General Life Skills List for Teens

[Elizabeth86]

1 minute ago, fairfarmhand said:

They don't have to do it. Nobody will be doing it in class at any rate. This is just a fun thing for the kids to try. I'm amazed at how much fun they're having talking about opening cans so I fully expect them to talk trash about who can fold the fitted sheet the fastest or some such bragging. 

Oh I knew, I was just saying that in a joking way because I have no idea how to. Just joking. 🤣

[fairfarmhand]

Just now, Elizabeth86 said:

Oh I knew, I was just saying that in a joking way because I have no idea how to. Just joking. 🤣

So my dd20 and her friend group tried out learning different things when we were all quarantined in 2020. They played a game and gave points for who could do what. They watched YouTube and taught themselves how to fold fitted sheets, but the process was hilarious. I taught my dd and wish I had made a video. She was so funny. 

[fairfarmhand]

Did you guys know that my dd24 has had multiple roommates with no clue how to plunge a toilet? She's taught multiple people how to do it both at work and at her apartment. In fact, she's had to teach her dh how to turn off the water to the toilet to keep it from overflowing. 

At my house, al my kids learned to unclog a commode from about age 7 or 8. Maybe we have lousy toilets or my kids used too much paper or something but I remember days where I unclogged toilets like four or five times a day. The rule currently is If you Clog it, you plunge it. 

They better not leave that mess for someone else to deal with.

Every now and then, someone will come roaring out of the bathroom, "WHO DID THIS! I'M NOT HANDLING THAT BECAUSE I DIDN'T DO IT!"

One my my dd16's best friend came out of the bathroom here one time and said, Mrs. A, I clogged your toilet. I said, Oh, dear. She then said, But, I unclogged it so you don't have to worry.

I told her she was my favorite out of my dd's friends. 

[Soror]

5 hours ago, mommyoffive said:

Does anyone still do this?   I don't think I ever have done this.  Maybe in high school.  It has been at least a decade or more since I wrote a check.  

I was just thinking on this. 

I just wrote checks three times in the last month- once to get our passports done- otherwise I had to have a Cashier's Check. Also, in order to pay to license my vehicle and property taxes. The county and license bureau both take CC's but charge a fee to do so whereas using a check is free. When I took my checkbook the kids were incredulous that I would possibly need it- where do you possibly write a check- but yes, sometimes it is needed. Much easier to keep a checkbook - that lasts forever when you don't use it very much then have to get out cash all the time or cashier's check. Maybe it is done differently in other places.

[Eos]

Treat for shock

Figure out where they are on a map

Easily and appropriately say thank you, I'm sorry, and do you need help

 

[gardenmom5]

Mend a piece of clothing  (different than sewing on a button)

how to load a dishwasher

how to do wash - sorting colors and fabrics, and what goes with what, what temp, what cycle, etc.

follow a recipe

Tie a tie

How to balance a checkbook  (even if all they ever do is take money from their debit card)

how to fill out a W2

check the breakers/change a fuse

vacuum - so they get the edges and the corners

mop

make a bed

 

[gardenmom5]

28 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

Did you guys know that my dd24 has had multiple roommates with no clue how to plunge a toilet? She's taught multiple people how to do it both at work and at her apartment. In fact, she's had to teach her dh how to turn off the water to the toilet to keep it from overflowing. 

At my house, al my kids learned to unclog a commode from about age 7 or 8. Maybe we have lousy toilets or my kids used too much paper or something but I remember days where I unclogged toilets like four or five times a day. The rule currently is If you Clog it, you plunge it. 

They better not leave that mess for someone else to deal with.

Every now and then, someone will come roaring out of the bathroom, "WHO DID THIS! I'M NOT HANDLING THAT BECAUSE I DIDN'T DO IT!"

One my my dd16's best friend came out of the bathroom here one time and said, Mrs. A, I clogged your toilet. I said, Oh, dear. She then said, But, I unclogged it so you don't have to worry.

I told her she was my favorite out of my dd's friends. 

Dudeling was the only one of mine to clog toilets.

The worst thing that could happen is his brothers finding it (worse than if I did).  They made sure his life was excruciatingly miserable for as long as it took for him to go back to the bathroom to unclog it.  EVENTUALLY! . . . he just plunged it without the drama, but it took a long time to reach that point.

[TechWife]

52 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

Is it *really* up to date b/c I couldn't care less if I got a handwritten thank you from anyone. A email acknowledgement of receipt/thanks is perfectly good by me and I'm 45. I would love to gift something like this to DD but only if it's current. The only persons I know who prefer handwritten are 70+.

Yes. I have the 19th edition, copyright 2017. It’s  very relevant. They are ok with email in most scenarios, including thank you notes. 
Etiquette is about a lot more than writing notes, I think your DD would get a lot out of it. They differentiate between etiquette and manners. Manners change but are grounded in etiquette.  Etiquette is behavior based on consideration & thoughtfulness. It is based on the principles of consideration (being aware & understanding how a situation affects everyone involved), respect (build upon consideration and includes valuing the individuals involved) and honesty (being sincere & truthful, acting with integrity in ways that honor & respect others). Manners are how etiquette is carried out and it changes over time & context, can be situational and are a combination of common sense & generosity. They help us interact thoughtfully. 

One of the best examples that I know of for demonstrating etiquette is the TV show Gilmore Girls. The easy going, non-judgmental attitudes, kindness to others, accepting people for who they are. Each person is seen to have value and is ultimately treated that way. Another good resource is the book Protocol: The Power of Diplomacy and How to Make it Work for You by Capricia Penavic Marshall. She is a former chief of protocol for the White House and the book is a mix of excellent storytelling and practical helps, mainly geared toward the business world, but also to private life. FWIW, I spent a few months in 2020 with etiquette as my reading focus.

 

[Sneezyone]

3 minutes ago, TechWife said:

Yes. I have the 19th edition, copyright 2017. It’s  very relevant. They are ok with email in most scenarios, including thank you notes. 
Etiquette is about a lot more than writing notes, I think your DD would get a lot out of it. They differentiate between etiquette and manners. Manners change but are grounded in etiquette.  Etiquette is behavior based on consideration & thoughtfulness. It is based on the principles of consideration (being aware & understanding how a situation affects everyone involved), respect (build upon consideration and includes valuing the individuals involved) and honesty (being sincere & truthful, acting with integrity in ways that honor & respect others). Manners are how etiquette is carried out and it changes over time & context, can be situational and are a combination of common sense & generosity. They help us interact thoughtfully. 

One of the best examples that I know of for demonstrating etiquette is the TV show Gilmore Girls. The easy going, non-judgmental attitudes, kindness to others, accepting people for who they are. Each person is seen to have value and is ultimately treated that way. Another good resource is the book Protocol: The Power of Diplomacy and How to Make it Work for You by Capricia Penavic Marshall. She is a former chief of protocol for the White House and the book is a mix of excellent storytelling and practical helps, mainly geared toward the business world, but also to private life. FWIW, I spent a few months in 2020 with etiquette as my reading focus.

 

Sounds great!

[Scarlett]

55 minutes ago, Elizabeth86 said:

You don’t actually expect anyone to fold a fitted sheet do you?

I worked in a nursing home laundry as a senior in high school.  I folded many many sheets. Fitted and flat.  I definitely know how to fold a fitted sheet nicely and I always enjoy doing so.

[Arctic Bunny]

Hammer a nail, use a drill and screwdriver. Hang a picture, loosen/tighten a nut. Use a corkscrew. Sharpen a knife. Change the lightbulb in a ceiling fixture. Clean an oven. Build something from ikea (follow a set of instructions).

[DreamerGirl]

1 hour ago, Kassia said:

My poor dd is going through this with her roommates now.  It is awful and I feel so bad for her.  She has her own room and shares a bathroom with only one roommate but the kitchen is absolutely disgusting (4 girls).  She has sent me video and I am appalled at how gross they leave the kitchen.  She can't even cook in the kitchen because the counters are a mess and the sink is piled high with dishes with food still on them.  They have fruit flies now and just had ants.  She said her boyfriend is way neater than any of her three female roommates.  And it's like two of the roommates don't even understand that food being left out attracts bugs!  

Your poor DD. And nothing may work with them including house meetings probably. But on the bright side she will absolutely know what she can live with. 

1 hour ago, Kassia said:

All of my kids were neater than their roommates in college (and ds1 is neater than his gf) but it was never this bad.  

 

Yeah, this whole college kids are like that haha is not ok. Messy is ok in their space, but dirty and not doing anything about it and not even recognizing it when they can perfectly function enough in other ways especially in shared space is  just disgusting and makes living together so hard. 

[Scarlett]

I did not read every single reply....but I would say young adults do know how to properly write a check.  In the business I work, we much prefer checks over a debit or credit card....and just the other day I had a 30 year old is man who did not know how to write a check to me.  I had to show him.  

I write very few checks but I do still write them.  I wrote one just last night to pay for the 1/2 cow we just bought.  

[DreamerGirl]

I am going to learn how to fold a fitted sheet based on this thread. 😁

I think in fact lots of skills I do not have and skating by.

Never mowed a lawn ever and absolutely no clue about cars. I am super impressed people are teaching how to maintain cars. I would be intimidated the heck out of it and so would DH and we are in tech. 😊

 

[Scarlett]

1 minute ago, DreamerGirl said:

I am going to learn how to fold a fitted sheet based on this thread. 😁

I think in fact lots of skills I do not have and skating by.

Never mowed a lawn ever and absolutely no clue about cars. I am super impressed people are teaching how to maintain cars. I would be intimidated the heck out of it and so would DH and we are in tech. 😊

 

Dh works with many Engineers from India and this is true among them.  They don't like caring for their lawns....and aren't very handy around the house.  For instance, one of them wanted to install a real kitchen vent in the house they bought....they discussed it with dh at length.  They were very intimidated by the project.  I need to ask dh if that job ever got done.  I fully expected dh to go do it for them lol, but not sure if he did.

[Lucy the Valiant]

2 hours ago, Murphy101 said:

FYI. There is actually zero legal requirement to use cursive on legal documents, including checks.

And yet, when we refinanced last year, the mortgage lady INSISTED that I sign IN CURSIVE every single mortgage form. (She accepted DH's illegible scrawl without comment.) I argued, but then figured the excellent rate was worth the hassle so just re-signed every. single. page.

[Jean in Newcastle]

7 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Dh works with many Engineers from India and this is true among them.  They don't like caring for their lawns....and aren't very handy around the house.  For instance, one of them wanted to install a real kitchen vent in the house they bought....they discussed it with dh at length.  They were very intimidated by the project.  I need to ask dh if that job ever got done.  I fully expected dh to go do it for them lol, but not sure if he did.

My FIL got a lot of very basic diy books when he first immigrated to the US.  Including one that included "how to mow a lawn".   I really admire that he never let not having prior experience with something stop him from learning. 

[DreamerGirl]

Just now, Scarlett said:

Dh works with many Engineers from India and this is true among them.  They don't like caring for their lawns....and aren't very handy around the house.  For instance, one of them wanted to install a real kitchen vent in the house they bought....they discussed it with dh at length.  They were very intimidated by the project.  I need to ask dh if that job ever got done.  I fully expected dh to go do it for them lol, but not sure if he did.

 DH and I budget for lawn service (even now) and maid service (pre-pandemic). We send the cars regularly for service. 

Indian houses are solid brick houses so you cannot construct anything on your own. You have to break down solid brick. So we never grew up watching family do construction like here.

Lawns do not exist as land is very limited though most people have container gardens and they grow lots of produce on roof top terraces. But lawns are very rare and considered a waste of water especially in a region where water scarcity is real. Plus labor is really cheap so you can hire people to paint for you and do pretty much any repair. Most of them are small businesses. Domestic help is comparatively cheap and pretty much every middle class family has it.

Things DH and I have done together here are installing fans, painting, shelves, cabinet knobs and we both know how to use a drill. We were super excited to buy a drill the first time. 😊

DH has built several computers and does raspberry Pi with DS so he has lots of stuff now including a glue gun. But ordinary house hold stuff is still intimidating. That is why we are diligent about maintenance. 

[Eos]

Adding: read an analog clock.

[BlsdMama]

Fun idea!

 What makes up a credit report and how it’s weighted, I.e., how to maximize the number and why (loan terms)

 Making phone calls

 How to check if a professor is to be labeled “Dr.” in emails and how to write a professional email

 Reasons to check your checking account

 How to check the gas station for a skimmer (or lesson last week) 🤦🏼‍♀️ 

How to fill out the FAFSA? Or at least that it’s important. Homeschool kids do not have school counselors.

 How to fill out an election ballot

 Cuts of meat, lol

 challenge: use an ATM this week

Edited January 20, 2022 by BlsdMama

[Murphy101]

39 minutes ago, Lucy the Valiant said:

And yet, when we refinanced last year, the mortgage lady INSISTED that I sign IN CURSIVE every single mortgage form. (She accepted DH's illegible scrawl without comment.) I argued, but then figured the excellent rate was worth the hassle so just re-signed every. single. page.

Okay. Separate issue. People do illegal stuff repeatedly until someone refuses to let them.  Happens all the time. Doesn’t make it legal or correct.

I insist on teaching and using cursive from kindergarten on. But not for that reason. 

[Sneezyone]

18 minutes ago, BlsdMama said:

How to fill out an election ballot

 Cuts of meat, lol

DD is joining me this fall at the polls. Important life lessons there. I read somewhere that two, consecutive voting experiences make someone more likely to be al lifelong voter. 

Cuts of meat, LOL, yes but only if your kiddo **actually** cooks.

[TechWife]

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

I did not read every single reply....but I would say young adults do know how to properly write a check.  In the business I work, we much prefer checks over a debit or credit card....and just the other day I had a 30 year old is man who did not know how to write a check to me.  I had to show him.  

I write very few checks but I do still write them.  I wrote one just last night to pay for the 1/2 cow we just bought.  

My ds has never had checks. Not only would he not be able to write one, he wouldn’t have one to begin with. I think this is true of a lot of people now. 

[AmandaVT]

4 hours ago, Elizabeth86 said:

You don’t actually expect anyone to fold a fitted sheet do you?

Witchcraft. I'm 44 and have watched many youtube videos, my mom has tried to teach me countless times, and I cannot do it. I start well and then it always ends up in a ball. I'm convinced that it's witchcraft. 

[Bootsie]

7 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

Yep. In that case, you need cash.

I have run into problems that places will not let you pay cash when the electricity is out because they can't ring up the bill--it doesn't matter if I have a form of payment that doesn't require electricity

[Sneezyone]

1 hour ago, TechWife said:

My ds has never had checks. Not only would he not be able to write one, he wouldn’t have one to begin with. I think this is true of a lot of people now. 

My kids don't either. It wouldn't occur to them to use one. They Zelle/CashApp/Venmo/Paypal from their phones and call it a day.

[Bootsie]

One of my daughter's friends tells the story of how her mother insisted that she and her sisters all learn to drive a standard transmission car saying "if you are kidnapped and the only get away car is a standard, you need to know how to drive it..."  She now chooses to drivesa standard but luckily neither she nor one of her sisters have been in a situation in which they had to put the skill to a test because they were kidnapped.  

[Bootsie]

1 hour ago, TechWife said:

My ds has never had checks. Not only would he not be able to write one, he wouldn’t have one to begin with. I think this is true of a lot of people now. 

I was surprised last week when I asked my college students how many of them had written a check in the last month (it is a finance class and I was going to point out how much financial markets have changed in the past couple of decades) about 25% of my students said that they wrote a check within the last month and almost all said that they had in the past year.  I would have guessed that less than 10% had in the past year. 

[Sneezyone]

7 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

I was surprised last week when I asked my college students how many of them had written a check in the last month (it is a finance class and I was going to point out how much financial markets have changed in the past couple of decades) about 25% of my students said that they wrote a check within the last month and almost all said that they had in the past year.  I would have guessed that less than 10% had in the past year. 

The question would be to whom and why, and how old are the students? The only reason I write checks anymore is to gift funds to older people or avoid fees where a small business is not set up to accept e-transfers.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Sneezyone

[Sneezyone]

28 minutes ago, Bootsie said:

One of my daughter's friends tells the story of how her mother insisted that she and her sisters all learn to drive a standard transmission car saying "if you are kidnapped and the only get away car is a standard, you need to know how to drive it..."  She now chooses to drivesa standard but luckily neither she nor one of her sisters have been in a situation in which they had to put the skill to a test because they were kidnapped.  

My DD has a stick shift b/c 1) driving stick shift cars is more fun, b) it discourages would-be friends/boyfriends from ever trying to borrow it, and c) it's cheaper to maintain. Do heavy machines operate with a manual transmission? It might be fun to see if students in OPs rural area have this skill too.

Edited January 21, 2022 by Sneezyone

[fairfarmhand]

43 minutes ago, Sneezyone said:

My DD has a stick shift b/c 1) driving stick shift cars is more fun, b) it discourages would-be friends/boyfriends from ever trying to borrow it, and c) it's cheaper to maintain. Do heavy machines operate with a manual transmission? It might be fun to see if students in OPs rural area have this skill too.

Tractors run with a manual.

I don't know how many of my students could do it. I barely do it just a smidge. Most of my kids are not farm kids.

[Sneezyone]

4 minutes ago, fairfarmhand said:

Tractors run with a manual.

I don't know how many of my students could do it. I barely do it just a smidge. Most of my kids are not farm kids.

DD is interested in construction and engineering and I keep telling her that being able to operate the equipment and speak with authority will go a long way!!

[theelfqueen]

6 hours ago, gardenmom5 said:

 

how to do wash - sorting colors and fabrics, and what goes with what, what temp, what cycle, etc.

I am barely a grown up in this respect. I wash sheets blankets and towels separately from other clothes but pretty much everything else goes in together on the same settings. Seems to work for us. 

[Tap]

I haven't read everyones replys, but one I would add. How to hand wash an article of clothing in the sink/tub etc and lay flat to dry. 

[Tap]

2 hours ago, Bootsie said:

One of my daughter's friends tells the story of how her mother insisted that she and her sisters all learn to drive a standard transmission car saying "if you are kidnapped and the only get away car is a standard, you need to know how to drive it..."  She now chooses to drivesa standard but luckily neither she nor one of her sisters have been in a situation in which they had to put the skill to a test because they were kidnapped.  

I did this too. But, my reason was that if there was ever an emergency and that was the only car available, they needed to understand the basics. DD23 loved driving a manual and has owned one since high school.  She recently got an amazing deal on her dream car. She was disappointed that it wasn't a clutch but it didn't stop her from buying it and loving it 🙂 She still has the manual car, it is now her husbands project car (2001 VW Golf TDI). The boys in high school thought it was super cool that she could drive a manual, especially since several of them couldn't. LOL

[gardenmom5]

50 minutes ago, theelfqueen said:

I am barely a grown up in this respect. I wash sheets blankets and towels separately from other clothes but pretty much everything else goes in together on the same settings. Seems to work for us. 

my brother ruined an expensive pair of dress pants my grandmother bought him because he didn't know how to care for clothes.  

I wish my mother had taught me, and I hadn't had to learn the hard way.  

[theelfqueen]

28 minutes ago, gardenmom5 said:

my brother ruined an expensive pair of dress pants my grandmother bought him because he didn't know how to care for clothes.  

I wish my mother had taught me, and I hadn't had to learn the hard way.  

I generally avoid purchasing clothing with special care requirements and we don't do clothing as gifts between adults/young adults. I know how to sort and separate and what not, it just isn't necessary in my family's lifestyle for most things. 

[Tanaqui]

13 hours ago, fairfarmhand said:

This absolutely would be wonderful. But...

I (said shamefully) am really terrible at this kind of thing. I did okay when I lived in Florida and it was flat and most of the streets ran parallel to one another. But when I moved to Tn and the roads follow the contours of hills, ridges, valleys, streams, and mountains, along with whatever little farm lanes were created at random...I got lost all the time.

Still would if not for GPS. I was so glad when I was able to use a GPS for navigation. Before that, I constantly was having to turn around, tell myself...this doesn't look right....ask for directions. Every trip to a new place was frustrating and anxiety producing. I legitimately have some weird hang-up about directions. My dh is very good at that kind of thing and he was relieved when I got GPS because it wasn't uncommon for me to end up in weird unsafe places. 

 

Topographical agnosia. I've got that. Got lost in front of my own house when I was ten. Used to routinely get lost in the halls outside my own classroom.

Most people don't have that, and definitely benefit from practicing their navigational skills more. (I'll argue that I benefited from it as well. At the very least I don't panic if I find myself in an unfamiliar place, because getting lost an awful lot has taught me to get found, in the same way that being a clumsy child taught me how to fall down.)

[Tanaqui]

10 hours ago, Murphy101 said:

FYI. There is actually zero legal requirement to use cursive on legal documents, including checks.

 

The trouble is that third grade teachers have been telling that to kids so long that many adults grew up believing it.

This sort of thing is why little cynical me, as a young child, formed a rule of life: the more you hear something said without any sort of proper source, the more likely it is to be false. Or, as I more often put it, especially as a kid, people will say ANYthing.

I decided that based on "cursive" and "bare feet in stores", but honestly, this rule has never steered me wrong even on more serious subjects. People really will just say anything.

[gardenmom5]

3 hours ago, theelfqueen said:

I generally avoid purchasing clothing with special care requirements and we don't do clothing as gifts between adults/young adults. I know how to sort and separate and what not, it just isn't necessary in my family's lifestyle for most things. 

The OP asked for suggestions for "life skills" for teens.  I gave some suggestions - the OP is free to take or leave those ideas as what works for her.  If you don't like them - you don't have to do them.

 You quoted me to say what is below.   If you don't want to sort, or barely sort - that's between you and your family.   I don't know why you chose to respond this way to my list of suggestions.

5 hours ago, theelfqueen said:

I am barely a grown up in this respect. I wash sheets blankets and towels separately from other clothes but pretty much everything else goes in together on the same settings. Seems to work for us. 

If you

[gardenmom5]

7 hours ago, Sneezyone said:

My DD has a stick shift b/c 1) driving stick shift cars is more fun, b) it discourages would-be friends/boyfriends from ever trying to borrow it, and c) it's cheaper to maintain. Do heavy machines operate with a manual transmission? It might be fun to see if students in OPs rural area have this skill too.

I made my kids learn to drive on a stick.  They are more fun (I learned on a 75 toyota celica hatchback.  Once I learned to drive it, it was fun.) - unless you have a four-speed gutless wonder.  My kids car wasn't a fun car. . . . and 1ds complained up one side and down the other about how out of date manuals are and everything is automatic these days and it's a no longer needed skill . . . . 

I still made him learn to drive it.   He also totaled it . . . . .(a little too sleepy while driving to school and rear ended someone.  It was still drivable, but . . .didn't take much.)  - at which time 2dd yelled "you mean that was all I had to do!?!" (she pretty much had exclusive use of it when she was in grad school.)

Now everyone has their own car, and they're all automatics.  But they know how to drive a stick!

Someday, dudeling may finally decide to learn to drive, and I'll debate do we just give him dh's car (and get him a new one), or find a (gutless wonder) stick . . . .

[Guest]

12 hours ago, DreamerGirl said:

Yeah, this whole college kids are like that haha is not ok. Messy is ok in their space, but dirty and not doing anything about it and not even recognizing it when they can perfectly function enough in other ways especially in shared space is  just disgusting and makes living together so hard. 

My son always thought my cleanliness/order standards were ridiculously high…until college. Moving in with three other dudes was eye-opening for him. He couldn’t believe the level of squalor some of his roomies were perfectly unfussed  to experience. He even tried to make a cleaning rotation but two of the guys wouldn’t cooperate with it. 

[Pippen]

Basic food safety, like what to do with a can of tomatoes that you've used half of. (the answer is not tape it up and put it in the cupboard  🤢)

 

[TechWife]

15 hours ago, Scarlett said:

I worked in a nursing home laundry as a senior in high school.  I folded many many sheets. Fitted and flat.  I definitely know how to fold a fitted sheet nicely and I always enjoy doing so.

We had a family dry cleaners & I’ve folded countless sheets. However, the newer sheets with deep pockets and longer elastic around the corners are a nightmare to fold. Throw in the fact that we have a king size bed & I can not fold them by myself any longer. It’s now a two person job to get it done well. 

[Scarlett]

12 minutes ago, TechWife said:

We had a family dry cleaners & I’ve folded countless sheets. However, the newer sheets with deep pockets and longer elastic around the corners are a nightmare to fold. Throw in the fact that we have a king size bed & I can not fold them by myself any longer. It’s now a two person job to get it done well. 

Yes, I agree the deeper pockets are more difficult.  And I have never fold a king-size sheet.

[Storygirl]

My suggestion to the OP is to change the "quick bread or biscuit" category to something like "learn to make a favorite family recipe." Because quick breads and biscuits are not in every family's diet.

I'm enjoying reading everyone's responses, though I admit that not only do my teens not know how to do some of these "essential" things, but I also do not. For example, I have never driven a stick-shift and have never changed a tire. I do know how to fold a fitted sheet and make hospital corners when making a bed, because my mother taught us those things. My kids, however, don't seem to get it, and they don't get much practice, because most of the time, we put their sheets right back on their beds and never fold them.

 

[Murphy101]

I have never driven a stick and I have never changed a tire. But also, those dadblum pneumatic drills they use at the tire store to put your new tires on make it impossible to get a tire off without your own pneumatic drill! 

Edited January 21, 2022 by Murphy101

[Murphy101]

The only laundry sorting I do is bedding from clothes and stuff that needs bleached gets it’s own load. That’s it. 

[SKL]

It definitely varies.  Even my two daughters, who are living exactly the same life, have very different challenges in this regard.

Some things that have been difficult (and probably shouldn't be) within the past year:

• Placing food orders, whether at a restaurant, drive-thru, grocery, or phone for delivery.  Not so much because they will starve, but because it is good practice for using your verbal skills to get what you want/need.
• Asking for help, whether from teachers, retail workers, etc.
• Discussing health matters with health professionals.
• For one kid, planning and cooking a meal.  She is scared of cooking.  She doesn't mind baking cookies though.  😛

Interesting that most of the above involve talking / advocating for oneself.

My kids also don't know how to get around by mass transit (alone), but since we don't ever use local mass transit, I'm not sure how best to remedy that.

[QueenCat]

I still can't fold a fitted sheet... makes me crazy.