It’s hard to believe, but apparently some college kids need a university course to learn how to change a tire or not turn their whites pink in the laundry. The University of Waterloo in Canada has launched “Adulting 101,” an online program to teach students the kind of basic life skills your grandma probably mastered by age 10.

The idea that a top-tier school has to hold Gen Z’s hand through grocery shopping and budgeting is, frankly, kind of embarrassing—and the researchers behind it are trying to dress it up as some noble mission.

Honestly, it’s enough to make you wonder what’s gone wrong with this generation.

Here’s the deal: Adulting 101, rolled out in 2023 at Waterloo, a big-name Ontario university known for churning out tech and engineering whizzes, is a free online course covering stuff like cooking a basic meal, managing money, doing chores, and—yes—changing a tire.

It’s aimed at students who apparently can’t handle these tasks without a syllabus. “At the University of Waterloo, Charbonneau says Adulting 101’s objective is to help students develop as young people, not just as learners,” CBC Radio reported, quoting Christine Charbonneau, who’s spearheading this thing.

Sounds nice, but come on—a whole course to teach what most people figure out by trial and error?

Charbonneau’s trying to spin it as a mental health win. “Many students report feeling anxious or stressed as they figure out their life post-secondary school, and that access to resources like ‘Adulting 101’ helps normalize their experiences,” she told the Daily Mail.

Normalize what, exactly? Not knowing how to shop for groceries? The course’s website doesn’t pull punches, telling students:

“You’ve probably already started to notice that things won’t get done unless you do them.”

It’s like they’re talking to toddlers, not college students who should be ready to take on the world, not panic over a flat tire.

The experts have some theories about why this is even necessary. A 2023 Journal of Pediatrics commentary, which Charbonneau cited, argued that “the rise in mental health issues among young people is linked to fewer opportunities for children and teens to socialize away from adults.”

Translation: kids aren’t learning to fend for themselves because they’re coddled.

Psychologist Lisa Damour put it bluntly:

“Some post-secondary institutions are offering ‘adulting’ resources to help students gain the skills and confidence to navigate the world more independently.”

But let’s be real—having to teach college kids how to cook pasta or pay a bill feels like a step too far. Shouldn’t they have picked this up somewhere between high school and their first dorm?

Waterloo’s not the only school doing this—other campuses in Canada and the U.S. have their own “how to adult” programs—but the fact that a place known for brainiacs needs to spoon-feed life skills is pretty cringe-worthy.

Charbonneau’s all in, saying, “It’s not just about teaching them to do laundry. It’s about helping them feel like they can handle whatever comes next.” Nice try, but when did “handling whatever comes next” mean needing a professor to show you how to scrub a pan?

If this is what higher education’s come to, maybe it’s time to rethink what we’re teaching kids before they get to college.

Look, nobody’s saying life’s easy, but a university course to teach you how to buy groceries? That’s the kind of thing that makes you shake your head and wonder how we got here. Waterloo’s trying to help, but Adulting 101 feels more like a sad commentary on a generation than a solution.

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