According to the study, the average young adult struggles with a string of basic chores such as making a pot of tea, putting on a white wash and buying a train ticket.
One-fifth can barely make themselves toast for breakfast, while 23 per cent don't know how to make their bed in the morning, the 'Daily Mail' reported.
As many as 35 per cent of 18-year-olds don't feel competent in folding and storing their laundry, and 42 per cent wouldn't know where to begin in ironing a shirt.
By contrast, the report also found cash-strapped students are more than capable at balancing the books with well over half of mothers and fathers having every confidence their children will cope well with budgeting.
They are also adept at keeping ahead of the digital age with over half of students able to set up a laptop with broadband and upload photographs.
"Teenagers are more than capable of looking after themselves but the vast majority don't even own a saucepan," a spokesperson for Sainsbury's, which conducted the poll of 934 parents of children aged 18 to 25, said.
"With the right leaving home equipment and some pointers from mum and dad, life in student digs will be much more comfortable," she said.
The study shows many students will go hungry during their first term, as 48 per cent were unable to make a simple dish, while a third are bemused by baking a potato.
When it comes to the cleaning, 35 per cent of 18-year-olds have never touched a vacuum cleaner, 50 per cent can't use the tumble dryer and 31 per cent are more than happy to bypass learning how to dust.
The study found that even tasks such as setting up a direct debit (44 per cent) and paying a bill (35 per cent) confuse some students.
