My mum was a welder in the millwall docks and was bi-polar mainly manic - I can't remember her ever trying to teach me anything she was 45 y.o. when she had me - I can only remember her saying one nce thing about me ever and that was 'Youll do! You'll be all right"! Not a lot to cling onto. I left home at fifteen and have a brother somewhere that I havent seen for 50 years .

The thing I remember most is being taught proper posture, with the whole balancing a book on my head thing. However, it has helped me avoid a lot of the back and lung problems the slouchers around me seem to have, so I guess it isn't completely useless.

The only thing my parents taught me was how to sit in front of a television and play video games.

How to do neat, hospital corners when making beds. I still do that. My mother was a registered nurse. "Do you want me to show you how to make hospital corners?" I asked my daughter. "No," Claire replied and walked away. Smart girl.

Looking nice is not obsolete. I still iron cotton and linen shirts and pants, and polish leather shoes and boots.

Sometimes I think I'm the only person in Wenatchee- apart from old men- who polishes shoes and boots. Also, I spray them with waterproofing spray. This makes shoes last longer.

Yeah, all that and more. You need these skills when youare born in a country that has been bombed into piles of rubble. # 4 did not come up much. # 7 & 8 fueled the rebellion. We became really good at organizing, but I can still do a French seam.

Both of my parents taught me how to survive a walk-on role in their life-long drama.

As a kid, how to by her tampons and cigarettes...now it's just cigarettes.
But more importantly, how to do something right the first time (once I bought the wrong tampons)

I was going to say how to write a check but I did write one a year ago and I guess it will come up again one day. So, I got nothing. Pretty much use every skill I was taught.

Ok, I'm pretty sure your mother didn't proactively teach you to "act" helpless. Most of the things you mentioned are in no way obsolete. I say Sir or Mam to anyone I speak with. Of course I'm a southerner. Seems to me your mother taught you to think for yourself, be self sufficient, and have manners. You invented a seam! I'll say it again. You INVENTED a seam! I'll thank your Mama for us. Lol.

My father taught me how to glaze a window and open the sash and fix the counter weight.
He also created his own remote control which was a long pole to turn it on and off, change the channels and turn the volume.
Mom taught me to ironing handkercheifs.

As I think back, most of the little things are still very useful.

How to dial on a rotary telephone

I remember my dad teaching me two things one cold frosty Saturday evening. He was listening to the wireless for the football results and checking his football pools coupon. This was a popular form of gambling where you tried to predict which football teams would end as a draw and the correct prediction could win a fortune.

He told me to go out in the garden with him. It was cold but with a very clear sky. He said look up at the stars, I looked up, He said now look away and then look back again. You can see more of them. Then he looked at me and there as a sort of catch in his voice and I could see he was upset. "I want you to promise me something now as you go through life." I promised and he looked at me again and said "Promise me you will never put Manchester United down for a draw.".
I never have.

My mom still teaches me things. The only difference is that I teach her things, too. My mom is a treasure and I cherish every day she is still around to bring me joy.

Nothing. My Mother ran a business with my Dad and never had time for me. Raised by a babysitter after school till 12 then I was a mother's helper myself for another family.

I guess my mother was a failure? We were an extreme free-range family and what we learned was what not to do. My parents argued over money so we learned how to handle money. The house was a disaster so we learned to keep our homes neat and clean. My mom broke her arm once and couldn't do dishes (we went to the circus and watched some 'dancing bears'. When we came home she jumped on a basketball and said "look, I'm a dancing bear" and then fell off and broke her arm - we did learn about humor from her). She came up with the bright idea of having us do dishes so we did. She was also a good cook so we learned if we want to eat right we have to make it ourselves and I did learn how. I learned how to store things so they won't spoil, do laundry and on and on. All indirectly.

My mom didn't teach me much of anything, she was a narcissist and only thought about herself. We had to clean the entire house before she got home but I was never taught to cook. I've cut off contact with her and it's peaceful now but I've also had to cut contact with the entire family because they don't see what I see.

Number 8 is touchy depending on where you live. It's just as dangerous not to do so in some places, more maybe.

As for what I was taught... it seems more like culture shock by comparison. The women of my line seem to be very independant and that seems to be an issue even today. kind of a reverse of what you are asking. I moved to the deep south when I married this current man (23 years as of Feb) and found if I seemed to have a brain in my head or showed even a little about being able to handle things, I got got problems from the men who do the same. Where I grew up back west I don't recall it being an issue.

The Sir and Ma'am thing came up only after I moved too. My grandparents tried to teach it to my son but I honestly didn't see the significance. I was taught respect was by action, how you treat people, not by words or titles.

Actually raising meat in your home is an up and coming trend. I learned because I didn't want to eat factory farmed meat.

I was going to say the one thing she taught me is number 8 in your list and agree with you, cannot find those things around anymore...... And number seven, don't even going there. Its ridiculous. When or how did we take the wrong turn towards making a big deal of small stuff? Can we have it fix?

Women should never smoke or chew chewing gum in public. (I don't smoke)

That was about the only obsolete thing, but she never got over the fact that I became a Veggie & stopped eating all the "Great British food" she took that as an personal insult on her traditional cooking not the fact that I had just graduated with an agricultural degree and decided farming was far from "the little house on the prairie!" I suffered PTSD for at least 10 years after visiting the slaughterhouse. But alas I could never get that across and she always used to comment on how good my sisters cooking was ??

My Mum and Grandma taught me and my sister all our supergirl powers (now not exclusively for girls). We both sew, knit, crochet, bake, cook. I tat too but my cousin's gran taught me that. I learned them all with pride but they will die with me.

How to use a top sheet lmao

Learn your Trigonometry it will help you in your working life
Bless her