The lack of arithmetic is wreaking havoc in our society! Seeing young people unable to perform simple addition or multiplication in everyday life is so disturbing and disconcerting that one wonders what the future holds for our children and their children after them. Now it’s gone beyond the joke and is a problem that needs to be addressed before it all falls apart.

Picture this: You were in a designer shopping center and lounging in one of those comfy diapers they offer in the middle of the playroom. Right in front of me were two girls about 15 years old. They looked at the window and commented on the outfits on display.

At some point they decided to buy and started adding up the total cost of the set that was in two separate pieces. I couldn’t believe they couldn’t add $17.95 and $31.95. It was a while before they finally gave up and went in to ask. I was stupefied! Aren’t they taught to round up in school?

I knew it was bad out there, but not THAT bad! I told the story to a friend of mine and he laughed telling me of a similar incident at a grocery store where the cashier, due to a power outage, was unable to figure out the correct change to give him and had to use a calculator for two items. simple.

It’s okay to use a calculator because, as Einstein once remarked, “Why use our brains to do all the hard work when you could use a calculator instead?” This is true. However, it shouldn’t be an excuse for not knowing basic concepts like simple addition and subtraction.

Is it your fault? I don’t think I know families with children who have no idea about money and change. The corner store that I used to go to as a child when we ran out of bread or milk doesn’t exist. They have all been closed (or forced, by competition, but that’s another story) due to the centralization of shopping centers.

When I was sent out on an errand, I would calculate in my head how much bread and milk would cost and how much change I would have left over to buy my favorite collectibles or treats, down to the penny.

Everything has changed now. All the family’s groceries are bought in a single trip, as a family outing, to the mall on a Saturday or Sunday. Parents take care of everything; the shopping cart, the checkout (with debit or credit card) and the occasional ATM for cash to spend on the kids on whatever they want for the day.

The opportunity for children to handle cash has become non-existent. Can we blame them for being slow to understand money and change?