Recently I saw circulating on the internets a list of WTSHTF skills recommended for modern children. (WTSHTF = When The S*** Hits The Fan). I found the suggestions useful for country children who can reasonably be expected to go out and fish for themselves after TEOWAWKI (The End Of The World As We Know It). But for an urban or suburban child, my own WWII-vet, Depression-honed mother’s list was probably a lot more valuable, and it still has utility. So here it is, TOMTUJIC (Things Our Mother Taught Us Just In Case): 1.How to find our way around, by bus or on foot. This meant knowing how to manage the bus system and read maps. 2.How to cook, sew a simple seam, use a hammer, a knife, a saw. 3.How to ride a bicycle. A child can move farther and faster on a bike. 4.How to operate household gadgets. Can openers were fiddly, and to open many cans you used a key to unroll a strip of metal around the edge. Today’s gadgets are easier, unless the power goes out. 5.How to store food without electricity, and what food not to eat after a day or two. 6.How to fill the bathtub and other containers with water. 7.How to maintain simple hygiene: personal cleanliness, laundry, dishes. 8.How to use a first-aid kit to bandage wounds, and when to call for help. 9.Which help sources were good and which would not be, and how to reach the good ones and avoid the bad ones. 10.What to do if strangers approached us in the street or came to the door. 11.How to use matches and candles for light and warmth without burning the house down (a lesson my baby brother had real trouble with, BTW). 12.Shelter savvy in case the bombs fell. Mom taught us the safest place to take shelter in our basement, and what to take with us when we ran for cover: food, water, blankets, matches. 13.This one is odd but valuable: how to sing rounds. Singing rounds kept us too busy to be upset, and got us working together. And that was useful because the most important rule was: 14.To take care of each other. Each of us three kids was to be the others’ highest priority. What have you taught your kids?
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 17:59:16 +0000
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