What life skills to teach kids so that they can be independent at 18?
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Anonymous
HA HA HA HA. My brother mainly used his bike for transportation in college - ~25 years ago. At what would be considered a pretty conservative university where car culture was alive and well. He never had any issues with having a girlfriend or with girls having an interest in him. What a bizarre attitude. |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
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Lots have been covered.
Budgeting Taxes Compound interest How to use a simple spreadsheet Living within ones means Prioritizing CPR Knowing when to speak up and shut up Getting a read or feel of an atmosphere/audience/room Survival skills Being kind and gracious How to lose |
Anonymous
These are very vague and generalized answers and are not actionable items for most people. What is grit and resilience? For a kid above 12 and below 18 years of age, and in context of both foster kids or kids that are going to college - laundry, personal hygiene, how to make nutritious meals in a tight budget, swimming, giving CPR, car maintainence, time managment, how to write professional emails , making a budget, asking for help, making appointments etc - these are all valuable skills. If you are lucky, your parents teach you some of it and make you capable of finding answers. If you are alone in the world, you need the foster system and the schools to teach you this. |
Anonymous
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How to tie a tie.
How to polish your shoes. How to sew a button or mend a rip or hem. How to do laundry and iron clothes. Personal hygiene. Drive a car, basic maintainence. Time management. Make a bed. Swim, bike, give CPR. Wear helmet. Home protection - gas leak, water leak, smoke alarm, CO alarm etc. Online safety Sex education |
Anonymous
Foster kids do not have safety nets. They can not call mom or dad for help. They can not move back in when they lose their job. They are alone. They often fall victim to bad relationships and people who take advantage of them because they are seeking not to be alone. 1. How to save for a rainy day 2. Volunteer -volunteer organizations often have caring people who are less likely to take advantage of someone and more willing to help. It can also help a lonely young adult find a community. 3. How to defend themselves and how to avoid bad relationships. 4. How to navigate social services for adults if they find they need them 5. How to find medical and dental care and get insurance |
Anonymous
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Anonymous
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All the cleaning and 1950s home economic s lessons are things that people will pick up along the way. They will quickly find a youtube video on how to tie a tie. They will google the instructions for laundry not wear dirty clothes everyday.
How to do your taxes, register to vote, register your car, renew your driver's license, understand credit card offers and avoid predatory ones, navigate and understand health insurance, read a rental lease and understand what you are agreeing to in the lease, car maintenance (they don't have to do it themselves but they need to know not to drive on a flat tire and to change their oil). |
Anonymous
I agree with this. It is amazing to me how many adults do not ever grasp health insurance, loan documents, proper saving. Much more important than learning how to cook eggs or tie a tie. |
Anonymous
This made me laugh because I often tell my 10-year old that this is one of the most valuable skills in life. |
Anonymous
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Lots of lists out there about what teens need to adult in college. They pop up every fall. I like this one. Mostly because my kid did need to be told not to microwave metal. *sigh.
https://grownandflown.com/33-life-skills-college-kids-adult/ He’s a senior in high school and we are clicking through it. He now goes to his psychiatrist for ADHD med checkup (and we follow up by phone), goes to the dentist for cleanings and eye doctor for checkups, fills and picks up his own ADHD meds, does his own laundry. Can (now) use the microwave without blowing something up. But we haven’t gotten very far in teaching actual cooking. Puts gas in his car, checks fluid levels, knows how to check tire pressure, gets the oil changed (but doesn’t change it himself). Has a low limit credit card (mine, with a duplicate in his name) and responsibility for buying his own school and project supplies, his yearbook, dinner when he travels for band, etc. but not unlimited Starbucks. Has some responsibility for picking his sister up and running errands for me— like grabbing something from the grocery store. And he and I review the credit card charges and receipts each month. And last weekend, he... learned to iron a pair of khakis. I have a shirt that needs a button sewn on set aside for the next time we have a few minutes. He’s in the DMV, so he has public transit down. Good times. But, I’m feeling increasingly confident that he will survive college. We definitely have things to teach him. But, for me the biggie is being able to work with a psychiatrist if he isn’t within a couple hours of home and be responsible for filling and taking ADHD meds. That’s a lot more serious than a wrinkled shirt. So, we have really emphasized insurance cards, medical appointments, filling prescriptions, responsibility for your health, etc. |
Anonymous
| Credit cards, health insurance. My parents told me nothing. Had to learn on my own, with credit cards I learned the hard way. |
Anonymous
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Cooking
Checking acct management Inc how to open Vehicle purchase procedures....with ins.lic procedures When and how to use credit How to find , lease, manage habitation Job search skills, interview styles, how to dress appropriately Social skills. |
Anonymous
Agree, bike culture is the norm on large college campuses. I live in a college town with 70,000 Division I college students (best state college in the state) and 35,000 community college students. Believe me bikes are heavily used on campus. Scooters are big too. You can pay for a pricey parking pass on campus but believe me you won't be able to find a parking slot. Everyone uses bikes, scooters, skateboards and free college shuttle buses to get around on campus. If you even own a car it just stays parked at your apartment. Cars are not required. Knowledge of how to change a tire and bike maintenance would help. |
Anonymous
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At jobs.....sign up for 401k's, sign up for health insurance
A lot of young people are clueless about this and don't understand the free money they get matched from 401ks. |