15 Life Skills Everyone Should Know by Twenty-One
Last week Greg and I had lunch with a friend. She works in a nursery (the kind with plants). She had mentioned she was retiring soon and leaving the day-to-day business to a very enthusiastic 21 year old.
What piqued my curiosity was when she told me this young woman had asked her how to sew on a button that had come off her jacket.I was floored because I couldn't fathom how anyone could not know how to do such a simple task. My friend (who's around young people a lot) told me it wasn't all that unusual. They know how to change code to a web site, but they don't know how to change a tire. It boggles the imagination.
I've mentioned before that I have no real skill with needle or thread, but even I have a sewing box. They're cheap insurance. This one here even has a book for the rank beginner.
If I were to list fifteen things everyone should know by the time they're twenty-one, these would be my top choices.
- Sew on a button, or hem a pair of pants.
- Be able to change a tire. I've been stuck in areas with no phone service.
- Unclog a toilet.
- Balance a checkbook.
- Bake a cake--even if it's from a mix.
- Do your own taxes.
- Write a proper thank you card.
- Create, and stick to a budget.
- Know basic first aid.
- Know how to hang a picture.
- Learn to read a map.
- Know how to jump start a car.
- Make a meal from real food (not processed).
- Negotiate a deal for a car, furniture, or other big ticket items.
- Know how to do a proper load of laundry.
Poverty teaches you to be very self-sufficient. :D
What would you add to the list? If you have children, did you teach them any of the skills on the list before they left home?
Comments
I'd add 'basic first aid'. Things like how to stop minor bleeding and what to do with a minor burn. Perhaps 'how to grow food' would be a good skill for everyone to know. I'd also wish for common critical thinking skills, but so few people seem to have those that it's hard to pass them on. ;o)
Whenever the dogs get hurt or are sick, Greg turns to me to make the medical decisions. I'm a nervous Nelly because dogs don't talk and you have to assess pain and illness without the patient's help. (All hail veterinarians!)
As long as you can stabilize them long enough to get them to professional help, you've done the right thing.
re: critical thinking
Oh, how I wish more people had that skill. Their mouths start flapping before they think the whole thing out.
re: growing food
200 years ago, EVERYONE knew how to plant a seed, hunt, or raise a critter for the table. Today we're a tiny minority.
And that's another one - how to handle a job interview.
When my boys were growing up, I taught them basic "girl" skills. I didn't want them to get married just because they needed someone to mend their clothes or cook them a meal. But I don't think that's as much of an issue these days.
Except, I'm never sure where to put the jack when changing the tire. But the actual tire changing part, I've got down pat.
Granted, we don't use that much, but when we need a crisp shirt, ironing is a must.
I wish my mother had taught my brothers 'girl' jobs, but we were from the old era. One brother expects his wife to do the housework, but my youngest brother, born in the 70s, is very willing to share housekeeping duties with his wife.
Basic first aid is the only other one I'm iffy on, though I know the bare minimum. I probably couldn't stitch someone up, but I could treat minor scrapes/wounds/illnesses. That's on the to-do list for skill acquisitions this year.
In this day and age, too, I'd add 'be familiar with how firearms work.' Even if one doesn't want to own or carry a gun. That would really reduce a lot of the rampant fear of them that is peddled around, and in the event that someone was stuck in a situation where the wrong guy has the gun, it would at least give them an advantage to know what was going on, and if they could get their hands on the weapon to get it away, it would help keep them safe.
The nice thing about learning stuff today is that you can Google anything and find instructions on how to do it.
I loved that old vet. He taught me so much about medicine and first aid.
re: guns
Great point! I'm not a fan of guns though we own plenty. Greg makes it a point to show me how to shoot each weapon and how to take it apart.
Maria common sense amongst our young people starts at home and it is sad that so many parents cannot pass that on because they have none themselves nor do they have basic life skills like your list simply because no one was around to teach them the skills in the first place.
I know personally at least 15 people in my husband's family, his nieces and nephews, that were not taught by example as they basically raised themselves in front of the television and later on the computer and their phone screens playing video games. Very sad that is so common thanks to the need for both parents working and not having much time to do much at home with their offspring like my parents and friends parents did 40 or 50 years ago.
And what you said about parents not passing down this information is true too. I wonder if it was because of television and later the internet. I hadn't considered that.
The only solution is to start limiting distractions like these early in life.
People don't even know how to be polite anymore. Can you imagine if we replied with 'no problem' to an adult after they said thank you? My mother would've knocked me into yesterday for being so rude.
I'd also add "swim." I wasn't taught at an early age, and now I'm scared of water. I made sure my kids got training early so they wouldn't have the same fear as me.
re: stick
I saw that on Facebook. They called it an anti-theft device for Millennial car thieves.
re: swim
That's a good one. I've always regretted not learning how to swim. It's not that I don't want to, I just can't. I tense up as soon as I hit the water.
Every time I've had a flat tire, someone has always stopped to help--or I used AAA. Still, it doesn't hurt to know how for those days when it's all up to you. It's not hard--though sometimes taking off the lug bolts are tough.
I'd add how to set up a pantry. Nothing fancy but knowing which spices to buy and staples to add to it. It can provide a bit of breathing space on weeks when money gets tight. But I guess that's part of how to cook.
Also -- and this is dumb, but it would eliminate a lot of food poisoning cases -- when to throw out unused foods, particularly eggs, mayonnaise and raw meat.
You wouldn't think people wouldn't know how to use a ladder, but you're right. I have a friend right now who's husband fell off a ladder and broke both feet.
Electricity might be beyond most people. I know the difference between hot and neutral, but I leave all the electrical work to Greg.
re: bad food
I'm so used to hearing about people throwing out food, but I guess there's always the odd duck who thinks everything is okay to eat. My motto is when in doubt, throw it in the compost. :)
I'm glad the plunger solved your problem. Never skimp on the plunger. :)
It is so important to teach those basic life skills to kids. You are right, they are computer savvy, but perhaps street poor (does that make sense?)
betty