What mothers can’t do

London - Traditional household skills like baking, making pastry and sewing buttons are things that modern moms are too busy to learn them, it has emerged.

Researchers found mothers struggle with a string of skills their own mothers would have carried out with ease.

Knitting, baking cakes, making jam and altering clothes also made the list of tasks that many younger moms just don’t know how to do.

The study also found most modern mothers wished they had the skills their own mothers had but said they didn’t have the time or patience to learn them.

The research was commissioned by built-in oven firm Neff and carried out among 1,000 moms under 35 and 1,000 moms over 45 to launch their Bake It Yourself campaign.

Spokeswoman Sue Flowers said: 'We know that modern moms are under different pressures today compared with 40 years ago.

'As a result, many mothers find it difficult to do some of the daily tasks their own mothers may have done.

'However, our research has shown that many do want to learn how to do these things and feel as passionate as we do about ensuring skills such as baking and sewing don’t die out.

'Moms from previous generations learnt how to do these everyday tasks from their moms and their moms before them.

'Despite not necessarily having the know-how, many mothers today are taking a real interest in learning traditional skills to help with their daily life or to enjoy as a hobby.'

The survey also found nine out of ten younger mothers don’t know how to starch a shirt, while more than half struggle to sew name tags in their children’s clothes.

Three quarters couldn’t make gravy from scratch, while nearly half couldn’t rustle up a Victoria sponge.

Nearly half of young moms said they made more of an effort to learn traditional ‘mom’ skills after their children were born.

But despite this less than one third could make pastry from scratch, less than half could sew, and less than one quarter could knit.

Eighty percent of younger mothers said they wanted to know how to keep their shirts white and eighty two percent wanted to be able to alter clothes.

Only 16 percent of young mothers felt confident that they could make a fancy dress costume for their child and only 18 percent could make jam.

By comparison more than a third of mothers over 45 could make a costume while 43 percent could make jam.

Four out of ten young mothers still rely on their own mother to help them do things like cook a casserole and bake bread because they have never learnt how to do them.

While it emerged more than a third were embarrassed at not being able to do typical ‘mom’ tasks, one fifth said they couldn’t be bothered to sit down and learn a new skill while 21 percent said they just didn’t have the patience.

Young mothers were also more likely to try and pass off shop bought products like cakes and sauces as their own with 34 percent admitting to taking credit for something they bought.

More than two thirds said that they intended to pass the skills they did have on to their own children while more than one fifth said they considered most of the skills unnecessary in the modern age.

The research also showed that mothers who live in the south of the country were more likely to be reliant on their own mother than those who lived in the north.

Sue Flowers from Neff added: 'We all like to rely on our oum for help and advice, which is why it’s such a shame that younger moms today find themselves too busy to enjoy time spent baking with their children and other traditional tasks.' - Daily Mail

WHAT MOTHERS CAN NO LONGER DO:

UNDER 35s OVER 45s

Bake a Victoria sponge 43 percent 17 percent

Make pastry from scratch 66 percent 26 percent

Knit 77 percent 33 percent

Sew 51 percent 25 percent

Make jam 81 percent 57 percent

Arrange flowers 68 percent 49 percent

Starch a shirt 88 percent 62 percent

Sew name tags in to clothes 52 percent 16 percent

Darn socks 85 percent 59 percent

Make a fancy dress costume 83 percent 66 percent