The best thing you can do for your child is to let them do different things for themselves. This won’t only let them learn essential life skills. In fact, this practice will also let them be strong and experience their lives on their own terms.
It doesn’t take much time for kids to grow into teens and become adults. However, they need to go out for a better career and spend life on their own.
A quick guide on how to teach life skills to your teens
The responsible teens of the present can grow into tomorrow’s successful citizens.
Although your kids always are your babies. However, you won’t fulfill your job as a mom if you aren’t making them learn life skills.
So, here are basic life skills that you should teach your teens:
Money budgeting
Money isn’t the most important but a vital thing to live a comfortable life. Therefore, it’s imperative to teach your kid financial discipline. Budgeting skills are important for teens to learn about conscious spending, the value of money, and financial planning for the future.
Here are some vital financial concepts to teach your teens:
- How to make a budget and ways to stick to it?
- Teach your teens when it’s important to spend and when they should save.
- Your teen must know how to open a bank account, make online transfers, use an ATM, etc.
- How to apply for a credit card and use that appropriately to avoid getting into debt?
- Save money for emergencies.
- How to make a fruitful investment?
- How to maintain your financial records?
Paying bills
When a teen moves out of their parent’s house, he must be capable of managing his living expenses solely. It is important to teach them how to track their bills. The bills usually include insurance, electricity, water, gas, phone, home rent, etc.
Teach them how to organize and pay their bills on time. Not doing so can affect their credit score.
Food safety and cooking skills
Keeping some foods in your fridge for days is fine, while others can get bad within 2 to 3 days. Passing some pointers about food safety to your teen will help them:
- Avoid eating unhealthy food
- Not to have a stinky refrigerator.
- Preventing from getting sick due to eating unhealthy food
- Avoid food wasting.
On the other hand, teaching your teens how to follow a recipe is vital to develop cooking skills. For this, you should round up a few recipes for breakfast, dinner, and lunch. Keep their interests in mind while choosing recipes, and teach them how to follow these recipes step-by-step.
They will certainly thank you later for this.
Personal grooming skills
Your kids must learn personal grooming skills early on. Personal grooming is vital for a good social and healthy life. Teach your kids some healthy habits. For example, daily bathing and brushing twice a day. Explain to them the benefits of staying clean. Teach them how to take care of their hair and skin.
Make your boys learn how to maintain and shave their facial hair hygienically. Similarly, teach girls to keep themselves clean during periods and dispose of their pads appropriately.
Laundry basics
Teaching basic laundry skills to your teens is also vital. So they can do the laundry when clean clothes run out. Your teens must know the following:
- How to load, run, and unload a washing machine and dryer?
- The best ways to pre-treat stains, bleach whites, and sort clothing items of different colors.
- They should also know how to organize clean clothes and iron shirts.
Travel basics
Soon your teen has to hop on the plane alone. Therefore, they must know how to book their flights online. How to pack for travel? Things they should consider while packing for a trip.
They must know how to check their baggage, understand and follow airport restrictions, and more.
Knowing the ins and outs of traveling help them to have stress-free experiences.
Soft skills
Besides the life skills mentioned above, you should also teach your teens some soft skills. These usually include:
- Clipping and cleaning their nails regularly over a trash can.
- Cleaning their hair and mess out of the sink
- Not leaving dirty clothes and wet towels in the bathroom
- Pushing the chair after getting up
- Disposing of empty cans and wrappers properly.
- How to perform online research?
- The importance of being punctual and how to be on time always.
- Standing up for themselves and how to say no politely.
- Tipping manners and how they should calculate a tip?
- Behavioural and communication skills
- How to organize their space?
- How to stay safe? And more.
Although it sometimes becomes difficult to prepare your kid for everything. However, teaching them as many life skills as possible is always necessary. This is vital to help them grow as successful and independent adults.
Basic manners
I remember when Bless You was an instant response to a sneeze. Also, when doors were kept open even for strangers. Basic etiquette and manners have become a lost life skill at present. So, you must reclaim these for your teens.
Make them learn some basic manners, for example:
- “Excuse me” when they need to pass someone
- Say “Thank You” when someone does good for you.
- Show gratitude when a waiter refills your glass
- Say “Please” whenever it’s necessary.
- Say “Sorry” if you have made a mistake.
- Show kindness to old-aged kids and even strangers.
- Disengage from mobile or other electronic devices while having a meal or around the company.
- Always keep your promises.
It is equally important to teach these life skills to all your teens without any gender biasedness.
Final Thoughts
Sometimes, tossing your kids out is necessary to figure out some things on their own. When they ask for help, ask them to try themselves and be there when they stumble.
Teaching your teens life skills can sometimes get harder. However, staying consistent and the patient is important throughout the process.
Give your child an advantage and enroll them in a tutoring program in Markham. Call Top Class Edge Learning today at 647-795-0406.