I have just watched a very interesting piece on BBC breakfast about a school preparing 6th formers for leaving home; in other words giving them lifeskills in cooking, cleaning, washing etc. Well, that got me to wondering how many parents teach their youngsters how to cook, clean, wash and iron ready for when they fly the nest. I remember when my wife and I were together and we had 3 youngsters we had a system from a pretty early age (from about 7, I recall) of teaching them how to do the things they would one day need for independant living. After meals one would clear the table and make a cuppa, one would wash up and the other would dry and put away. My wife and I always welcomed them into the kitchen when we were cooking and they learned from about ten years old how to make a cup of tea unsupervised (and we never had any scalds, either). All 3 of those kids now have independant lives and know how to do all the things they need to run a home. The daughter has four children and teaches them, like her mum used to, and the boys are both competent around their own homes. The reason I raised this is that the survey on BBC indicated that parents don't teach their kids life skills at home, preferring to do it all for the sweet little darlings. Any views on this and how did some of our more mature members do it in their earlier days. Ooooh! I am politically correct this morning with my "more mature" members, aren't I?