What tips would you give a young person

Sometimes it’s hard to get the ‘young fellas’ to listen to the guys of the Men’s Shed, but it’s not without trying. “My grandson always has his eye buds. I’m starting to think that he believes my name is ‘Huh?’” Mike says.

It’s not an uncommon problem; you probably didn’t always listen to your parents or grandparents. Though you probably did more than the young ones of today. If you could have more than five seconds of their undivided attention what tips or advice would you give them about life?

David thought that it’s a “loaded question” as his grandkids believe that they know everything already.

“If I could tell them something that would sink in it would learn to cook. It makes the world of difference. Especially if you cook like my mum did or my wife does. Nothing is wasted, everything is delicious, and she buys everything on a limited budget. We eat like royalty” he beams.

“My wife has even been teaching me to bake because I find it so fascinating. She also loves that I make dinner most nights after I retired.”

Isaac says  he didn’t have to share any tips with his grandchildren as they can lead by example.

“My grandkids love to read and watch the classics with me. My grandson can name every John Wayne picture there is. He loves it. We have a lot of old books around our house and the grandkids now they are older are digging into them and loving them. The kids today are so fixated on the ‘latest’ that they can forget about the ‘greatest’. So If I had to share a tip it would be to check out old movies and books,” he says.

While Robert’s grandson likes to paint with him.

“At the moment everything looks like a Jackson Pollack, but he’s only four, ” Robert says.

Robert’s grandson likes to grab the different colour tubes from Robert’s workshop and mix them together, and he concludes, “most things come out brown but he loves it, and that’s the real point of art.”

No matter what you want to pass on to the young people, it’s good to realise that while you might not be able to affect the entire generation if you can make an impact in the life of at least one child, then it’s worth it.

What are some tips that you would like to give a young person? What would you like them to teach you?