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from: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/01/14/gen-z-cannot-change-a-light-bulb/
Do you know how to change a light bulb? Pump a tyre? What about hanging a picture frame? If your answer to all three of these questions is “yes”, then chances are that you may not be a member of Gen Z.
A quarter of adults aged 18 to 27 have admitted to not changing a light bulb themselves because using a stepladder could be dangerous, while over 10 per cent would call in a professional to hang a picture frame, according to research commissioned by Halfords.
So, why are Gen Z seemingly turning away from DIY – are they at fault for not taking the initiative and always turning to Google or the local repair man? Or could the blame lie with parents, for wrapping their children in cotton wool and not teaching them these vital life skills?
Judging from the comments below the original story, which was published on the Telegraph website yesterday morning, it’s a subject that provokes strong opinions among readers. Emma Dixon is firmly of the view that the parents have a lot to answer for.
“It’s all very well directing relentless criticism at Gen Z but who brought them up?” she says. “Perhaps a bit of self-examination by older generations would not go amiss if the younger ones are so incompetent.”
And Jan Leach has first-hand experience of this incompetence (although, admittedly, among Millennials rather than Gen Z). “[A] couple in their 30s moved in next door six years ago. They owned no tools, let alone power tools,” she says.
“Any DIY was carried out by one of their fathers with the ‘man of the house’ looking on. The usual parent was away when something went wrong – daughter broke a cupboard door. They asked me – a 67-year-old woman at the time – if I could help. As the cupboard came from a well-known supplier of flat-packed furniture, I took him to get a new door, after examining it and deciding it was beyond repair.
“I put the new door on and suggested he look for a DIY class. Next Christmas he asked for power tools, according to their erstwhile handyman!”
Another Telegraph reader Jo Harrison also recalls her Gen Z neighbour struggling to master the arts of DIY and home maintenance. “Having 15 years ago acquired a neighbour with – at that time – a nine-year-old daughter who is now 24, I have experienced many of these events myself.
“‘How do I open the bonnet on my car?’ ‘What does this light mean?’ (Low oil pressure.) ‘Mum’s out and how do I turn on the heating?’ ‘Can you come round and remove a spider from the lounge?’”
So, while it seems Gen Z may be slightly clueless when it comes to mastering an electric screwdriver, are young adults simply too self-serving, expecting others to do everything for them, or is there more at play?
Jonty Ashworth, managing director at Ash & Co, teaches adults of all ages and abilities at his DIY and woodworking classes. He says: “A lot of people come to our classes with little to no experience and are genuinely afraid of drilling into a wall because they’ve been told they could die.
“While it is very important to learn how to do these things safely, I think there’s this culture in the UK where we’ve created a lot of fear around DIY. We should be promoting a culture of learning, rather than just getting someone to do it for you.”
In Ashworth’s classes, students are given a comprehensive education on “demystifying the B&Q aisles” and are taught a range of skills including how to master power tools, woodworking, and essential safety practices.
“There are a lot of people now in their early 30s, buying their first homes and realising they don’t know how to do household tasks like drilling into a wall.
“My dad was a civil engineer and so I grew up on building sites. I learnt a lot from him over the years. Either you’ve got a parent who has the experience and can then teach you, or you don’t. And if you don’t, and you’re not taught DIY skills growing up, then it’s very difficult to learn and you just don’t have the confidence.”
As a “Gen-Zer” myself, I can speak for the benefits of growing up with a DIY dad. From a young age, my father – who fancies himself an electrician, plumber, and builder alongside his work as a double-glazing installer – taught my sister and I all sorts of tricks, including how to properly clean a car, plaster a wall, and use power tools.
When I left home for university, my parents sent me off with a shiny new screwdriver set and, over the years, my dad has always been “on call” for my various DIY woes.
Just a few months ago, I managed to fix my bathroom window thanks to a handy tutorial video he made for me.
As Ashworth suggests, learning from him over the years gave me the confidence to complete household tasks that I might have otherwise never attempted. But as well as a decline in parental teaching, Ashworth believes the issue stems from the cutting back of practical subjects in schools.
“Woodworking, for example, doesn’t get taught so widely in schools anymore because it is so hard for them to comply with health and safety rules,” he says. “I completely understand how difficult it is to make these lessons health and safety compliant, and I don’t know what the solution is, but it means children just aren’t learning these vital skills.”
This certainly rings true for one Gen Z-er who says she did not gain much practical experience at school.
“We did have DT lessons and I remember making some wooden bookends and a clock. That was about it,” she recalls. “I can just about change a light bulb myself, but anything more complicated than that and it’s straight to TaskRabbit [an app where you can hire competent DIY-ers] or putting it on a never-ending list for my fiancé or his dad to handle.”
Her list of self-confessed DIY deficiencies include avoiding bleeding radiators, paying someone to put a cupboard back on its hinges, and asking her brother to hang a lamp shade.
A few decades ago – how to hang a lampshade, check the car oil or change a fuse in a plug – would have been basic hand-me-down skills from family members who didn’t, or financially couldn’t, rely on garages or electricians. So apart from increasing spending power, what’s changed?
“Helicopter parenting” has gained traction in recent years, as an all-encompassing term for parents who are too attentive of their children and over-fearful of their experiences and problems.
“I think [helicopter parenting] stems from an increasingly competitive world,” says Emma Citron, a consultant clinical psychologist and chartered member of the British Psychological Society.
“Parents see the competitive job market, the fact that it’s now more difficult to get into university, and they become anxious of what it means for their child. They will try to cram in as much experience and extracurricular activity as they can afford to try to boost their child’s chances.
“However, this can lead to a situation where parents end up putting their own anxieties and fears onto their youngsters who, in turn, become more anxious and less independent.
“Or the parents take over and end up doing basic things for their children, spoon-feeding or mollycoddling them, which means they never learn and don’t have the opportunity to try things for themselves.”
This theory rings true for reader Jan Goff, who says: “We did not have lessons in these matters but were shown by our parents. It begs the question – do any parents try to make their children independent?
“I live next door to a fit and healthy young man whose mum comes to clean every week and whose father does all the DIY stuff. [The] boy is about 30. How will he manage without them, when they become too old to look after him?”
It is only natural for parents to worry about their children – so how can they strike a balance and ensure their babies are prepared for life’s challenges whilst also gaining independence?
“We need to take the lead from our young people,” Emma says. “If they want to give something a try, don’t take the wind out of their sails.
“Don’t book the Ikea DIY person to come and build something for you if your child wants to give it a go themselves. It’s about letting them have a try and just trusting them.”
Why a generation of young people can’t handle DIY
A new generation is increasingly incapable of – or uninterested in – completing simple household tasks, but that should come as no surpriseDo you know how to change a light bulb? Pump a tyre? What about hanging a picture frame? If your answer to all three of these questions is “yes”, then chances are that you may not be a member of Gen Z.
A quarter of adults aged 18 to 27 have admitted to not changing a light bulb themselves because using a stepladder could be dangerous, while over 10 per cent would call in a professional to hang a picture frame, according to research commissioned by Halfords.
So, why are Gen Z seemingly turning away from DIY – are they at fault for not taking the initiative and always turning to Google or the local repair man? Or could the blame lie with parents, for wrapping their children in cotton wool and not teaching them these vital life skills?
Judging from the comments below the original story, which was published on the Telegraph website yesterday morning, it’s a subject that provokes strong opinions among readers. Emma Dixon is firmly of the view that the parents have a lot to answer for.
“It’s all very well directing relentless criticism at Gen Z but who brought them up?” she says. “Perhaps a bit of self-examination by older generations would not go amiss if the younger ones are so incompetent.”
And Jan Leach has first-hand experience of this incompetence (although, admittedly, among Millennials rather than Gen Z). “[A] couple in their 30s moved in next door six years ago. They owned no tools, let alone power tools,” she says.
“Any DIY was carried out by one of their fathers with the ‘man of the house’ looking on. The usual parent was away when something went wrong – daughter broke a cupboard door. They asked me – a 67-year-old woman at the time – if I could help. As the cupboard came from a well-known supplier of flat-packed furniture, I took him to get a new door, after examining it and deciding it was beyond repair.
“I put the new door on and suggested he look for a DIY class. Next Christmas he asked for power tools, according to their erstwhile handyman!”
Another Telegraph reader Jo Harrison also recalls her Gen Z neighbour struggling to master the arts of DIY and home maintenance. “Having 15 years ago acquired a neighbour with – at that time – a nine-year-old daughter who is now 24, I have experienced many of these events myself.
“‘How do I open the bonnet on my car?’ ‘What does this light mean?’ (Low oil pressure.) ‘Mum’s out and how do I turn on the heating?’ ‘Can you come round and remove a spider from the lounge?’”
So, while it seems Gen Z may be slightly clueless when it comes to mastering an electric screwdriver, are young adults simply too self-serving, expecting others to do everything for them, or is there more at play?
Jonty Ashworth, managing director at Ash & Co, teaches adults of all ages and abilities at his DIY and woodworking classes. He says: “A lot of people come to our classes with little to no experience and are genuinely afraid of drilling into a wall because they’ve been told they could die.
“While it is very important to learn how to do these things safely, I think there’s this culture in the UK where we’ve created a lot of fear around DIY. We should be promoting a culture of learning, rather than just getting someone to do it for you.”
In Ashworth’s classes, students are given a comprehensive education on “demystifying the B&Q aisles” and are taught a range of skills including how to master power tools, woodworking, and essential safety practices.
“There are a lot of people now in their early 30s, buying their first homes and realising they don’t know how to do household tasks like drilling into a wall.
“My dad was a civil engineer and so I grew up on building sites. I learnt a lot from him over the years. Either you’ve got a parent who has the experience and can then teach you, or you don’t. And if you don’t, and you’re not taught DIY skills growing up, then it’s very difficult to learn and you just don’t have the confidence.”
As a “Gen-Zer” myself, I can speak for the benefits of growing up with a DIY dad. From a young age, my father – who fancies himself an electrician, plumber, and builder alongside his work as a double-glazing installer – taught my sister and I all sorts of tricks, including how to properly clean a car, plaster a wall, and use power tools.
When I left home for university, my parents sent me off with a shiny new screwdriver set and, over the years, my dad has always been “on call” for my various DIY woes.
Just a few months ago, I managed to fix my bathroom window thanks to a handy tutorial video he made for me.
As Ashworth suggests, learning from him over the years gave me the confidence to complete household tasks that I might have otherwise never attempted. But as well as a decline in parental teaching, Ashworth believes the issue stems from the cutting back of practical subjects in schools.
“Woodworking, for example, doesn’t get taught so widely in schools anymore because it is so hard for them to comply with health and safety rules,” he says. “I completely understand how difficult it is to make these lessons health and safety compliant, and I don’t know what the solution is, but it means children just aren’t learning these vital skills.”
This certainly rings true for one Gen Z-er who says she did not gain much practical experience at school.
“We did have DT lessons and I remember making some wooden bookends and a clock. That was about it,” she recalls. “I can just about change a light bulb myself, but anything more complicated than that and it’s straight to TaskRabbit [an app where you can hire competent DIY-ers] or putting it on a never-ending list for my fiancé or his dad to handle.”
Her list of self-confessed DIY deficiencies include avoiding bleeding radiators, paying someone to put a cupboard back on its hinges, and asking her brother to hang a lamp shade.
A few decades ago – how to hang a lampshade, check the car oil or change a fuse in a plug – would have been basic hand-me-down skills from family members who didn’t, or financially couldn’t, rely on garages or electricians. So apart from increasing spending power, what’s changed?
“Helicopter parenting” has gained traction in recent years, as an all-encompassing term for parents who are too attentive of their children and over-fearful of their experiences and problems.
“I think [helicopter parenting] stems from an increasingly competitive world,” says Emma Citron, a consultant clinical psychologist and chartered member of the British Psychological Society.
“Parents see the competitive job market, the fact that it’s now more difficult to get into university, and they become anxious of what it means for their child. They will try to cram in as much experience and extracurricular activity as they can afford to try to boost their child’s chances.
“However, this can lead to a situation where parents end up putting their own anxieties and fears onto their youngsters who, in turn, become more anxious and less independent.
“Or the parents take over and end up doing basic things for their children, spoon-feeding or mollycoddling them, which means they never learn and don’t have the opportunity to try things for themselves.”
This theory rings true for reader Jan Goff, who says: “We did not have lessons in these matters but were shown by our parents. It begs the question – do any parents try to make their children independent?
“I live next door to a fit and healthy young man whose mum comes to clean every week and whose father does all the DIY stuff. [The] boy is about 30. How will he manage without them, when they become too old to look after him?”
It is only natural for parents to worry about their children – so how can they strike a balance and ensure their babies are prepared for life’s challenges whilst also gaining independence?
“We need to take the lead from our young people,” Emma says. “If they want to give something a try, don’t take the wind out of their sails.
“Don’t book the Ikea DIY person to come and build something for you if your child wants to give it a go themselves. It’s about letting them have a try and just trusting them.”
