What "Life Skills" should you make sure your college bound teen has?

[MelissaE1]

My son is a sophomore in high school, and the other day he lost a button on his shorts. He brought them to me and I started to sew it on, and then I thought that he should probably know how to do something like that before he goes out into the world by himself. Everyone should know the basics of sewing on a button IMHO. Next thing he knew he had a needle and thread in his hand.

Then I started thinking about what other skills I should make sure he has before he goes off to college... how to do a load of laundry, etc.

What life skill(s) do you think a college bound kid (or anyone going out on their own) should know?

 

[golfgal]

How to look up a phone number
How to balance a check book
How to fill out forms-doctor, school, etc.
Understand how it works to make appointments for things (doctor, dentist, etc.) and know how to find appropriate insurance information
How to make a bed and properly clean a room
How to do laundry and wash dishes
How to deal with issues on their own without mom and dad running to the principal for every little thing
How to suck it up and do something they don't like
How to take responsibility for their actions
How to share a room with someone

I'll keep thinking....

 

[My sister's princess]

My son is a sophomore in high school, and the other day he lost a button on his shorts. He brought them to me and I started to sew it on, and then I thought that he should probably know how to do something like that before he goes out into the world by himself. Everyone should know the basics of sewing on a button IMHO. Next thing he knew he had a needle and thread in his hand.

Then I started thinking about what other skills I should make sure he has before he goes off to college... how to do a load of laundry, etc.

What life skill(s) do you think a college bound kid (or anyone going out on their own) should know?

As an RA I sewed up more than one stuffed friend. I think that is one skill that everyone should have.


A few things I saw people struggling with

balancing a checkbook
ironing
basic cooking skills
Sharing (a bathroom, a room) <----- this one seems really silly but you would be SO surprised!

 

[golfgal]

As an RA I sewed up more than one stuffed friend. I think that is one skill that everyone should have.


A few things I saw people struggling with

balancing a checkbook
ironing
basic cooking skills
Sharing (a bathroom, a room) <----- this one seems really silly but you would be SO surprised!

The housing director at DS17 college (going in the fall) said the same thing-so many kids have never shared a room growing up that they have no idea how.

 

[DVCLiz]

How to call and make a restaurant reservation, order flowers, etc. when you have to speak to a live person on the phone. I was surprised how many of my daughter's high school friends had never done this.

 

[DisneyGirl421]

basic cooking
laundry
dishes
chores (especially cleaning a bathroom. you'd be surprised how many people I know who had never cleaned a toliet/shower before)
If you're from Jersey and go to college out of state: How to pump your own gas. haha. I'm guilty of this one. My friends made fun of me so many times because I had no idea how to do it!
Know how to budget time
How to handle stressful and frustrating things yourself

 

[My sister's princess]

The housing director at DS17 college (going in the fall) said the same thing-so many kids have never shared a room growing up that they have no idea how.

It is amazing how some kids don't understand that. What is worse is when parents are moving their kids in, and encouraging them to take more than 1/2 the room

 

[xxliz28xx]

I'm still in college, 25, living away from home, and I still can't sew... I really need to learn before my wedding!

Definitely knowing how to live with someone else, how to share things, and how to clean up after yourself!

 

[englishteacha]

basic cooking: how to boil water without a microwave, for instance
Laundry
balancing a checkbook
basic first aid (when to put on a band aid and when you should go to the ER for stitches)
The basics of interest. (I had a friend take a $5 cash advance on her credit card. 20% interest from that moment. Bad idea.)

 

[OceanAnnie]

How to budget.

How to read labels and get healthy food/snacks that will stick with you.

How to pace oneself. There are only so many hours in a day. Don't wait till the last minute to get things done.

Know when it's important to see the doctor (Headache that won't go away, sore that doesn't heal).

ETA- Always tell someone (roommate) where you are going if you are going to be awhile. Leave a note if your roommate isn't there. It's common courtesy and it has been known to be helpful to track someone down, if need be.

 

[mamacatnv]

Not necessarily a "skill" but something we realized right away upon graduation from high school.
It is OK to question an adult, it is OK to question an advisor, it is OK to ask questions or to question something that does not seem right etc. They are adults now, not high school students who pretty much must do what they are told. The rules or lack there of are very different.

Skill:
How to shop for and pick out over the counter meds.
How to go about seeking out medical care, who their providers are and where they can get RX's

DS a Sophomore, has had both The Swine Flu and Influenza this year............He lives 8 miles from home and we were able to get him to urgent care or his personal physician. However, we have also gotten several of his dormmates and friends to urgent care who are not locals - these kids didn't know where they could go (with parents insurance etc) I was calling parents or getting online and looking it up while DH was driving.
Yes the Univ. has a clinic - with limited hours and limited access.

Oh and congrats!
The first 2 months DS was away at college remain the longest 2 months of my life. BUT I am a stronger person and he is a great young adult and our relationship is maturing and evolving with each passing semester, just as it should be.

 

[eliza61]

How to budget.

How to read labels and get healthy food/snacks that will stick with you.

How to pace oneself. There are only so many hours in a day. Don't wait till the last minute to get things done.

Know when it's important to see the doctor (Headache that won't go away, sore that doesn't heal).

ETA- Always tell someone (roommate) where you are going if you are going to be awhile. Leave a note if your roommate isn't there. It's common courtesy and it has been known to be helpful to track someone down, if need be.

LOL This is turning out to be my freshman sons hardest challenge. He called me a few fridays ago. He said he went to the ATM machine to get some cash and he didn't have any money. he wanted to know what to do since he had a date

I told him to call his date and find some one with cable, his plans have just be changed.

 

[Rose&Mike]

how to manage a debit and or credit card
how to set a budget
what fees are associated with bank accounts
how to do laundry
how to check the oil in your car
how to check the tire pressure
what to do when a funny light comes on in your car (i.e. check oil)
how to write a thank you note

As for the living with a roomate--since most kids now have their own room, it's really hard to teach. Camp helps with this--short doses of living with someone else. DS's school, looks at sharing a room in college as a valuable life lesson.

Enjoy high school! It's a fun time in your kid's life.

 

[OceanAnnie]

LOL This is turning out to be my freshman sons hardest challenge. He called me a few fridays ago. He said he went to the ATM machine to get some cash and he didn't have any money. he wanted to know what to do since he had a date

I told him to call his date and find some one with cable, his plans have just be changed.

Yeah, I know what you mean. It happened to me in too. I had plenty of week, no cash. Sometimes that's how you learn.

 

[mamacatnv]

I told him to call his date and find some one with cable, his plans have just be changed.

Love it!

 

[golfgal]

Yeah, I know what you mean. It happened to me in too. I had plenty of week, no cash. Sometimes that's how you learn.

I had a friend in college that had a t-shirt that said "what do you mean I am overdrawn, I still have checks" This, was before there was such a thing as debit cards.

how to manage a debit and or credit card
how to set a budget
what fees are associated with bank accounts
how to do laundry
how to check the oil in your car
how to check the tire pressure
what to do when a funny light comes on in your car (i.e. check oil)
how to write a thank you note

As for the living with a roomate--since most kids now have their own room, it's really hard to teach. Camp helps with this--short doses of living with someone else. DS's school, looks at sharing a room in college as a valuable life lesson.

Enjoy high school! It's a fun time in your kid's life.

Over the years our kids have shared a room with a sibling either by their choice or our choice. For a while they all shared one room because they wanted to, well our oldest did anyway. The twins were still babies and shared a room, DH and I shared a room and DS thought it wasn't fair that he didn't have anyone to share a room with so we moved him into the twins' room and made his room a toy room . Now they all have their own rooms but the twins share a bathroom, DS17 has his own bedroom and bathroom, heck he pretty much has the whole basement to himself.

 

[hopemax]

The things I remember from college:

Laundry - especially the guys. And ironing. There were a couple of times, guy friends would show up with a nice shirt they needed ironed because 1. parents were coming to town and they had to go to a. dinner b. church, 2. meeting with a professor/scholarship awards 3. a date.

Cleaning up your clutter in the common areas. In one of the dorms I lived in, there were 4 double rooms, a common living room and a common bathroom. A janitor would come in and vacuum, empty trash, and clean the bathroom, but if someone's junk is laying around.

Estimating how long the money on your food card will last.

Just go ahead and tell your parents when you are leaving town, even if they are going to be unhappy about it. We had one girl who went to a different state for a long weekend and didn't tell them. Her parents kept calling, and when they got no answer they called the campus police who came knocking. Don't put your roommates in the position to have to rat you out. On the same note, if you have an out-of-state fiance don't ask your roommates to lie to him because you want to get it on with the cute guy in your math class.

Money issues of all types. Sophomore year, I roomed with a friend. But she had been raised to not have to think about money. When I called to setup the phone, we were going to use her number from the previous year. The service agent told me that she still had several unpaid bills, and it would be in my best interest to put the phone in my name only. Which is what I did. I would have to wait a couple weeks after the bill to get her portion, but I always did.

The second issue with her, I didn't find out until after the year ended and we were living on our own. She came to lunch, very upset one day about dealing with her bank. She thought that "overdraft protection" meant that the bank would cover her overdrafts with no cost to her. And now they wanted her to pay fees AND the money that she spent that she didn't have in her account in the first place. And since I kept my same phone number, for the next two years I had to deal with her bank and collections calling me looking for her.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

On a serious note, he should be familiar with counseling services offered on campus. I know at UF, they were free and available to any student.


I personally didn't know about it--but I did have friends take me to it. I was a bit stubborn, but needed it. I had access to about 2-3 months of counseling sessions for free and was graduated to group therapy after that.

(This was not a glorified guidance office, but a psychologists office in training with higher level grad/phD students fulfilling their hours requirements.)

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Learn how to take charge of their health and the need to call a doctor as well as CANCEL an appt. if you cannot make it.

My dd is 2hrs away and had the flu twice plus she has allergies and has had several colds being in the dorms.

Now the gals in the dorm will help out somewhat but for the most part, you are on your own. So, kid needs to understand that you need to be able to have "sick meds", thermometer, etc. on hand as well as "sick food".

 

[golfgal]

Learn how to take charge of their health and the need to call a doctor as well as CANCEL an appt. if you cannot make it.

My dd is 2hrs away and had the flu twice plus she has allergies and has had several colds being in the dorms.

Now the gals in the dorm will help out somewhat but for the most part, you are on your own. So, kid needs to understand that you need to be able to have "sick meds", thermometer, etc. on hand as well as "sick food".

One of my college roommates was a nursing major, she took care of all that stuff for us when we got sick. It was nice having a "mom" around. I only got REALLY sick once in college-major stomach flu for about 4 days.

If the kids need cold medicine, etc now I make them get it out, figure out their own dose, etc. DD would ask every time she needed Advil for cramps and I finally told her she could just do that on her own, they all know how to read now . They all immediately ask for popcicles and ginger ale if they are sick, no matter what they have .