Are we handicapping our kids by doing to much for them?

Am I the only person who thinks the younger people who are growing up in this digital age are totally clueless when it comes to practical skills?   Remember in the past we talked book smart vs. street smart or plain old common sense. We, as the older generation learned how to use the web, blog, web design and scramble our brains to keep up.  My crystal ball tells me there will be more how-to searches on How to Use a Hammer, How to Change a Light Bulb, How to Change a Tire and "The Top 10 Things to Do During An Internet Outage.

A shelf fell in the kitchen and I watched one of these digital wizards struggle to figure out how to fix it and save the dishes that were falling.  After a couple clicks and no success  came a desperate shift alt delete and reset. Meaning, gave up and walked away leaving it for tech support to fix.  I love the "on your fingertips" instantaneous of information we have today, but I like the process of thinking and solving the problem and the hands-on process of fixing my cabinet or putting a table together. 

Have we as parents done so much for our kids that we have not let them grow and in all areas of life?  We need to do a better job of making sure our kids become more self reliant so they do not depend on wipe there noses at 25.

What is missing is the desire to see a problem and find a solution.   I never fault anyone for not knowing how or the answer but I do expect you to try before you ask me.  I laughed to myself when I had to explain how to use a cassette player. Not to record a tape but to play a cassette.   Not one student thought to try to figure it out before asking me how to play the cassette?  Come on people a 4 year-old would have tried to stick the cassette somewhere in the player. 

There are so many advantages to this digital coming of age but it is up to us a parents and adults to make sure we are teaching the practical things that will help them to use their greatest resource - their minds.