When it comes to raising kids with character, we want them to know certain things:
- How to be respectful
- How to be responsible
But what about being self-sufficient? What are the essential life skills to teach daughters and sons? I am a firm believer that both girls and boys can benefit from certain life skills. Here are just four that are especially important to know.
When you are raising a girl (or boy), you want her to be independent and one day able to take care of herself and her own home. To be sure this happens, you should teach her some essential life skills. The following ones are things every girl (and boy) should know how to do.
4 Essential Life Skills to Teach to Girls and Boys
Basic Planting
A good skill to teach your daughter before she moves out on her own is basic planting and growing skills. If she can plant a seedling, that is really good to learn how to do. Many children will learn the basic skill during their early years of school, but you might want to give her a few more lessons when she gets a little older.
Teach her how to plant a vegetable or herb garden, how to prune roses, and how to water plants and know which ones need watering. This can also be a fun activity for you and her.
First Aid
It is good for every child to learn first aid, so teach your daughter some simple first aid techniques. She should know how to treat a bee sting, what to do when she gets a deep cut, and how to dress a burn or laceration.
You want to know that when she is on her own, or when your daughter is younger and playing outside, she knows the basic rules of taking care of minor injuries and cuts. This ensures she can avoid infection and know how to take care of herself, as well as to know when she needs to go to the doctor or hospital.
House Repairs
A good skill to start teaching your daughter when she is around 12 or 13 is how to take care of home repairs. She should know just minor things around the house that she might want to do on her own one day.
For example, make sure your daughter knows how to clear a clogged sink or toilet, and how to use an auger instead of calling a plumber every time.
She should know how to change light bulbs, put new batteries in the smoke detectors, and hammer nails. You might also want to teach her how to paint interior walls as well.
Finances
Another life skill your daughter should know how to do is to budget her money, pay bills, and balance her checkbook. A lot of this is now done online, but she also needs to know the basics of budgeting and how to save money. Teach her about saving at least 10 percent of her income and how to come up with a realistic budget and stick to it.
This will definitely help her in the future.
This is really on the tip of the proverbial iceberg when it comes to essential life skills to teach to kids! What else would you add?
Kori
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