Depending on the age of your kids, enforced home time right now could have a different feel for many families. If your kids are little, home time will be hands-on and require a ton of patience and creativity. Lots of outdoor walks, lots of physical play plus games, crafts and screen time -- repeat daily. But teens and tweens are different. Happily, they can generally make their own food ~ cleaning up after themselves is a different story, so you'll be cleaning up dirty dishes, crumbs and jars all day long. They can also easily entertain themselves with Xbox, YouTube and tons of other online and streaming options, although they probably shouldn't be left to do that for too many hours a day.
This is a really unique situation though. Many of us now have enforced home time with our normally busy older kids, and they're straight up NOT allowed to go out and see their friends. There's no school, no sports, and no social gatherings. This is the perfect time to teach them all those life skills that they need to know before heading off to college or out into the world.
We've put together a list of practical life skills that kids should learn as tweens and teens. Kids love learning via video and apps (and are less happy with lectures from Mom and Dad!) so I've included some recommended resources:
HOME SKILLS
Basic Cooking Skills
Cooking is one of the best and easiest skills to teach one-on-one. Some kids love to cook and will happily join you; you know you've got a budding cook in the family if they love watching cooking shows or paging through cookbooks. Encourage it as much as possible and give them manageable kitchen tasks often! Others need some bribery. What I've found works is a) offering to pay a few bucks for every dinner they make for the family (and then teach them how to make the meal), and b) letting them set the menu as long as they make it. So, my taco-loving son knows that we'll have tacos for dinner once a week, but it's up to him to be the taco chef.
For those kids who prefer to learn online, there are so many great YouTube cooking channels focused on all kinds of foods. Some favorites here are Binging with Babish, the Food Wishes YouTube channel with Chef John, Nerdy Nummies, and Kid Food Nation.
Washing Dishes
Both hand-washing dishes and how to load, run and empty the dishwasher.
Laundry
This is a great topic to teach hands-on. If you talk them through it, kids will quickly learn how to separate colors from whites, load the washer, add detergent, and run a dryer load. Teach them about unusual items -- delicates, drying on a rack, etc. -- as they run across these items in the hamper.
Cleaning Basics
Again, another good one to teach hands-on. Show them your various cleaning tools -- mop, sponge, wipes, toilet brush, dusting spray, etc. -- and show them how to use. In particular, teach them how to clean a toilet, clean wood and tile floors, dust, vacuum, and clean an oven.
Basic Home Maintenance
Some basic things to show kids are the electricity panel and what to do when a circuit breaker is thrown, where the shutoffs are for the water and gas lines, and how to fix a running toilet (your water bill can literally double if your toilet is running constantly!).
Hand over a screwdriver and ask for assistance the next time you need to replace a doorknob, tighten a handle, or hang a picture. Ask the kids to help if you're tackling some home improvement chores right now, like painting a room.
Sewing Skills
Kids should learn how to sew on a button, mend a rip or a seam, and iron a shirt.
AUTO SKILLS
When they're old enough, teach the kids how to pump gas and check the oil level in the car. If you use a gas station app (like Cumberland Farms' app), show them how that works.
Ask the kids to help you track your car's mileage, since the car needs maintenance at regular intervals, such as oil changes, tire rotations, and tune-ups. Take them along when you drop the car off for service so they can understand the process and listen as you discuss and evaluate maintenance suggestions.
FINANCIAL SKILLS
Budgeting
Kids need to understand so many aspects of financial literacy, including saving, spending, loans, taxes (for when they start working), even retirement planning. Here are some great apps that will help them learn in a practical way:
- Savings Spree (iOS)
- Renegade Buggies (iOS and Android)
- Star Banks Adventure (iOS)
- The Game of Life (iOS and Android)
Using a Credit Card
This YouTube video is old but a very good explanation of credit vs. debit. This YouTube video is a very basic explanation of how a credit card works. There are many videos also available on how to maximize your credit score, credit card math, etc.
Writing a Check
Young adults rarely have to write a check anymore, but they should know how. Use this worksheet creator to create a page of blank checks for your teen to practice with.
Taxes
This is a big one, and something I'm just starting to tackle with my 17-year-old, who started working last year. My plan is to get a 1040EZ form and walk him through the paperwork, and then maybe take the completed form and use the free version of TurboTax to file it (so he can try both paper and online methods).
REQUESTING HELP FROM OTHERS
Purchasing Groceries
Teach the kids how to order at the deli and fish counter. Using a list, shop together and show them how meats are priced per pound and how to get a better deal. Also look at the prices of different brands, and how smaller containers are generally more expensive per unit (pound/ounce/hundred) than larger containers.
Scheduling a Doctor's Appointment
The next time one of the kids needs a doctor appointment, use the speaker function on your phone so they can hear the triage process. Explain how the doctor's office may make them wait a day for something that's not urgent, and that wellness appointments need to be scheduled far in advance. Show them their insurance cards and explain how they must have this information ready when they call.
Filling a Prescription
Bring the kids along as you drop off and fill prescriptions. Explain the refill process, and that sometimes they will need to check in with the doctor first before getting more refills. Explain that generic medicines are less expensive than brand name. Point out that prescriptions should never be left visible in your car.
Send a Package
Sending a package to Grandma? Explain to the kids how packages have to be weighed, and that there are different ways to mail them (first class, overnight, etc.). Stamps don't work on a package, generally. Have them help prepare the package, and bring them along to the post office to watch the process.
Making a Dinner Reservation
Someday your tween will be going out for a special dinner! A quick overview of making dinner reservations will help him impress his date. And, yes, he may actually have to talk to a human, although many restaurants now have on-line reservations.
Tipping
So many teens forget about tipping; servers dread having a table of teens. Make sure your teen understands that a 15-20% tip is required and teach them some quick ways to calculate (or have them download an app).
Lastly, ask your teens what they'd like to learn. There's sure to be things that you occasionally handle that are absolute mysteries to them.
Good luck!
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