What were your kids NOT able to do until an embarrassingly late age?

[scrhsa]

My youngest took forever to read. We homeschooled and she just wouldn't put the effort into it. Flat refused. We read everyday. Did all kinds of extra reading material. She just couldn't/wouldn't get it. Bysecond grade I was getting very frustrated but I knew she was on the verge of getting it. I went to work at a small catholic school and put her in third grade. I felt so stupid because she couldn't read and was getting extra help in class. By the end of the year she was in advance reading and way beyond everyone else. Either she was extremely stubborn(yes) and didn't want me to teach her or her new teacher was just fabulous(yes) or I just sucked(though I did teach another of my girls to read, so not that ) This is the same one who hasn't ridden a bike yet either.
Also, my husband and I were athletes in growing up and not one of our girls got ANY kind of athletic ability. They tried but they just didn't inherit mind frame for sports.

 

[brooke789]

My youngest couldn't tie his shoes forever. We worked with him and worked with him, and he just couldn't get it. He is left handed and the rest of us are right handed, so I guess it seemed backwards to him. His.....ahem....3rd grade teacher was left handed and it took her about 5 minutes to teach him.

Yes! This was me! I'm left-handed and no one could teach me. I vividly remember my mom "double knotting" my shoes before school every morning. Then, in 4th grade I had a left-handed teacher and she taught me! Now, all of my children are right-handed. I haven't even attempted to teach them....not that they've ever had any shoes with laces.

My son is notoriously known for doing everything at a later age then most. He just does things in his own time. He didn't walk until he was 18 months old, was potty trained two weeks before he turned 4, rode with training wheels until he was 8 and at almost 13, I'm not sure if he really knows how to tie his shoes.

This is my 5 (almost 6) year old son. He was always in the normal range for development, but just at the tail end of it. Didn't sit until 11 months, didn't walk until 18m, etc etc etc.

We found out a few weeks ago DD17 had absolutely no idea how to use the can opener, either. DH and I laughed so hard as she tried to figure it out!
.

When I was growing up we had an electric can opener. I had literally never seen a manual one. Had to learn to use that one myself!



For my kids -- I just learned recently that my DD (5, 6 in June) doesn't know how to spread. I sent crackers and a scoop of pimento cheese in her lunch box a couple weeks ago (along with a plastic knife) and she told me she didn't know how to get it on the crackers...so she didn't eat it. We've gotta work on that!

 

[Magpie]

Attention parents of teens: Ask your kids if they know how to sign their name! Turns out my 16 year old had no idea how to write his signature. DD13, same thing! The lost art of cursive!

My 18 yo still prints his name, but I give him a pass on that, as he's a dysgraphic leftie who actually does know cursive - he just doesn't use it.

As long as his "signature" is consistent, the bank is happy!

(I have no idea when he learned to tie his shoes... I gave up trying to teach him, and at some point in middle school he figured it out.)

 

[mamamary]

My 18 yo still prints his name, but I give him a pass on that, as he's a dysgraphic leftie who actually does know cursive - he just doesn't use it.

As long as his "signature" is consistent, the bank is happy!

Both my kids print everything. When they have to sign their name on anything it looks like they've used their feet to sign it. They are 17 and 18.

 

[mjkacmom]

Both my kids print everything. When they have to sign their name on anything it looks like they've used their feet to sign it. They are 17 and 18.

I still remember bringing ds17 to the doctor a couple of years ago, and having him sign his name on the forms. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry when it took him a full minute!

 

[Grmnshplvr]

Hey, my daughteris 20 and doesn't seem to be making much progress learning to drive. While my 18 year son has announced he has no intention of learning to drive at all.

I really can't say anything about it, as I never learned myself. It's really not necessary in my town.

I was 33 when I got my license.

 

[Magpie]

My youngest took forever to read. We homeschooled and she just wouldn't put the effort into it. Flat refused. We read everyday. Did all kinds of extra reading material. She just couldn't/wouldn't get it. Bysecond grade I was getting very frustrated but I knew she was on the verge of getting it. I went to work at a small catholic school and put her in third grade. I felt so stupid because she couldn't read and was getting extra help in class. By the end of the year she was in advance reading and way beyond everyone else. Either she was extremely stubborn(yes) and didn't want me to teach her or her new teacher was just fabulous(yes) or I just sucked(though I did teach another of my girls to read, so not that ) This is the same one who hasn't ridden a bike yet either.
Also, my husband and I were athletes in growing up and not one of our girls got ANY kind of athletic ability. They tried but they just didn't inherit mind frame for sports.

I tutor kids in reading, and with the exception of one little boy, all my students are public-schooled 9 to 11 year old girls. What I tell them is that some people just aren't quite ready to learn to read before about nine. But when they are ready, it goes really quickly and easily.

I wouldn't feel bad - lots of kids don't get the hang of reading until later. I was one of them, myself! And, in the end, as long as you can read, no one really cares when you started.

(I also homeschooled - I well remember feeling like everyone was judging my fitness, whenever my kids weren't ahead academically in every way!)

 

[apirateslifeforme]

Is a baby too young to join in? Our 7-month-old won't sleep in his crib in his own room; he's still in our room in an infant-to-toddler napper. We've been trying, but he wakes up screaming within 20 minutes of being put down. After a couple of hours of going in and comforting him, without picking him up, our own fatigue gives in and we bring him back to our room, where he promptly falls asleep and stays asleep until morning.

It is partly my fault - I had read in the SIDS prevention guides that the baby should sleep with you until about six months. And then, he's never liked sleeping in a big flat space. He hated the bassinet from day one - he wouldn't even sleep in the hospital bassinet for more than 30 minutes. I've tried the pack-and-play all along, as a kind of bridge between the little napper and big crib - nope, he wakes up and screams in that, too. So I can see him not being able to sleep alone until at least his first birthday!

 

[Jaime4004]

My youngest couldn't tie his shoes forever. We worked with him and worked with him, and he just couldn't get it. He is left handed and the rest of us are right handed, so I guess it seemed backwards to him. His.....ahem....3rd grade teacher was left handed and it took her about 5 minutes to teach him.

My 10 yr old (5th grader) still can't tie his shoes. He chooses to wear slip on shoes instead, only wears sneakers when he has gym (2 months of the year here). He's left handed also, never thought of that. I have almost given up. But my father is left handed also, maybe we'll try that...

 

[Magpie]

Is a baby too young to join in? Our 7-month-old won't sleep in his crib in his own room; he's still in our room in an infant-to-toddler napper. We've been trying, but he wakes up screaming within 20 minutes of being put down. After a couple of hours of going in and comforting him, without picking him up, our own fatigue gives in and we bring him back to our room, where he promptly falls asleep and stays asleep until morning.

It is partly my fault - I had read in the SIDS prevention guides that the baby should sleep with you until about six months. And then, he's never liked sleeping in a big flat space. He hated the bassinet from day one - he wouldn't even sleep in the hospital bassinet for more than 30 minutes. I've tried the pack-and-play all along, as a kind of bridge between the little napper and big crib - nope, he wakes up and screams in that, too. So I can see him not being able to sleep alone until at least his first birthday!

Lol! Our first slept with us until she was a year old. After that, we'd put her to sleep in her own bed... and at some point in the early hours of the morning, she'd get out of it and walk across the hall to climb back in with us. Then the next baby came along, and we just gave up and bought us a king size bed. When he was about 10 months old, we ended up putting our second child in bed with his big sister, and the two kids slept together for a couple years, until we bought them a bunk bed.

I figure you do whatever you've got to do, to get a good night's sleep!

 

[Jaime4004]

Is a baby too young to join in? Our 7-month-old won't sleep in his crib in his own room; he's still in our room in an infant-to-toddler napper. We've been trying, but he wakes up screaming within 20 minutes of being put down. After a couple of hours of going in and comforting him, without picking him up, our own fatigue gives in and we bring him back to our room, where he promptly falls asleep and stays asleep until morning.

It is partly my fault - I had read in the SIDS prevention guides that the baby should sleep with you until about six months. And then, he's never liked sleeping in a big flat space. He hated the bassinet from day one - he wouldn't even sleep in the hospital bassinet for more than 30 minutes. I've tried the pack-and-play all along, as a kind of bridge between the little napper and big crib - nope, he wakes up and screams in that, too. So I can see him not being able to sleep alone until at least his first birthday!

Oooh, that reminded me of another one. My youngest (8 yrs old) still ends up in my bed just about every night. I have nights were I get up several times and walk him back to his own bed (too "scared" to go himself), then nights were i'm so so exhausted from not sleeping well the other nights that I don't care, or I just wake up in the morning and there he is, never woke up when he came in. I joke with him and ask if he'll still be crawling into my bed when he's 20 and he says that he will. It is already awfully squishy with me, DH, 2 dogs and an 8 yr old.

 

[JediBonas]

My kids were both late talkers. They've been in speech therapy since 18 months and didn't start really saying words until over 3. They're 4 now and my daughter does NOT stop talking! My son still has a lot of problems and is really hard to understand. He was also potty trained late (around 3 1/2, he just had no interest until then). He is also VERY tall for his age and I would get a lot of looks when he would act like a toddler but looks like a 5 or 6 year old.

 

[Poohforyou]

Attention parents of teens: Ask your kids if they know how to sign their name! Turns out my 16 year old had no idea how to write his signature. DD13, same thing! The lost art of cursive!

My 16 yo can, not well but she can do it. The funniest thing is she goes by a nickname of her middle name and often can't remember how to spell her legal name.

Oh. Just a suggestion for those with kids struggling to learn to swim and/or ride a bike, if you know any responsible teens see if one of them would be willing to work with your child. We did this with dd and it worked like a charm.

 

[mrsheppo]

My son got the worst of it. He didn't start walking until he was 16 months old. He had a bout of meningitis which slowed down some of his skills. He ended going to speech therapy to master talking after his illness but didn't really start talking until almost 4. He could program a VCR at 2 1/2 though. He also wasn't potty trained until 4 and couldn't tie his shoes until about 10. He now has a Masters degree in physics and is a science teacher.

 

[kimj88]

My son is notoriously known for doing everything at a later age then most. He just does things in his own time. He didn't walk until he was 18 months old, was potty trained two weeks before he turned 4, rode with training wheels until he was 8 and at almost 13, I'm not sure if he really knows how to tie his shoes.

Wow does this sound just like my oldest son, who is now 12!

 

[Hikergirl]

My youngest was pretty old when he figured out how to tie his shoes.
My other ds just recently learned how to swallow pills.
My 18 year old is hopefully getting her license this week.
None of my kids know how to use the house phone. "Which button do i push?" whether they are answering or dialing.

 

[barkley]

these posts are great-

in my experience every day I seem to find out about something I thought my adult dd mastered years ago not being the case.

all it takes is one of her frequent 'mom, how do you.........???????' phone calls to drive the point home (seriously-basic, basic things like can opener operation, 'what is fabric softener', 'does stovetop stuffing HAVE to be made on a stove', 'will tuna helper help ME like tuna better', boiling an egg, what to do if her car has a flat tire/a light on the dash flashing 'service car NOW'......). I question if colleges added a basic common sense/ life skills test along w/the sat's for entrance determination if we would see acceptance rates plummet.

 

[HM]

I am surprised that no one has mentioned not knowing how to swim. That would seem one of the obvious ones.

My son didn't learn to ride a bike until he was about 10. We tried and tried to teach him for years with no luck. His little sister picked it up right away. An embarrassment for him.

I couldn't swallow a pill until I was in college. Had to grind things up and put in applesauce or ice cream many times.

 

[Lilacs4Me]

My youngest took forever to read. We homeschooled and she just wouldn't put the effort into it. Flat refused. We read everyday. Did all kinds of extra reading material. She just couldn't/wouldn't get it. Bysecond grade I was getting very frustrated but I knew she was on the verge of getting it. I went to work at a small catholic school and put her in third grade. I felt so stupid because she couldn't read and was getting extra help in class. By the end of the year she was in advance reading and way beyond everyone else. Either she was extremely stubborn(yes) and didn't want me to teach her or her new teacher was just fabulous(yes) or I just sucked(though I did teach another of my girls to read, so not that ) This is the same one who hasn't ridden a bike yet either.
Also, my husband and I were athletes in growing up and not one of our girls got ANY kind of athletic ability. They tried but they just didn't inherit mind frame for sports.

My poor DD is not sports-inclined either! She runs like an awkward duck LOL She has tried so many different sports and just doesn't do well in pretty much any of them!

DS10 had a very hard time reading in early elementary. He was in reading advisory until 2nd grade. Turned out, he hated the timed-reading tests they measured with - he would get all nervous knowing he was being timed, and the first time he stumbled on a word/sound, that would be it - he could not get himself to focus and get back on track. So his test scores were always well below grade level. The reading specialist never wanted to try testing him differently.

But he always understood EVERYTHING he read silently and could answer questions and comprehend it. he could even pull out little details. It finally dawned on me that it was those tests- but I was never really able to prove it to the school - by the time I really started noticing (once he started picking up chapter books) he was in 3rd grade and the timed tests were done.

But my point is - sometimes it IS the teaching method. But not because you sucked LOL It's all about the kids and how they choose to process it! And, sometimes, it really does just "click" one day, no matter what we do!

 

[scrapquitler]

Thank you for this thread! DD will be 8 in 3 weeks - she can't ride a bike and although can sort of tie shoes she can't get it good enough for them to stay. I was worried about the bike and hear about it from a lot of family members that my kids don't ride. DS will be 6 soon and he just can't grasp pedaling to even ride with training wheels. We tried all kinds of riding toys with pedals when as he has been growing up and he has a hard time grasping the concept.

Eh, my kids don't ride bikes either (one tried and didn't like it, the other one wouldn't even try), but who cares? They both LOVE to ride their scooters instead. My DD keeps hers on campus at college and rides it to class almost every day, and no worries about locking up the bike...she just folds the scooter and brings it in and puts it under her desk.