Kids learn a lot growing up; from birth until their early 20s their brains are literally information-seeking sponges. And while a lot of what they need to know to prepare for "the real world" after they leave home is taught in school during the course of the school year, there are so many other skills to learn — skills just as or even MORE valuable, I would argue — than plain old reading and math.
Here is a list of 45 Life Skills (in no particular order) that once mastered, only then will I consider allowing my children to leave the nest.
1. Read a map
2. Ask for directions
3. Roast a chicken
4. Buy condoms
5. Talk to a pharmacist without giggling
6. Make a doctors appointment
7. Barter/haggle on price
8. Appreciate differences
9. Make an apology
10. Stand up for a friend
11. Tell an authority figure they're wrong
12. Balance a bank account
13. Make a killer guacamole
14. Accept help
15. Say no, offer no explanation, mean it, and stick to it
16. Paddle a canoe or rowboat
17. Check the car oil
18. Own a library card
19. Offer assistance to someone in distress
20. Iron a dress shirt
21. Vacuum the corners
22. Cancel a gym subscription
23. Load a dishwasher
24. Use jumper cables
25. Negotiate a contract
26. Catch a fish
27. Start a fire (bon; not house.)
28. Keep a plant alive
29. Use a lawnmower
30. Use an axe/chainsaw/filet knife
31. Swing a tennis racket or golf club
32. Change a tire
33. Tell someone to fuck off (I am serious. It's hella cathartic.)
34. Diaper a baby
35. Win an argument
36. Drive stick-shift
37. Parallel park
38. Pump their own gas
39. Swim
40. Use a drill
41. Know all the words to a great campfire song
42. Get out of an awkward moment and help a friend in turn
43. Lose gracefully
44. Understand the importance of: life jackets, sunscreen, helmets, home fire alarms
45. Hire/marry someone to perform duties from list above should they be unable
There you have it!
The list seems long, but I bet your kids have a great base of knowledge already. I mean, come on; look who they have modelling all this great behaviour for them. (My kids will be pros at #33.) And, because I am always learning (stop learning, stop living) this list is fluid. Perhaps humans in the future won't need many of these skills, but they'll be replaced by others. Who would have thought 25 years ago that "Google something" would mean something?
What would you add?
Printer-friendly version