Death of the Domestic Goddess! Baking and sewing skills dying out as modern mothers claim they are too busy to learn



Traditional household skills like baking, making pastry and sewing buttons are dying out - because modern mums are too busy to learn them, it emerged today.

Researchers found millions of 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 mums just don’t know how to do.

Lost skill set: Today's busy mothers are not learning the homemaking skills the older generations took for granted

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 mums under 35 and 1,000 mums over 45 to launch their Bake It Yourself campaign.

Spokeswoman Sue Flowers said: 'We know that modern mums 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.

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

Moving backwards: Modern mothers struggle to find the time to bake with their children, meaning that such sklls will not be passed on to the next generation either

'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 mums said they made more of an effort to learn traditional ‘mum’ 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 per cent of younger mothers said they wanted to know how to keep their shirts white and eighty two per cent wanted to be able to alter clothes.

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

By comparison more than a third of mothers over 45 could make a costume while 43 per cent 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 ‘mum’ tasks, one fifth said they couldn’t be bothered to sit down and learn a new skill while 21 per cent 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 per cent 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 mum for help and advice, which is why it’s such a shame that younger mums today find themselves too busy to enjoy time spent baking with their children and other traditional tasks.'

WHAT MOTHERS CAN NO LONGER DO

UNDER 35s OVER 45s

Bake a Victoria sponge 43 per cent 17 per cent

Make pastry from scratch 66 per cent 26 per cent

Knit 77 per cent 33 per cent

Sew 51 per cent 25 per cent

Make jam 81 per cent 57 per cent

Arrange flowers 68 per cent 49 per cent

Starch a shirt 88 per cent 62 per cent

Sew name tags in to clothes 52 per cent 16 per cent

Darn socks 85 per cent 59 per cent

Make a fancy dress costume 83 per cent 66 per cent

Bake bread 76 per cent 54 per cent

Sew on a button 48 per cent 12 per cent

Make curtains 90 per cent 60 per cent

Make gravy from scratch 75 per cent 38 per cent

Bake a pie 62 per cent 25 per cent







