re: Millennial dads have pathetic DIY skills compared to baby boomers

Yeah well at least we know how to turn something off, then on if it isn’t working

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That would be th boomers who acted like pussies their entire life and bitched out during Vietnam

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Bone spurs in your feet are a serious condition!

shite I’m 28 and I can rebuild an engine in a car or tractor, do plumbing, drive heavy machinery, 18 wheelers, do advanced electrical work.

If I need to do electrical work on the farm I just call the power company and tell them I’m gonna drop the fuses and pull the meter. Saves them the trouble

It's true to an extent, but I see many confusing millenials with generation Z. Gen Z, en masse, doesn't know chit from shinola about using their hands. Every day we discover more evidence that the skill of doing with your hands what your mind tells them to do is an acquired and dying one. Those who learn that skill will become very wealthy in the future IMO. There's also something to be said about the money saving aspect of DIY if it's done with prudence and knowledge (and of the financial loss from fricking up royally). I saved a lot of money in my younger years tackling DIY projects myself, and low and behold, I wound up making a living from a lot of the skills learned from it.

With millenials, especially later ones, poor/ non-existent craftsmanship is rampant. It blows my mind that a homeowner doesn't own a drill and a few basic tools, but they do. There are times where if you want something done you've got to roll up your sleeves and do it yourself. That is a fact for many things in life, and humans are DIY'ers by nature. It is good for the soul.

Regarding to-do's around the homestead, I can do just about anything if I want to do it (and a lot of those things I can do very well), BUT... there's something to be said about the economic term "opportunity costs."

Meaning, there's something to be said about having the time to do what you WANT to do vs. what you are giving up by doing tasks that you'd rather not do: I'll gladly pay $30 extra dollars to pay someone else to change the oil in my truck so that I don't have to put up with the old fluids, going to the auto parts store, etc. Likewise, I'll pay someone to mow my grass, pull up weeds and mulch my beds, because I can spend that time doing other more important and enjoyable things or no particular thing at all: I'd rather relax, or alternatively, be ran over by a motorboat at full speed than do lawn work. That's just me; it's not an absolute.

So, per usual, there's 2 sides to the equation: There are those that think they have to do EVERYTHING around the house (that used to be me), and there are those who think that EVERYTHING has to be done by a "professional" (that'll never be me) and of the latter, there are a growing number who have no choice because they have no skillset to DIY even if they wanted to. Poor work life balance is also a factor.

The sweet spot, per usual, is somewhere in the middle, and to me what is so tragic about all of it is that many don't realize what they're missing out on: The irreplaceable satisfaction that can come from starting and completing a DIY project from top-to-bottom on your own.

Theres no feeling like it in the world.

So long live the DIY'er and his eternal nemesis, that is the professional handyman.

Yea but I can pound beers and whiskey like my old man.

Also, I'd only consider one of these as a legit DIY project, and even that's pushing it. I don't imagine less millennial dads can open a pickle jar than boomer dads. It's probably just that millenials grew up in a time where being a pussy is celebrated, while boomers were rightfully ashamed of it. In other words, millenials are probably just more honest with their womanly shortcomings.

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change a car tire on the side of the road, unblock a toilet or sink, reset a tripped circuit breaker or even open a stuck pickle jar with their hands.

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shite I’m 28 and I can rebuild an engine in a car or tractor, do plumbing, drive heavy machinery, 18 wheelers, do advanced electrical work.

If I need to do electrical work on the farm I just call the power company and tell them I’m gonna drop the fuses and pull the meter. Saves them the trouble

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Is this stuff not common knowledge? I'm 31 and I've never taken a vehicle to a mechanic unless it was under warranty

A man’s level of DIY ability depends greatly upon the father who raised him. That makes the baby boomer men (according to this story) horrible at raising sons like a man should.

My dad is not handy at all. But I’ve become decent at fixing things around the house etc.

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i fix stuff all the time with youtube

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This helps immensely.

My dad can’t rebuild an engine. It was one of those things that I just “got.”

Bought a 72 Chevy pickup when I was 15 yrs old and just started tinkering and learning about it