As parents, we want to know that our kids are going to be able to function without us. We send them to school to learn all the academic essentials and we stress the importance of good grades. However, are they really prepared for adulthood? Do they have the skills to navigate life effectively? Can they survive on their own? A study published in the Child Development journal, revealed “youth are taking longer to engage in both the pleasures and the responsibilities of adulthood compared to teens from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s”. Jean Twenge, leading author of the study, found youth often arrive at colleges and jobs unprepared for independence. Sarah Clark, is an associate research scientist with the University of Michigan and co-director of the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health. In a recent poll she asked parents how confident they were in their child’s ability to perform different life skills. She found:
- 8% could make an appointment with a doctor on their own.
- 25% could dole out the correct dose of an over-the-counter medication.
- 41% expected their kid to eat healthy foods.
- 46% would save money for the future.
- 50% could handle a minor injury with first aid.
It seems our youth are not as prepared as we would like them to be entering adulthood. Where do we go from here? How can we produce young adults who can function and thrive independently? I believe we need to go back to the basics and provide them opportunities to learn practical life skills. GreatSchools.org suggests teaching your teen the following:
- How to do the laundry
- How to clean the bathroom
- How to write a Thank You note
- How to plunge a toilet
- Basic first aid and CPR
- How to boil water – and prepare basic meals
- How to budget
- How to pay bills, manage a bank account, and pay taxes
- How to use a credit card
- Basic car maintenance
- How to read a map (GPS doesn’t work everywhere)
- How to write a professional email
- How to manage their time and health
- Trusting their inner voice
- How (and when) to ask for help
Starting at a young age, my daughter had chores to complete, was given choices to make, and was provided opportunities to develop basic life skills. It was not always welcomed with open arms. In fact, the older she grew the more it was met with resistance and often anger. I am proud of the strong, independent 16-year-old daughter I have raised but was reminded the other day she still has life skills to learn. She completed an application for summer employment and struggled to answer the questions. I was surprised she could not complete this seemingly simple task. She is an honors student and loves to read and write. After I reflected on the situation, it validated that learning life skills is just as important as learning to read, write, and do math. It takes both academics and life skills to produce quality, motivated, contributing members of society.
Note: A team of Ohio State University Extension professionals have been developing short videos with a number of these basic life skills in them – check them out here. Topics include: interview skills, basic first aid, how to change a flat tire, how to make a healthy smoothie, how to develop cultural intelligence, how to measure ingredients, and much more.
Written by: Lorrissa Dunfee, OSU Extension Educator, Belmont County dunfee.54@osu.edu
Reviewed by: Lisa Barlage, OSU Extension Educator, Ross County barlage.7@osu.edu
Live Healthy Live Well 
Leave a Reply