6 Skills Your Child Should Master by High School
Parents want the very best for their children. To this end, they ensure their children sail through life with the minimum of struggle. This overparenting feels so right, but leaves children unprepared for adulthood. The Diocese of Orlando has a short list of essential skills for Lakeland Catholic school students to learn before they graduate. You can begin incorporating many of these ideas into your daily routines.
- Planning and Making a Meal
Small children can create a simple meal of spaghetti using noodles and canned sauce while older children can plan the meal by ensuring the right nutrients are in the meal, shopping for the ingredients and sticking to a budget, cutting up and cooking the ingredients for the meal, and cleaning up afterward. Following a recipe seems easy until you experience it firsthand. Whether preparing food for dinner or for their lunch, the ability to do so gives a sense of accomplishment.
- Wake up on Time
The struggle of shaking your child awake every morning can be exhausting. Choose a morning when you have nothing pressing (but maybe something your child is interested in doing planned for the morning) and explain the night before you will not wake your child. You may find he or she is up early and ready to take on the day, or you might have to stop yourself from breaking your own rule 16 times. Even if your child oversleeps, let him or her experience the consequences of getting a tardy slip and having to explain to the office personnel why he or she is late.
- Wash, Fold, and Put Away Laundry
Today’s washing machines make it difficult to mess up clothes too badly. Explain the basics and let your child sort through the piles. Give advice and commend effort, but only interfere if necessary.
- Fill up the Gas Tank
We take it for granted that some skills we perform once a week or so are known by the entire population. Pumping gas is not one. Show your child how to open the gas tank, choose a grade of gasoline, and fill the tank. Watching the dollar amount click over is something teenagers need to recognize before they start begging for a vehicle of their own.
- Pack for a Trip
This involves planning for the future; How many shirts will you need? Dress clothes or casual? Are you bringing a swimsuit? How about a jacket? Did you remember toiletries? Unless you are headed for a secluded cabin deep in the woods, anything your child forgets can generally be found in a convenience store. The only items you may want to verify are medications.
- Order at Restaurants
Most children talk directly to their parents when they order instead of to the waiter. Have them ask for their food themselves as they practice using good manners, making eye contact, speaking loudly enough to be heard, and choosing nutritious foods.With practice and guidance, your child can master many of these skills in a few training sessions. Others may take longer, but the outcome will be a confident, independent adult who is able to function outside Lakeland Catholic schools. Check out our blog for more ideas on helping your child excel in life, and call 407-246-4800 to learn about our schools.