Our oldest will be 16 this year and twins will be 13. We make it a goal to make sure they are self sufficient and know life skills that will carry them through their adult lives. So we sat and came up with a list of things we wanted to make sure they competant in. Here are 10 of them! Tried to keep it short. Hope this inspires you to create a life skills goal list for yours.
1. Basic Domestic Skills. Know how to cook a few good meals from whole food ingredients, do your own laundry, iron, when to use a plunger etc.
2. Learn to Admit Fault and Take Responsibility for your Mistakes. We all make mistakes and its okay to be wrong. If they can learn now the value of taking responsibility for their faults, it will help them be more at peace as adults. There are just too many adults, young and old, out here who are a wreck because they lack this skill.
3. Value of Social Media Privacy- Be sure of privacy settings on all devices. Don’t share private info with anyone online- email, gamechats, social media. Examples of private info could be full names, address, name of school, photos, travel plans etc. I would also add being careful that the photos being shared don’t include too much background details that would tell someone else where you are, the layout of your home or what valuables you have in your home.
4. Technology Discipline. Unplugging is necessary. It helps us to remember priorities. Put yourself on a schedule and adapt self-discipline. Start with no phones at dinner, no games til chores are done etc.
5. Be Thankful and Laugh Loudly Daily~ Take time to be grateful. Things may not be ideal all the time but they could be a whole lot worse. Get up and find something that will make you laugh. Laughter and Gratitude is good for the soul. Look it up.
6. Money management. Pay yourself first. You don’t have to spend every dime you get. Put 10% (or more) of what you get away in savings.
7. Personal Hygiene and Healthcare Know-How. Make washing your hands a thing. Bathe and brush your teeth. Keep your skin moisturized. Wear clean clothes. Know what to do or take for a headache, a cough or for heartburn.
8. Some friendships are short term and that is ok. Remember your best friend Freshman year who sat next to you in Biology? You may not be best friends Senior year and that’s ok. People grow, people move away, friends schedules change, friends get new friends, relationships change…We all change.
9. Daily Exercise for your overall health. Don’t wait til you have to lose weight to exercise. Exercise is more than losing weight. It helps with brain function, digestion, mental health, strength and mobility, improve cardiovascular system, energy and more. Learning this early will help them so much as young adults.
10. Make personal connections with others everyday. Technology can have us all in our own worlds and leave little room for improving communication skills. Personal connections are like gold and the mental rewards are great too. So reach out and call your grandmother, make plans and have lunch with your old best friend, send a postcard to a distant friend or relative.
Just a snippet
of what we were thinking. Share your thoughts!
