<p>Things I’m Glad My Parents Taught Me:
-How to write a check (actually, my grandmother taught me this)
-How to drive
-Money stuff: how to read a bank statement; how to understand financial gobbledygook; etc.
-how to sew (okay, initially. I got so hooked that I went to sewing camp and serve as Master Seamstress of the home!)
-what to do in an accident (admittedly, I learned this on the road, but they talked me through it)
-How to do laundry (also: how to clean bathing suits and what to do with things that can’t go in the dryer)
-how to get good deals!
-how to act in the grown-up world. I never really thought about it until I got to college, but I knew how to dress for work and how to behave professionally by watching my parents!
-how to operate a fart machine (you’d be surprised what a random bit of fun those can be)</p>
<p>What I Would Have Appreciated Being Taught:
-anything about solo travel. Neither of my parents has any experience in the field, though. I educate them.
-how to change a lightbulb (seems self-explanatory, but I’m scared)
-how to drive a stick
-how to meet someone who isn’t afraid of dealing with spiders :D</p>
<p>When you need to go to the emergency room. For example, if you are bleeding with an open wound, you may need some stitches and a tetnus shot. It is best not to wait several days to let it heel itself. You may need to take a friend to the ER. Have insurance card handy!</p>
<p>Figure out a daily exercise routine. Try to find something you like: hiking, dancing, working out, biking& walking. You will stay fit and meet a lot of cool people. Always have appropriate footwear with you so you can fit these activities in when you are pressed for time.</p>
<p>I’ve been pointing out to my kids ways to stretch a dollar–like not buying sodas, or buying food from the “value menu” rather than the regular menu.</p>
<p>I believe they do, but it’s not information that sticks in a kid’s head if the kid doesn’t use it.</p>
<p>Many college students have long since forgotten this information and have never noticed the format of things they receive in the mail. They have no idea of how to address an envelope or which corner to put the stamp on. Some also may not know how to obtain a stamp or get the envelope into the mail.</p>
<p>On the other hand, they could teach us a great deal about online communication.</p>
<p>My teen has a job but his check is direct deposited. No mail from his employer. They may very well hand out W2’s at work too (my office does).</p>
<p>Grades come in the mail, but they are addressed to parents, not kids. The kids do get some mail from the school. One of my kids tends to look through he mail, the other has no interest. These traits carry over into other aspects of their lives. Oh, but my mail-reading child didn’t have a clue how to fill out an address label for a package she had to send recently. I laughed. And taught her how to do it :)</p>
<p>Granipc–sounds like your son has the dry cleaning figured out, but wanted to pass along our favorite discovery of the past few years: Brooks Brothers no-iron dress shirts. They come out of the dryer looking better than shirts returned from the cleaners—and no buttons broken off.</p>
<p>GMT–please ask your children the secret to dealing with the arm rest hogs </p>
<p>Re: teens and personal correspondence—birthday cards incoming and thank you notes outgoing, and of course, all of the college junk mail that no one looks at. They still have to stop and think when addressing a thank you note…and none of them know how to write in script.</p>
<p>Lot of good tips in this thread. I think our kids were pretty well prepared for most of the things mentioned. One thing we really emphasized is not paying interest on their credit cards and paying all bills on time. They each have a $500 student visa and ALWAYS pay the entire balance each month. We have told them once you start only paying the minimum balance or less than the entire balance that your debt starts snowballing. DH is in the mortgage business and sees so many people with bad credit ratings and it often starts out with sloppy bill paying in college and getting into debt over their heads.</p>
<p>Also, I know this might be for a bit further down the road, but coaching him on how to write a resume/helping him write it is very helpful! Just so he has something to go off of when he starts applying for jobs.</p>
<p>I wrote the book, The 4-1-1 on Life Skills, for this very reason. We as parents do a lot for our kids not realizing that we need to teach them many things before they move out. The 4-1-1 on Life Skills is a reference guide. Chapters include Cleaning, cooking safety, laundry, finances, how to buy a home/car, computer basics, food spoilage, and much more. It is not intended to replace that call to “mom” for the little things, but will help young adults achieve more independence. The book is online at all major retailers and can be found on my website at [Home</a> - My 4-1-1 Books](<a href=“http://www.my411books.com%5DHome”>http://www.my411books.com). Hope this helps!</p>
<p>I haven’t learned yet how to maintain a car since I don’t have one but I know this one is very important.
Also, how to clean. This isn’t rocket science. Or maybe not clean but at least not be a slob and respect their roommate’s cleanliness.
My dad sometimes complains that I don’t know how to cook. I reassure him that I won’t die of hunger. ;)</p>
<p>^ You’d be surprised at people who don’t know how to clean. A friend’s ex called her about 9 months after their divorce and asked if she’d cleaned the toilet during their 10 year marriage. He couldn’t figure out why his toilet was so dirty. She had to walk him through the process, step by step.</p>
<p>This would’ve been hysterical except that her children were using that toilet 3 days a week.</p>
<p>May have already been mentioned, but
D needed this skill on her 500mile drive back to college last weekend: how to check tire pressure and put air in your tires.</p>
<p>wow, owlice! Welcome back, haven’t seen that name in a long time around these parts. </p>
<p>I am guilty of sending my S off to school lacking many of these skills you all list, and he is surviving just fine. He doesn’t have access to a car, so no need for all those. Dry cleaning/ironing - not a chance those will be needed. He learned laundry when he needed to, and cooking is coming along slowly (frozen food is great). He somehow figured out how to clean a bathroom all by himself. Kids are great with google these days - my niece figured out how to change my mom’s hearing aid batteries that way. I have always done their taxes, once they leave college I will teach them how to do themselves. My kids’ skills are a reflection of my priorities - I take a few clothes to a dry cleaners once a year, iron rarely, clean sparingly myself.</p>
<p>Now, reading the personal safety awareness - those concern me, along with health. He is never sick, so I am not sure he would take it seriously if he became ill.</p>
<p>Snail mail. lol. DD asks if I put one stamp on a letter to mail it across town, so I why do really only need one stamp to mail it across the country?</p>
<p>Sheets for males. One mother told me she put five fitted sheets on her son’s bed at move-in so at least he could pull off one sheet for another somewhat cleaner during the semester.</p>