had it shipped to her house at college. It arrived, she installed it with a screwdriver.
Again, she is slowly learning that you had better know how to fix some of your stuff yourself or you're going to be waiting and paying huge sums, while potentially subjected to being ripped off. She's also learned that keeping up with maintenance and repair saves you money, time and frustration.
I've never made my 23 yo daughter do anything as far as car repairs except maybe hold a wrech/etc for a few seconds and assist me with bleeding brakes (up, down, up, down). She has slid under a vehicle a time or two when I'm changing the oil. One time I needed to clean out some threads on the bolts that fasten the skid/rock plates on my Tundra. She asked how I learned all this stuff. I told her a vast array of ways - mostly by doing it.
She has slowly taken an interest in car maintenance/repair. Two weeks ago, we were having lunch and she told me her door open light won't go away on the dash, she figured out that she can't lock the doors with the remote, etc.
We looked at the door jamb switch and sure enough, it's broken. Seems common on Hondas. We went to a couple of parts stores (to show her they rarely have some specific part outside of brakes/hoses/belts and alternators/starters for GM/Ford/Fiat.... We ordered the part (OEM) on Amazon, had it shipped to her house at college. It arrived, she installed it with a screwdriver.
Again, she is slowly learning that you had better know how to fix some of your stuff yourself or you're going to be waiting and paying huge sums, while potentially subjected to being ripped off. She's also learned that keeping up with maintenance and repair saves you money, time and frustration.
I always explain to people (mostly parents) that they never seem to hear or talk about their kids (or someone else's) going to trade school at the cocktail parties.
But they want to gripe about the huge costs involved now to hire a plumber, HVAC tech, Auto tech, etc. to fix something that is broken....
That's too bad.
