"You need to make sure your child knows how to clean a toilet before you let them leave home!"
- Your child's future spouse
Our children should know how to:
- Locate a Mass when they are out of town (Google Maps, "Catholic Churches near me").
- Change the toilet paper roll.
- Really Clean. See our age-appropriate chore list.
- Make your own doctor and dentist appointment.
- Write thank-you notes.
- Write a letter.
- Phone ettiquette and take a decent phone message.
- Pproperly introduce yourself (make eye contact, shake hands, etc.).
- Have a conversation with an elderly person.
- Know what is inappropriate conversation. e.g. don't asking age, how much you make, how much did you pay for that, are you pregnant, etc.
- Make small talk.
- Make a simple, nutricious meal (boys, too!)
- Brew a good pot of coffee.
- Bake a good chocolate chip cookie.
- Play cards.
- Plant and take care of a garden and indoor plants and flowers.
- Mow a lawn.
- Hammer and nail.
- Know how to do general care maintenance (girls, too) - washer fluid, check/add oil, check air pressure in tires, put air in tires, jump start a car.
- Apply for a job without parent help.
- Resign / quit a job well.
- Budget. A way to personally track spending. Know what an overdraft fee is. Check-writing and/or bill-pay. Open an account. How to tithe even when under-budget.
- Know how to register to vote and how and where and when to vote.
- Understand how credit cards work. How interest rates and late fees add up.
- Not to make assumptions. Really know the terms before you sign your name on an agreement or contract.
- Fill out their own financial aid - yes, parents will have to help the first time. Memorize their SSN
- How to plan and/or book a trip. How to make a hotel and/or car rental reservation.
- Wash clothes (separate, read labels - know when dry-clean only or wool).
- Iron clothes.
- Replace a button.
- Use a laundromat.
- Know some basic repairs (clogged drain, leaky faucet, squeaky things, tighten screws)
- Flip a circuit breaker.
- Change a battery in the smoke detector.
- Know how to use both a gas stove and an electric stove. Know the pros/cons, differences.
- Understand general healthy eating and recommended daily calorie intake.
- Understand how driving tickets effect insurance and what your insurance options are.
- Undresand unit pricing at grocery store. Notice generic vs. brand.
- Return something on-line and at a store.
- Know your basic family history e.g. health history: "Is there cancer in your family?" and nationality: "Where does your last name come from?"
- Basic First Aid. How to find the Poision Hotline. Some natural home remedies.
- Hang a picture.
- Do taxes without parent - turbo tax for starters.
- Make a pro and con list.
- Know appropriate ways to break-up and handle a break-up.
- Wrap a present.
- Have table manners. Be able to eat a fancy meal. Set a table correctly, use folded napkin, appropriate silverware, don't eat until all have been served, "please pass," pass to the right, etc.
- Be prepared with general self-defense knowledge.
- Use a library.
- Tie a tie (girls, too!)
- Boy-girl things. Chivalry. Boys to do it, girls to demand it.
- Gun safety.
- Change sheets on your bed.
- To swim, put on a life jacket, and row using a paddle.
Also see our age-appropirate chore lists page
No comments:
Post a Comment