What life skills are you teaching your kids?

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Replies

  • Soggynode
    Soggynode Posts: 1,179 Member
    Tolerance, self reliance, honesty and lot of other things that I'm not sure can be taught or whether I have them to teach. I'm also riding around town with my 15 yr old daughter who just got her learners permit. I'm now trying teach myself stress management.
  • Tigg_er
    Tigg_er Posts: 22,001 Member
    Empathy is largely a natural human emotion. I wouldn't spend a lot of time training it, unless they are sociopathic in which case you're sunk

    Yea, Don't know if you could train it anyway, just try to get them to understand it. There seems to be quite a few of the human race who have forgotten what it is.
  • Tigg_er
    Tigg_er Posts: 22,001 Member
    Tolerance, self reliance, honesty and lot of other things that I'm not sure can be taught or whether I have them to teach. I'm also riding around town with my 15 yr old daughter who just got her learners permit. I'm now trying teach myself stress management.

    :laugh: :laugh:
  • _SantaClause
    _SantaClause Posts: 335 Member
    The proper way to MFP
  • LadyRN76
    LadyRN76 Posts: 4,275 Member
    Respect for yourself and others; how to think on their own and form their own opinions and stand up for their beliefs when they are different from the "status quo".

    How to do laundry, cook without a box, change a tire and the oil in the car - things that are lost in today's world. Be independent!!!
  • PrizePopple
    PrizePopple Posts: 3,133 Member
    Today specifically was a conversation with my 7 year old that no one can put their hands on her or hurt her in any way shape or form - physically or emotionally. She was pushed down on the playground and hurt, and failed to inform anyone. I am going to go into class with her tomorrow to ensure she talks to her teacher. She doesn't like others getting into trouble, but I explained that she cannot let it slide, because next time someone else could get very hurt.
  • fitfreakymom
    fitfreakymom Posts: 1,400 Member
    How to be a good person, not judge others and to help people and animals in need, basic cooking, personal hygiene and how to pick up after herself which at this point is almost a joke lol considering she is a teen.
    oh and that if she wants something she can buy it herself or if we get it for her she needs to pay back the bank call mom lol.
  • mccindy72
    mccindy72 Posts: 7,001 Member
    My boys are grown, but when they were little I taught respect and to be polite, to be patient and to share. When they got a little older I taught them to pick up after themselves and to take turns. As young teenagers I taught them how to clean the house, do dishes and their own laundry and how to cook. Then I taught them how to balance a checkbook, manage a budget and handle a credit card. Along the way, by example, they learned how to manage a long-term relationship.
  • NancyN795
    NancyN795 Posts: 1,134 Member
    Mine is grown (25 now), but one skill I taught him much earlier than most kids was fixing his lunch. He started helping pack his lunch for school when he was in Kindergarten and was doing it himself, with supervision, in 1st grade. He was astounded when he found out (in about 3rd grade) that "some" kids' mothers packed their lunches. (He attended a private Montessori school that had no lunch service - so everyone brought their lunches every day.) When he mentioned this to me I, very casually, asked him if he wished I packed his lunch for him and the answer was an emphatic "NO!" He had noticed that a lot of times, the other kids didn't like what their moms had packed. He had a certain amount of choice when he made his own.

    Mind, you, he never actually took to cooking, despite my efforts to encourage a basic level of skill. These days he has almost no need. He gets free breakfast and lunch at work and often has dinner with friends, so I think he stocks very little in his kitchen.

    Also, teach laundry, doing dishes, basic cleaning, etc., starting young by doing the the work along side them. Once he was somewhat competent, I would often read to him while he worked rather than working with him. (He's mildly dyslexic and reading to him well into his later elementary years was a way to encourage a love of books before we'd found proper therapy for him.)
  • cindy26ae
    cindy26ae Posts: 49 Member
    I have toddlers but definitely teach them to be honest, to apologize when they have been mean, to share (that is a constant struggle lol), and manners are a big one. I also definitely try to teach them that their bodies are their own and that whole big deal. And for sure responsibility and independence to an extent of course, definitely don't expect them to be mini adults at their age.
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
    empathy

    Most definitly .

    I am teaching my children the value of empathy, as well as the importance of spelling. :laugh:
  • sheepysaccount
    sheepysaccount Posts: 608 Member
    I am a teacher in middle school and many of our kids are from troubled childhoods, so we teacher manners again, basic "please" and "thank you". And we try to enable them to get a job. So we teach mostly soft skills :)
  • LittleDuckyQueen
    LittleDuckyQueen Posts: 4
    I want to teach my kids how to do a good Google search. They can probably work out everything else from there.

    The first time I boiled an egg I Googled it :)

    Also the first time I made toast I searched up how long I should leave it toasting for :\

    It helped :)
  • FabulousFantasticFifty
    FabulousFantasticFifty Posts: 195,832 Member
    Self respect & Independence!
  • Oi_Sunshine
    Oi_Sunshine Posts: 819 Member
    Kindness, honesty, helpfulness, self control, the way of the nerd, and how to clean.
  • Tigg_er
    Tigg_er Posts: 22,001 Member
    empathy

    Most definitly .

    I am teaching my children the value of empathy, as well as the importance of spelling. :laugh:

    Yeh spelling would be good also, guess I missed that part in my upbringing. :laugh: :laugh:
  • TheRoadDog
    TheRoadDog Posts: 11,788 Member
    How to balance a spoon on your nose.

    How to make fart sounds with your armpit.

    Never split 10's or face cards in Blackjack.

    How to tell people what they want to hear.

    Never strik another person in anger, unless you're 100% sure you can get away with it.

    How to count to 10 in 4 languages.
  • digitalbill
    digitalbill Posts: 1,410 Member
    My son has helped me pull an engine out of a car already and we are in the process of stripping it down for a rebuild. (he is 13).
    I will do the same for my daughter when she is old enough.
    I honestly believe that, once you learn to rebuild a smallblock Chevrolet engine and get it running, that gives you the confidence to tackle other things.
    And the confidence you gain from successfully fixing things absolutely carries over to other aspects in life.
  • BigDaddyD72
    BigDaddyD72 Posts: 2,301 Member
    apparently I'm teaching them how not to pick up after themselves, antagonize their siblings and question consequences
  • JenAndSome
    JenAndSome Posts: 1,893 Member
    Respect for others and for themselves. Manners. Responsibility and self-sufficiency. How to paint mommy's toenails without making a mess.

    I've been trying to teach them to whistle for a few years now but none of my kids are able. It's weird.

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