Every new generation thinks they know better than the one before. Teens especially tend to think their parents are old and totally out of date. Of course there may be a little truth in this but there are many things that parents know that they should try to pass on to their kids. These are like life skills for young adults and cover a whole gamut of subjects from drugs and contraception to job interviews and basic economics.
The whole status of the family unit has changed and everyone is busy with their own agenda. Even family meals seldom happen so there is little time for discussing the events of the day, local or world news or just exchanging views. In fact by the mid teens many kids are strangers to their parents. No one goes on shopping expeditions for a new dress, for example, as everything is bought online. Planning Sunday dinner does not happen and if there is to be a special celebration, call in the professionals.
Boys could not wait for Sunday when dad washed the car and they got to sit behind the wheel and find out how it all worked. Mowing the lawn was a chore but growing vegetables gave you a sense of pride. Going to Dad's office and finding out the kind of work he did was always interesting.
School camp is good but the old fashioned family vacations are hard to beat. Camping and exploring the land, learning to manage without the things that are taken for granted. Nowadays the first question will be about Wi-Fi connectivity and how they are going to charge their phones or other gadgets. Not that parents are any better, but at least they do know that another world does exist.
Today's children and teens tend to think life without a credit card, a mobile phone and a computer is untenable. They are quite likely to check out your facts online and really do believe everything they see or read on the internet. Gullible is an understatement and that makes them more vulnerable when they venture out into the world. They do not realize how protected and innocent they are in their make believe world.
The young adults of today need to know that cooking does not mean putting frozen food in the microwave or ordering a pizza. French fries were once potatoes and they can actually buy potatoes, clean them, cut them up and deep fry them. They taste better that way too but that is beside the point.
Make sure your kids know the basics of life before they go off to college or just go off to live their own lives. You do not want to stand in their way. However they might need a bit of legal advice about contracts or know how to open a bank account. They should understand about taxes and insurance and the difficulties of getting out of debt and poor credit ratings. It is when things go wrong that they may turn to drink and drugs so make sure they know you are always there for them.
Life skills for young adults is a complicated topic. It is too important to leave to chance. You do not want to waste all the hard effort you have put into bringing them up in the nest by not preparing them for flight.
The whole status of the family unit has changed and everyone is busy with their own agenda. Even family meals seldom happen so there is little time for discussing the events of the day, local or world news or just exchanging views. In fact by the mid teens many kids are strangers to their parents. No one goes on shopping expeditions for a new dress, for example, as everything is bought online. Planning Sunday dinner does not happen and if there is to be a special celebration, call in the professionals.
Boys could not wait for Sunday when dad washed the car and they got to sit behind the wheel and find out how it all worked. Mowing the lawn was a chore but growing vegetables gave you a sense of pride. Going to Dad's office and finding out the kind of work he did was always interesting.
School camp is good but the old fashioned family vacations are hard to beat. Camping and exploring the land, learning to manage without the things that are taken for granted. Nowadays the first question will be about Wi-Fi connectivity and how they are going to charge their phones or other gadgets. Not that parents are any better, but at least they do know that another world does exist.
Today's children and teens tend to think life without a credit card, a mobile phone and a computer is untenable. They are quite likely to check out your facts online and really do believe everything they see or read on the internet. Gullible is an understatement and that makes them more vulnerable when they venture out into the world. They do not realize how protected and innocent they are in their make believe world.
The young adults of today need to know that cooking does not mean putting frozen food in the microwave or ordering a pizza. French fries were once potatoes and they can actually buy potatoes, clean them, cut them up and deep fry them. They taste better that way too but that is beside the point.
Make sure your kids know the basics of life before they go off to college or just go off to live their own lives. You do not want to stand in their way. However they might need a bit of legal advice about contracts or know how to open a bank account. They should understand about taxes and insurance and the difficulties of getting out of debt and poor credit ratings. It is when things go wrong that they may turn to drink and drugs so make sure they know you are always there for them.
Life skills for young adults is a complicated topic. It is too important to leave to chance. You do not want to waste all the hard effort you have put into bringing them up in the nest by not preparing them for flight.
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