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I remember when I was in school taking home ec, cooking, parenting, and other life skills classes. When I began homeschooling, the thought of teaching these as a “class” in my homeschool never really crossed my mind. And then, there was the time when I asked my 10-year-old to change the garbage, and she struggled. Or the time I asked my teenager to unclog the toilet herself. She looked at me like I was nuts.
Life skills. We all need them, but more often than not, we don’t teach life skills. But why is that? We do we not bother to teach the important things?
I believe there are three reasons NOT to teach life skills.
We Think Someone Else Will Teach Life Skills
Why would we teach our kids a basic life skill if someone else will do it for us? I mean it is SO much easier to let grandma teach them how to bake, than me right? Tying tennis shoes? I’ll be honest, my hubby taught my older two how to do that. I’m still waiting on him to teach the youngest….
I’m totally guilty of this one. And chances are you are too. But, what if no one else teaches them? Then what? We need to be willing and able to do it ourselves. We ARE their parents right?!
We Assume They Already Know
Yep, guilty of this one too. I mean how hard is it to change the garbage? Well, obviously for some it’s hard. Unclogging a toilet? My oldest flat out told me she didn’t need to learn, that’s what her dad was for…
When we assume our kids know the basics we are risking the chance of something happening and them NOT knowing. Guess what? Every child becomes an adult. And, we are doing our children a disservice by not taking the time to ensure they know the basics. I mean we’ve all clogged a toilet at some point right? And if we don’t know how to unclog it, there may be a slight mess….
We Don’t Know How to Do it Ourself
Another one I’m guilty of. My mom tells me on a regular basis I’m too dependent on my husband. I don’t know how to check the air in my tires, check my oil, or start our grill.
I know. I’m failing at life.
But, I need to learn these things, and if I can’t teach my kids how to do them then I need to learn alongside them.
Life skills are important. And we may not realize HOW important until a situation arises that we can’t handle. Do we want to do our children the same disservice?
I don’t. And, that’s why we have been using Skill Trek.
Skill Trek teaches kids all the basic skills that we forget to teach. The things we think they know, and the things we don’t know how to do ourselves. Skill Trek brings families together and allows them to learn the basics together, it encourages parents to come alongside their kids and teach them skills that will carry them into adulthood.
Skill trek is a field guide for life!
Learn what the kids think of Skill Trek below.
So, if you’re guilty (like me) of not teaching your kids life skills, check out Skill Trek and learn more about how your family can learn life skills together.
