Every generation grows up with its own set of skills shaped by the times they live in, and Boomers are a classic example of this. Today, we’d like to take a nostalgic look at some of these skills that they mastered, ones that you’d be hard-pressed to see kids using today.
Reading a Map
Nowadays, GPS has made navigation a breeze, so much so that you rarely even see a Sat Nav as we all have GPS built into our phones! Back in the day, though, people had to unfold giant paper maps to figure out where they were going, and Boomers had to learn how to read these maps. Imagine getting a Gen Zer to read a map today–they wouldn’t have a clue.
Writing in Cursive
Only a couple of decades ago, cursive writing was a staple of school curriculums, with hours spent practicing those loopy letters. As a result, Boomers often had beautiful handwriting to show for it, but now, with typing taking over, many kids never even learn cursive.
Using a Sewing Machine
For Boomers, fixing or making clothes at home was a common skill, especially when it came to patching up holes or hemming pants. Naturally, this meant that sewing machines were a household staple, which is a far cry from today.
Now, most people would rather replace damaged clothes than repair them, leaving sewing machines to become more of a niche hobby than a necessity. Personally, we think that’s pretty sad.
Memorizing Phone Numbers
In order to contact people in emergencies, Boomers had to memorize the phone numbers of family, friends, and even the local pizza place, as there was no such thing as speed dial or contact lists. Sure, we wrote them down when possible, but it was far less convenient than how we have it these days, with kids storing everything in their phones and rarely knowing a single number by heart–often not even their own!
Writing Letters by Hand
As we briefly touched on earlier, long before emails and texting, handwritten letters were a primary way to stay in touch, typically written in cursive. Naturally, this meant that Boomers learned how to express themselves on paper, complete with envelopes and stamps. Obviously, letter writing does still exist, but it’s far from the everyday skill it once was, especially for younger generations.
Making Change Without a Calculator
It wasn’t long ago that Boomers who worked in retail or handled money had to know how to make change quickly and accurately without the help of a digital register. This mental math was a key skill, taught in skills, yet now, cash registers and payment apps do all the calculating. Unfortunately, we fear that this leaves kids without much need to practice basic arithmetic.
Using a Rotary Phone
Operating a rotary phone required a bit of patience and practice, especially if the number you were dialing had lots of zeroes. Even still, Boomers mastered the art of dialing and waiting for the wheel to spin back around, but we highly doubt kids today would have a clue how to do it.
Cooking From Scratch
One of the most useful and healthy skills that Boomers have that kids just don’t do today is cooking from scratch–yes, really. We all learned how to cook meals from scratch using fresh ingredients, including the sauce, broth, and every other part of the meal.
Sure, there are still plenty of kids today who know how to cook, but they often use a lot of pre-made ingredients–such as highly processed sauces or pre-rolled pastry. Worse still, they constantly follow recipe apps, leaving the art of cooking to slowly fade away.
Sharpening a Knife
Following on from the last point, sharpening knives was once an essential kitchen skill, and many Boomers knew how to use a whetstone or a sharpening steel. Now, pre-sharpened knives and professional sharpening services mean this skill isn’t as widely practiced. More importantly, though, kids today are often buying their products pre-cut, so they don’t even have a need for this skill!
Hanging Laundry on a Clothesline
Today, dryers have become a household standard, but that hasn’t always been the case. Us Boomers grew up hanging laundry on clotheslines to dry, which taught us how to properly space clothes for airflow and avoid wrinkles. Lazily, kids today are more likely to toss everything in the dryer and move on without thinking about it, which is a shame, because they’re missing out on the freshness of outdoor drying.
Using a Typewriter
To be fair to today’s kids, it’s pretty understandable that they’ve lost the art of using a typewriter. Typewriters required a specific set of skills, including aligning paper, knowing how to fix typos with correction tape, and replacing ink.
However, can you remember the last time you used a typewriter? Nope, neither can we. They’re practically non-existent these days, with kids now relying entirely on keyboards and word processors.
Starting a Fire Without Matches
A lot of Boomers learned how to start a fire for camping or heating purposes using basic tools like flint or even just friction. More often than not, this was learned in the Boy Scouts, and kids today who still attend such clubs may still learn such skills. However, if we’re being realistic, most of these kids will instead rely on lighters, fire starters, or someone else to get the flames going.
Balancing a Checkbook
Back in the old days, keeping track of finances meant manually recording every transaction in a checkbook ledger, a skill that Boomers were taught in school or by their parents. Nowadays, though, online banking and budgeting apps make this job a heck of a lot easier, so kids rarely need to sit down with a pen and paper to manage their money anymore.
Fixing Small Appliances
When something broke in the past, Boomers would grab a toolbox and fix it themselves, rather than just replacing it. Naturally, this meant that skills like rewiring a lamp or repairing a toaster were commonplace, but today, most people simply throw out broken items and buy new ones.
Driving Stick Shift
Remember how learning to drive a manual transmission was a rite of passage in the past? That was because, for Boomers, automatic cars weren’t as common. Mastering the clutch and gear shifts took time, but it was a valuable skill, yet with automatic vehicles now dominating the roads, far fewer kids are learning how to drive a stick shift.
Growing a Garden
It didn’t matter whether it concerned vegetables, trees, flowers, or herbs; gardening was a very common skill most Boomers picked up as kids. More often than not, their parents taught them how to plant, weed, and harvest, often as part of daily life.
Sure, gardening is still a popular hobby today, but unfortunately, kids today are less likely to grow up knowing how to cultivate their own food. We’re still happy to see that they’re showing an interest in it, though.
Tying Complex Knots
You won’t see kids tying complex knots these days, unlike Boomers who depended on knots when they camped, fished, or sailed. They’d learn how to tie a variety of knots for different purposes, such as square knots, bowlines, and countless others. Yes, these skills were practical and necessary, but the most kids seem to learn today is a couple of basic knots in Boy Scouts.
This article may include content generated by AI and has been reviewed and edited by our editorial team for accuracy and clarity.