Learning Life Skills

Young people become more independent and confident when we help them learn valuable life skills. While this generation has experienced a never-ending stream of information from the internet, there’s still a lot they need to learn.

As parents, how do we teach these valuable skills? The goal, like any new skill, is progression – gradually nudging them to do more on their own. But for parents of teens, that might be easier said than done.

Remember to have realistic expectations and be patient with them. It may seem like it would just be easier to do things ourselves, but learning these skills helps them to become more self-reliant and feel valuable.

Teaching life skills to teens basically boils down to giving them responsibility. Maybe it’s giving them a clothing budget to practice managing money or bringing them along to the insurance agent when you add them to your automobile policy – to teach them about handling emergencies.

It could even be instructing them in the most basic of skills, including how to address an envelope, pay bills or how to do laundry. They need to learn these skills from someone and they will greatly benefit from accomplishing even these small things.

Learning life skills is important, but what is even more important is the self-confidence your teens will gain as they master important life skills and feel more grown up.