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How to Teach Life Skills. Mentoring dependents with the life skills to develop confidence
ensures they will have the tools to be productive members of society. The bonus is the bond
you form with them. You will need High expectations House chores Garden Money Kitchen Laundry
appliances Iron and sewing materials. Step 1. Instill confidence through high expectations
for children and students, requiring them to make decisions and resolve conflicts on
their own. Examples abound of kids in special education or with disabilities who accept
setbacks and still triumph, against all odds. Making mistakes is how most people learn.
Let children fall down and figure out their next step instead of saving them from the
consequences of their actions. Step 2. Assign chores around the house, and don't spare them
from nasty ones like cleaning the toilet or cleaning up after the pets. They will have
a home some day and will have to make a bed and mop a floor, as well as fix a drippy faucet,
change a light, or shovel the walk. Start now and they'll thank you later. Step 3. Read
about or take classes with your children and plan a garden together. Allow them to choose
what they will plant, tend, and harvest. Growing and eating food is the most literal way to
enjoy the fruits of your labor. Don't give them an allowance for what is an honorable
routine of pitching in for the family. Everyone who makes the garbage should also bag it and
take it out to the curb. Step 4. Guide them in demonstrating the right attitude, manners,
and commitment for getting a job. Learning how to behave on the job and to stick with
it even when the going gets rough will develop a work ethic for life. Step 5. Show them how
to handle a bank account and check book, shifting the responsibility for purchasing their extras,
paying for their cell phones, and going to concerts with friends. If they want something,
they will need to figure out how to save up for it. Step 6. Help them plan a menu, buy,
prepare, and cook a meal. They will need to fend for themselves eventually, and eat healthy
on their own as a matter of survival. No better time than the present. Enrolling your child
in a scout troop will challenge them to learn how to find food, make a fire, and maintain
safety in the wild as part of a group. Joining scout troops has also been known to build
character, self esteem, and other important life skills. Step 7. Teach them how to separate
clothes and use appliances for their laundry. Show how to safely use an iron. Give them
the basics of sewing and repairing their own things, and perhaps eventually learning to
make their own clothing. Now, rest assured knowing that your child has gained the proper
life skills to survive. Did you know A 2008 study conducted by Careerbuilder.com revealed
that newly hired workers born after 1980 demonstrated a sense of personal superiority, entitlement
to higher pay, expectations of flexible work hours, and a need for more vacation time.