70 Life Skills Your Teen Needs Before Leaving Home

In less than thirty days with two birthdays on the horizon, this clan will have 5 teenagers. Yes, five out of our seven kiddos will be/are TEENAGERS! As parents, we spend a lot of time ensuring that our teens are fully equipped with the life skills that are needed to flourish in adulthood. This is a progressive list and we don’t expect them to hit thirteen and have all of a sudden mastered all SEVENTY of these skills. However, it is our hope that by the time they leave the nest, they are highly informed on what it takes to not only sustain a healthy quality of life on their own but to be successful.

Here are 70 Life Skills Your Teen Should Know Before Leaving Home:

How to properly address an envelope
How to read a map without the use of Waze, Google Maps or any other map app
How to pay a bill
Understand how to create and utilize a budget
Know their SSN number
Know their parent’s phone number by memory
How to write their signature
How to use a dictionary or encyclopedia (sans Google)
How to properly wash, fold and iron their clothes
Cook a balanced meal! (Ramen Noodles does not count as a balanced meal, LOL)
How to deposit a check
How to take public transport home if they lost their cellphone
How to change a tire or check oil levels
How to read a second-hand watch
How to properly self-advocate
What a credit report and credit score is
How to fill out a job application
How to write a resume
How to use a debit card/credit card machine/ ATM
How to balance a checkbook/finances
How to open a bank account
Self Defense Techniques
How to write a check and fill out a money order
How to interview or be interviewed
How to conduct themselves at a business lunch or dinner with dignitaries
How to sew a button on their clothes.
How to place a 911 call calmly
How to share their own beliefs and respect the beliefs of others
How to behave on a date (For our older teens)
Understand the medical power of attorney
Understand their parents will and how wills work
Know their medical background and their maternal and paternal medical background
Sex education
How to save, invest, and manage credit
How to maintain personal hygiene
Know the how and whys behind the physical changes they are experiencing and how to manage them
Time Management Skills
How to manage their stress
How to create a self-care plan
How to effectively communicate their feeling and deal with uncomfortable ones
Social Media and Online Gaming Etiquette
How to meal plan and grocery shop alone
How to deal with failure
Know table manners
How to properly clean and disinfect a bathroom and kitchen
How to pump gas
How to properly write a professional email (Hey! is not a formal greeting and U is not equivalent to YOU)
Know their home address
How to make appointments
How to fill out applications and forms
How to show gratitude
The effects of interest rates
How to perform the Heimlich and basic first aid
Know the phone number of their emergency contact (not just parents)
Know the name of the closest hospital
Know how to put out a grease fire
How to use a fire extinguisher
How to appropriately interact with the opposite sex
How to implement conflict resolution
How credit cards and loans work
What their GPA really means
Know that therapy is always an option
Know the art of negotiation
How to stay organized
How to conduct a job search
How to embrace change
What to do if they are pulled over or addressed by police
Know how to identify their self worth
Know the importance of individuality
Understand that minding their own business and drinking plenty of water will keep them out of a lot of unnecessary drama!

And yes I know that even as adults we encounter many of our highly capable peers who have yet to master some of these essential life skills! This is why I can’t stress enough the importance of teaching our children as much as we can before we offer them to the world to figure things out on their own.

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