At the age of 14 I bought a 1971 Honda 100cc motorcycle and promptly trashed the engine.
My father's response was to help me pull the head, take it down to get bored out and buy a piston and some parts. He handed me a Haynes manual and came back periodically to check my work. I got it running again and rode it for many years.
I learned more from that experience than 75% of my high school classes. I also rebuilt the engine on a Subaru and rehabbed a Mustang, all before graduation. Went straight to engineering school after that.
I hate to sound like the old fecker that I closely resemble, but kids today know plenty about electronics. Good for them. But the manly arts have fallen by the wayside. "Shade-tree mechanics" can be found in our minority neighborhoods, but most little white kids in the US would hurt themselves with a pair of vice-grips.....