Life 101: 6 Skills every Teen Needs

When kids enter high school, it is good to decide what skills and responsibilities parents want them to handle by graduation. Give your child the opportunity to practice to ensure they will be self sufficient and ready to transition out of the house when they go to college. If you do not know what to start teaching your child, try these six basic, yet essential skills.

1. Car Maintenance: Knowing how to check the oil and tire pressure, follow a basic maintenance schedule and change a tire are useful items. If you have to bring your car to the shop, have your teen tag along and let them take the lead while you are there to help out.
2. Cleaning: The kitchen and bathroom do not magically clean themselves. Introduce your teens to a broom, dustpan, mop and toilet brush. You could also introduce your teen to the responsibility of remembering weekly trash pick up to prepare them for managing their own place in the future.
3. Cooking: From shopping to prepping to eating and safe storage of leftovers, cooking can be quite involved. To ensure that your child’s diet is more diverse than ramen, let your teen take the lead in the grocery store to learn how to purchase all ingredients necessary for the dinner dish. Then let them learn how to cook a few basics, like eggs, pasta, roasted chicken, or preparing a salad.
4. Making Appointments: Making appointments involved more than just picking up the phone and dialing. It involves skills like managing a schedule so that you can pick an appointment that you can actually go to, keeping a record of the names and numbers of hairdressers and doctors, and understanding cancellation policies.
5. Laundry: It is important for teens to learn how to sort clothes by color and temperature; which detergent to use and how much; how to make sense of washer and dryer settings; and how to read clothing labels to identify washing and drying specifications. This will help their clothes last longer.
6. Managing Money: If your teen does not have a bank account, make sure they open one. Help your child learn how to budget their expenses, save money, balance their account. This will help them stretch a buck when you are no longer largely supporting them financially.