It may seem obvious; this idea of teaching life skills. However, I'd wager that you don't have a systematic or authoritative method for instilling these particular skills in your children. Don't panic though. The very nature of life skills is that they come with experience, and generally not the kind of experiences that we enjoy. What do I mean by this? Your children will learn the importance of being on time for work the first time they are late and get yelled at. In fact, this experience will probably affect them more than you could with lectures on being on time for work.
While you don't need and probably don't want a formal curriculum to teach your child how to use a washing machine, creating a simple list of skills to master can be helpful. So what skills would you place on your list?
My skill list includes:
- Laundry care ( folding, cleaning, drying, and removing stains)
- Purchasing (how to find a good deal and determine if you can afford an item. hint: it's not just the purchase price to consider)
- Cooking (you don't have to be a gourmet chef, but there are a few items every man in my house must know how to prepare)
- Making phone calls (after all they may not get married to someone willing to make all calls for them)
- Auto care (basic oil change, brake changes, and assessment can save them a lot of time and money)
- Thinking ahead (sound weird? It isn't when you realize that this is how people who are on time get to their destination on time)
- Observation (we've talked about the importance of paying attention before, check it out HERE!)
- Maintenance (how do we budget for, perform, and plan maintenance so that it isn't an emergency)
- Financial Literacy (this one I do recommend a curriculum - it's just easier - Dave Ramsey's is pretty sweet)
- Taxes ( Not all financial literacy courses include tax preparation)
This is not an exhaustive list, but is definitely a place to start. A few years ago community colleges started offering adulting courses. You could probably steal your list from their syllabus, but remember some of these skills are learned best with failure. Failing to make a smooth white sauce without help is just as instructive as making a perfect one with a mom hovering over the shoulder.