This isn’t your first rodeo. You know how to parent your own kids. You’ve taught them tons of stuff, how to use the toilet, how to eat with a fork, how to say please and thank you, how to fly a drone, and so on and so forth, but these 6 life skills to teach your kids might have fallen through the cracks.
- Financial Security – Sure, they know not to leave their wallet unattended, and they aren’t dumb enough to let their friends borrow their debit card, but do they know the rest of the rules of financial security?
- Use a Password Manager – There are too many places that require a username and password anymore. No one can remember that many passwords, so they either write them down, or more commonly, just start using the same few passwords on every site. Teach them about password managers. Even the default password manager on iPhones and Android is better than nothing.
- How to Check and Freeze Your Credit Report – You probably told them about how to keep good credit and why that is important, but do they know how to handle it? Every kid should know how to check their credit report, how to get a credit score, and how to freeze their credit report.
- Dealing with People – Nobody is interested in raising another, “Let me speak to your manager,” Karen, but knowing when to stand up for yourself and how is still important. Teach them about how hard it is to work retail, or food service. Teach them how to look people in the eye, and how to shake hands. They’ve seen it in movies, but how hard and how many times to pump is a personal preference, within limits. Let them practice with you.
- How To Tie a Tie – More for boys, but also helpful for girls. She’ll be the hero when she can tie all the groomsmen’s ties for them at her best friend’s wedding when they have no idea how to do it.
- How To JumpStart a Car – Even if it never happens to them, the day will come when they want to help out a friend, or even a stranger in need. Teach them where the cables go, both for the jumper and the jumpee. If you get the opportunity let them listen for the ticking sound that says dead alternator, and not dead battery.
- How To Deal With Mice and Wasps – Way back when, when not every channel ran some sort of long-term reality TV show, there was a show on MTV that filmed the life of Jessica Simpson and her first husband Nick Lachey. In one episode, Lachey finds a wasp hive, or hornet’s nest. His first instinct is to spray it with the hose. Yikes! – Be sure your kids know how to bait and set a mouse trap, and about long-distance spraying wasp and hornet killer.
