Have you ever thought to yourself, “I wonder what my kids learned in school today?” Depending on the quality of schooling your child gets, you might think that they’re not learning anything useful for life. That’s especially true if you personally didn’t learn much in school and had to learn how to take care of yourself. Then you might wonder how to offer your little one a more useful upbringing than you had. There are many practical life skills for children that a lot of schools still don’t teach, unfortunately. So, take the reigns to help develop independent, self-assured kids who have the skills to do well as adults. Teach your kids:
How to Wash Their Clothes
Not only will teaching your kids how to wash their clothes help you around the house, but it also instills responsibility in them. That’s why it’s the first of the practical life skills to tell you about today.
Kids will learn that their clothes don’t magically get clean and that they need to put in the effort to get them that way. Teaching your kids how to do laundry effectively is a valuable skill that will benefit them when they live on their own later in life.
But washing their clothes by themselves can be dangerous. So teach your kids how to:
- Use detergent
- Safely use the machine
- How to dry their clothes
Also, don’t show your kids how to use an iron until they’re older and more responsible. But getting them to help out with the laundry early on in their development will make them feel useful around the house.
They’ll feel good about being able to contribute at home. And this activity can also help them understand that they have responsibilities to take care of when they are older.
How to Drive
Next on the practical life skills for children list is learning how to drive. Online tests, such as americansafetycouncil.com/content/florida-learners-permit-test, will help your child get their learner’s permit early.
But, it’s still important to use your own experience to teach your child how to drive. You don’t need to overly complicate it or teach them every single intricate thing though as that can overwhelm them. As long as you give your teen some advice about vehicle handling, they’ll learn at a good pace.
Alternatively, some parents refuse to teach their kids how to drive or even give them advice. They opt to give them bicycles or encourage using public transport instead of driving vehicles to save the environment and cut costs. While it’s understandable, since the cost of owning a vehicle is higher than before, driving is still an incredibly useful skill.
And driving safely is easier with more experience. Lastly, having a learner’s permit gives a teenager a chance to learn how to use a vehicle early on and also to appreciate the use of a car.
Practical Life Skills: How to Cook
Cooking is still one of the most important practical life skills. Sure, fast food is cheap and you can get by without touching an oven or stove. But being able to cook is about much more than just sustaining yourself. Cooking is a family skill that brings people together.
Teaching your kids to cook is as much a bonding activity as it is one of the practical life skills to pass down to them. Perhaps you give them the secret family recipes they love or teach them how to entertain guests well.
Either way, they’re learning a good skill. This article at parents.com/recipes/tips/cookingwithkids/teach-your-kids-to-cook/ should be a good starting point on how you can get them involved in the kitchen at an early age.
Fast food is a cheap and fast choice but it’s also unhealthy. Therefore, encourage your kids to cook meals to promote a healthier lifestyle, in addition to showing them cooking is a great social skill too.
Final Words about Practical Life Skills for Children
There are many other skills to teach your kids, such as money management and DIY projects around the house. But the three skills above are perhaps the most practical and useful of them all.
These particular skills will help your kids when they move out into their dorms for college and beyond that. Help them gain independence and increase self-confidence by providing them with a great base skill set.
I really liked the article’s focus on practical life. Today’s traditional schooling is still too focused on virtual or abstract learning. A hands-on approach is far more rewarding for children and it equips them for life :)
I love this article. I have small child, and some times think haw to make him good person, so this article is very useful for me.
Like this. Cooking 100% agree. There are many shortcuts to avoid the stove but nothing compares to the soul love like a home cooked meal can. It also opens such creativity and healthy affordable options galore
Great point about cooking building creative skills!
These are really important skills to have Christy. I also made sure my kids understood how to balance a checkbook, at least in theory how to change a flat, and how to fill out paperwork like medical forms before they left home. So many young people seem to be lacking in these skills, but they are crucial to living an adult life.
Amazing advice, Christy! I enjoyed reading the post.
This is all so true! So lucky to have wonderful parents who cared to invest their time in me.
Love this post. The cooking one, in particular, is incredibly important. I know people who don’t cook and eat out all the time. WOWZA! When I eat out more than once a month, I can feel the ill effects of all the greasy non-healthy food. But schools don’t teach so many skills: how to start a business, how to balance a checkbook and be financially responsible, personal development, and more. Thank you for these great points you’ve included here. Here’s to safe driving, yummy food, and clean laundry. :)
I couldn’t agree more! Kids must have a sense of responsibility! And what better way than to teach them to do things at home! My boys help me do the laundry, vacuum, load and unload the dishwasher, etc. They are definitely learning that things don’t just get done magically.
Teaching them to drive is still a few years away for me! Oh my!!
Thanks for the fantastic post!
Interesting
we could all use
this skilled, caring
parenting :-)
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Three excellent things to teach your kids, Christy. Especially cooking and laundry. Driving is something they all want to learn how to do but so many young people can’t look after themselves with regards to cleanliness and cooking.
Wonderful
I totally support cooking with young kids, even if just partially. My son is too small to man a pot by himself, but he loves unpacking food, choosing ingredients, placing items in an oven dish, and , of course, tasting at all steps. Teaching kids how food gets on the table, from the raw ingredients to the process itself, is one of the most important things they need to learn. Food is not just filling up our stomachs, it is nourishment, it is interaction with the environment and with those around us, it is positive in every way. The junk we sometimes eat is not food at all, and they should learn that early on.
Great advice, Christy!
My youngest grandson, who is also autistic, is learning to drive… Oh, this is a scary place for a grandmother… hahaaaa
My daughter has taken him out a couple of times in her car to get him ready to go to a driving school soon.
They grow up way too quickly for my liking. I preferred it when the three grandsons were toddlers, or in early primary school; there seemed so little that could harm them there…
I’m just being a regular granny, I think – overly protective and wanting to put them all in chain mail… :)
Yes agree and it is good to start early so they appreciate how much parents do and also to be aware and feel confident!
Great advice:-)
I AGREE! And kids love getting into the cooking and laundry – managing a house is not simple and all children need to learn how or they are so lost when they leave home.. c
After years of being told to tidy his room, my ten year old said, but Mum, I don’t know how. That was him teaching me! I showed him.
Absolutely. Cooking together is something my son and I love.
Another great post. Thanks for sharing ladies.
Great advice; like you said there is also so much more like networking, understanding banking and investing or general financial literacy altogether. I truly believe parents should and can properly prepare their children for adulthood by not just loving them, feeding them and putting a roof over their heads but by also giving them the necessary skills to be functional adults like all the things you mentioned.
Yes… so important for parents to teach too… love to you Christie, barbara x