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12 Basic Life Skills Every Kid Should Know by High School

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As a parent it is our job to make sure that we prepare our children for their inevitable journey into the real world for someday when they fly the coop. There are so many things that we think we are just born knowing, but that’s not true at all. At some point, someone somewhere taught us these life skills we have hopefully honed as adults. Probably your parents, or legal guardians as you were growing up. Some of these daily, typical skills sounds so simple and you’ve been doing them for so long that you don’t even think about it as your doing them.

Are you ready to stop helicopter parenting and prepare your kid for life as a young adult? Julie Lythcott-Haims, former dean of freshmen at Stanford University and author of “How to Raise an Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success, says these are 12 important life skills that every child should know before high school.

Make a Meal

You don’t have to stop making meals for your kids entirely, but it’s important for them to feel confident enough to know how to do it. Maybe start with them making breakfast for themselves a couple times a week or on the weekends. Let them help with dinner, or let them make their own lunch for school.

Wake Themselves up on Time

This is a really tough one because it’s rough enough trying to get these kids out of bed banging a stick on a trash can. Now we have to trust that they are going to get themselves up. Again, the best way to do this is to baby step it. Start maybe a couple times a week…not completely letting go of the rains just yet. But make sure that by the time high school rolls around, they should be able to get up and get ready by themselves.

Do Laundry

Not only will this be an important life skill, but I guarantee it will show them just how busy you have been washing their clothes every 10 minutes. They will probably stop tossing shirts in the laundry after wearing them once for 3 hours.

Pump Gas

This was an exciting one for me when I was a kid. It looked so interesting when my Dad was at the gas station pumping gas into the car. The smells, the cool looking gas pump – not to mention the thought of someday your going to get to drive that car! I don’t think you will have a problem with this one. If you do have a child that has dirty hand or germ phobia’s, assure them with baby wipes and antibiotic hand wash.

Pitch In

“Kids need to learn how to contribute for the betterment of the whole,” she says. “Maybe they have siblings and one is stressed out about something, and the other says, ‘I’ll do your chore for you. Because I see you’re stressed out and you need some help.’ That’s building a sense of it’s not just about me. I can do for others.”

To read the rest of the important life skills…CLICK HERE.

Is Too Much Homework Bad for Kids?

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Why weren’t my parents reading articles like this when I was in school! Back then, it was no play until the homework is done. That’s pretty much how it was when I was a kid for everyone across the board. You went to school, you got homework and you did it. No fuss, no if and’s or butts…you did your homework and the amount of homework you had didn’t matter. Not once did my parents ever say to me…”Hmmmmm…seems like you have too much homework. I wonder if this is bad for you” – although I wish they had. Like most children I did not like doing homework.

With that said, when I was a kid ( we won’t say when that was), we really didn’t have half of the school work that kids get now. The rolling luggage bags kids bring to school should be a dead giveaway that all bets are off and the pressure is on even at a very young age. Kindergarten children are  look as if they are late for a flight as they wheel around their luggage carts running for class. I think…if anything, back in kindergarten, I carried “a book” and that’s a maybe. I have seen some of the homework kids get these days in grade school. This is rather embarrassing, but I’ve had to google a few times how to do math problems or performing grammar checks. By the time children are in 6th grade, they have as much work as I had in college.

Are we bogging our kids down with too much homework or is it good for them? That’s a really good question that I’m sure people have different opinions on. It’s not uncommon these days to walk into a school nurses office and witness children having panic or anxiety attracts. There is so much pressure on these little guys and it starts so early for them. Do you notice this at home with your children?

To see what this mom says…CLICK HERE. 

Mom’s Response to Teen’s Failing Test Grade Is What All Kids Need to Hear

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Wow…did I hate taking tests in high school. There was so much pressure to do well. I wanted to always do good for many reasons -my teachers, the fear of my peers making fun of me, the GPA pressure…and the list goes on. Most of all I wanted to do good to not disappoint my parents. My parents opinion meant so much to me, as I’m sure it does for most teens.

Luckily I had pretty supportive parents, but some of my friends did not. If they didn’t do well in school, they were grounded, ridiculed,  and told they would amount to nothing. These days, the pressure is even worse. After kids graduate the pressures to attend college, get a good career are overwhelming.

It’s so heartwarming to see how this mom let her daughter know she is so much more important than a number placed on the top of an exam. Her note really says it all:

 

To read the full article….CLICK HERE

‘Lunch Shaming’ Policy Humiliates Kids & Drives School Cafeteria Worker to Quit Her Job

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The thought of someone telling your child….”You can’t eat. You don’t have enough money” is so unbearable, it’s difficult to even think about. It breaks my heart to even write.

Well this former cafeteria worker of Wylandville Elementary School resigned after only a few weeks into the current school year over what she calls “lunch shaming,” or the practice of denying kids hot meals if their parents owe the school $25 or more for lunch.

Click HERE to for the FULL ARTICLE. dreamstime_s_30880820-2-300x200

If Your Kid Can’t Ace This Kindergarten Checklist…

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If Your Kid Can’t Ace This Kindergarten Checklist, You’re Still Not a Bad Parent

If your child is getting close to Kindergarten age, then you have wondered if they are ready.  It’s a natural concern for any parent as their child enters into their word of education. Reading checklists, and preparation guides can really freak you out!

Isn’t the whole point of Kindergarten to teach these things, they are already supposed to know? Check out this article and you will be surprised at some of the parent’s reactions to a recent dreamstime_s_5281264 (2) (640x432)Kindergarten checklist.

Click HERE for the FULL ARTICLE

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