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AIBU

Simple things that men are unable to do!

(191 Posts)
Quizzer Fri 29-Sept-23 12:47:00

My DH is fit and active but there are some things he cannot do.

Start a toilet roll without shredding the first ten sheets.
Put any kitchen tool back into the drawer where he found it.
Answer my mobile - he can’t work the buttons which are different to his.

Do other gransnetters’ partners have similar inadequacies??

lixy Sun 01-Oct-23 20:55:53

Not OH but..
My Christmas present to myself is to spend an hour or so teaching both my DS and my DiL how to sew on buttons.
If we have time I'll add in sewing the swimming badges their daughter wins on to her towel!

Yes, should have done it when he was living at home but didn't get around to it somehow.

Annsan Mon 02-Oct-23 11:40:29

Totally agree!

Twig14 Mon 02-Oct-23 11:46:19

I have been extremely fortunate as my husband helped me with so many things and we worked together as a team. Sadly he isn’t well and his condition prevents him doing things he normally would have which frustrates him. I’ve been very fortunate

Twig14 Mon 02-Oct-23 11:47:37

Well said Rafichagran

Kartush Mon 02-Oct-23 11:53:42

There is literally nothing my husband cannot do. He cooks, does his own laundry, at 72 still works 5 full days as a handyman. He cleans, shops, takes me to all my appointments, helps babysit, does breakfast every morning, oh and makes the best cup of tea ever.

Cossy Mon 02-Oct-23 11:58:57

Honestly ladies on here, I suggest this is just banter not intended to be take too seriously and not sexist ! I concur that my own DH does exhibit some of these traits, I put them down to his annoying personal habits ! Chill out folks and have a great week grin

orly Mon 02-Oct-23 12:05:56

Foxygloves

With all due respect, this makes me so cross.
My DH absolutely did not have the sort of shortcomings OP itemises, but to extrapolate from her personal experience that men are unable to do these is not light hearted banter but every bit as sexist as those dinosaurs who tell us not to “worry our pretty little heads” or claim women can’t parallel park or insist that only they can put up a shelf straight.
What century are we in for heavens sake?

Hear, hear Foxygloves.

As for answering your mobile phone my husband would say you don't understand the concept of "mobile"

Quizzer Mon 02-Oct-23 12:15:53

For heaven’s sake has everyone lost their sense of humour? There are many simple things I can’t do. It is not sexist or misogynistic to share a few funny failures.

MrsThatcher Mon 02-Oct-23 12:25:43

My husband can’t shut doors or drawers. Makes no difference if I tell him! 😅

ginny Mon 02-Oct-23 12:26:50

Quizzer

For heaven’s sake has everyone lost their sense of humour? There are many simple things I can’t do. It is not sexist or misogynistic to share a few funny failures.

Exactly. My DH know some of the things he does or doesn’t do drive me mad and visa Versa. Surely we can have have a little giggle about them without someone get upset and labelling us misogynistic .

Grandma2002 Mon 02-Oct-23 12:28:20

For some reason my husband cannot make a bed, even when he is sharing the task with me, as for putting on a duvet cover, definitely no. He also never prepares a space or clears room for doing complicated operations. Consequently he knocks things over. For all that he is wonderful for finding things I have lost, picking up heavy things I have dropped, lifting down items from high shelves, occasionally cleaning my car taking the laundry upstairs for me to iron. I think we are evenly matched, I couldn't manage without him.

Foxygloves Mon 02-Oct-23 12:51:04

Before I disappear on an overdue) digital detox I would like to apologise sincerely to Lemsip for picking her up on tongue and cheek (although I still think it sounds like something off the butchery counter -“ox tongue, ox cheek Madam?” Or the ingredients of a raised pie grin )
What is innocent bantz to some however can trigger am emotional response in others and I wonder if anybody who moaned about their DH, will think back to how they dissed them if the day ever comes when they have to care for them in mental decline or sit by their side as they slip quietly away for ever.
If a light hearted thread on DHs is needed - how about one on sharing their strengths and qualities? Spider or dead mouse removal, for instance or even if like mine in his latter months, if they cannot do much that is physical , how they can provide a reassuring presence while WE deal with a crisis.

PamQS Mon 02-Oct-23 12:55:39

The fact that fathers don’t hear babies crying in the night as quickly as mothers do has been investigated and found to be a genuine difference between the sexes, I believe.

I found quite early on in marriage that telling my DH what I wanted him to do was effective in getting him to do things. Of course, there are things he’d rather not do, as there are for me. But since lockdown he’s been doing all the daily shopping we need, because he didn’t want me to catch Covid. He started buying very fancy ready meals, most of which I didn’t like, so it had to come to the point of me asking him to stop. Covid seems to have drastically affected my senses of smell and taste, there’s nothing I can do about that. Eg, I used to love a pizza, now I can hardly take a bite of it because it doesn’t smell appetising.

Grandma29 Mon 02-Oct-23 12:58:19

Men are able to do any household tasks.
To state that they cannot iron, switch the washer on etc is absolute rubbish. They can they just want someone else to it!
I got married very young and yes there were some things I couldn’t do but you know what I had to learn quickly. Many years later there’s nothing I can’t do. Cooking isn’t my strong point but I get by.😊

icanhandthemback Mon 02-Oct-23 12:59:00

There is nothing my husband can't do...lots he chooses not to do well because he doesn't want to be asked again. However, he is absolutely brilliant at moving the washing over because I forget. We do our own washing because he didn't sort it well enough for me. 🤣
We are able to lightheartedly tease each other with the battle of the sexes banter but it should be recognised that not everybody has the same ideas of what it humour.
As to Foxygloves, the one area my husband excels is the removal of spiders despite the fact he doesn't like them himself! He's a keeper!

Shantygirly Mon 02-Oct-23 13:00:48

I don't understand why my DH can't load a dishwasher! He empties it sometimes, so surely he can see that we don't put plastic on the bottom or saucepans stacked together, we don't put spoons in there stuck together with porridge either! ...

that's the royal 'we' of course grin

lizzypopbottle Mon 02-Oct-23 13:03:24

Maybe the wording is at fault here. I don't see why we can't have a grumble about things our partners or other family members simply choose not to do without others getting on their high horse about it. We needn't label all men, or women, with the inability to carry out simple tasks around the house. So perhaps the thread title should be:

Simple things that family members choose not to do!

My son, who lives at home, does almost all of the cooking. He has the ability to put empty packets and vegetable peelings etc. in the bin but he doesn't think i.e. chooses not to do it. I'm very grateful for his cooking though...

Rachel75 Mon 02-Oct-23 13:05:46

Many GNers (myself included) will have been bereaved recently or in the past. But surely this cannot mean that this restricts others in what they say about their loved ones. Whilst, hopefully, being fully sympathetic to others situations, it has to be acknowledged that we all have our own lives to lead, and to deal with as we see fit.

Caravansera Mon 02-Oct-23 13:24:42

No. That’s illogical. If someone doesn’t think then they aren’t making a choice. You have to think in order to make a choice.

I suspect the issue is that men don’t sweat the small stuff, they don’t fret about a bit of untidyness but that does not mean they are inadequate. Keep niggling at men and you start to chip away at their mental well-being.

I make no apologies for repeating myself. This is posted in AIBU Am I being Unreasonable? Some people think that OP is and said so. That is not getting on a high horse. It is expressing an opinion that was invited. They should not have been flamed for answering a question and deserve an apology.

Gundy Mon 02-Oct-23 13:33:36

A lot of things they can’t do. They’re such babies. So helpless.

(And then there are the wives that truly enable their behavior… and say to you that they’re unhappy in the marriage. Really.)

That said - there are accomplished men out there who give a supporting hand in the household and child rearing duties. Their mothers raised them right‼️

Love a man that cooks! Laundry too😁
USA Gundy

JayDee60 Mon 02-Oct-23 13:36:20

😀most of the same as yours, leaves an empty toilet roll, leaves things on the side when finished, leaves dirt clothes on the floor outside the laundry basket. However, if I leave a drawer slightly open in his study he tells me about it. Funny little habits that we get used to.

Marg75 Mon 02-Oct-23 13:36:56

It's outrageous how some people have answered quizzer, for goodness sake it's s jokey question, it's age old, a bit of fun!!!

merlotgran Mon 02-Oct-23 13:48:12

I never had any trouble getting DH to put the bins out. 🤣

Irismarle Mon 02-Oct-23 13:54:14

My husband is brilliant academically, with a PhD in Physics and other qualifications. However, if he is looking for something in a drawer or on the shelf of a cupboard he will be totally unable to find it if he has to move something else or something is on top of what he is looking for. His inability to ever find anything even when I assure him where it is hasn’t changed over 56 years of marriage! I hope this doesn’t annoy the feminists but it just happens to be true. He is ok in most other ways!

GreenGinger Mon 02-Oct-23 13:59:15

My DH does the washing up, ironing, vacuums, bakes etc. All of which I also do. I do not however put up shelves, change tires or fix a leaking tap.