Our kids are learning and getting skilled at so much in school these days. I’m surprised sometimes at what they learn at their age!
But there are three areas of life I’m sure we can all agree we wish we had learned in school—cleaning, cooking, and budgeting.
These are the three areas you must teach your children as soon as possible.
If your kids take off to college with these skill sets, they’ll be off to a great start as responsible adults!
Cleaning
This is one that you need to instill in your children early on. Make them responsible for small tasks like cleaning up the sink after they brush their teeth and then move on to more complex matters like making their bed.
By the time they go off to college, they should know how to do their own laundry, instead of bringing it back home for you to wash, and to take care of basic household cleanups such as stains. The college stereotype of students living in a pig-sty should not apply to your kids.
Cooking
This skill is one that so many kids don’t master early on, leading to some major problems later.
First, your child needs to be taught how to cook healthy foods. When they go off to college, they’re going to want to lean towards quick, unhealthy junk foods that can ruin their health for years to come. (Anyone remember the “Freshman Fifteen”?)
But it also leads into the next area of budgeting as well. If your child learns now to cook his or her own food, then he won’t have to waste money eating expensive (and unhealthy) fast food.
Budgeting
I wish that I had learned how to manage money at a younger age. If I had, then maybe, just maybe, I would have made better decisions and not managed to rack up over $120K in consumer debt! (A word to the wise…don’t charge your entire wedding on credit cards!)
Thankfully, with A LOT of hard work and sacrifices, we were able to dig ourselves out of our mess. After that, I swore to myself that we’d never put ourselves into that predicament ever again and will make sure our kids don’t either. That’s why we help teach our kids early on about money management and how to delay gratification by saving up to buy the things you want instead of buying on credit.
Three Big Areas of Life That All Kids Can Benefit from Learning
Budgeting is just one of those life skills that every parent should instill in their children. And, of course, if they can cook and clean for themselves, it’s one less thing we have to worry about for them. If you can instill the importance of those skills at an early age, you can be sure that they will be much more successful as adults.
It’s going to be difficult for your child to exude confidence if you don’t as well. Kids are like sponges that soak up everything around them. And they look at their parents to be the role models they will base themselves on. You need to be as confident and self-assured as possible.
Promote confidence building activities
Help kids with their confidence by encouraging them to take part in activities that build confidence. Sports are only a part of this, but an important part.
In addition to that avenue, encourage your children to play outside and be more active. This type of play can keep them from becoming mindless couch potatoes, but it also encourages them to explore and discover things for themselves—a major plus for anyone hoping to gain confidence.
Give them praise…
When you ask many parents what they wished their parents had done more of, it’s to tell them that they were proud of them. You know the type— “You got an A-, why wasn’t it an A+?” instead of “Wow, that’s a great grade, I’m really proud of you.” If your child isn’t acknowledged for his or her successes, they won’t be confident in their own abilities and achievements.
…but also help them make improvements
Now, if you’re going to give praise, make sure that it is legitimate. A kid can smell a false compliment at 100 paces and it doesn’t do them any good. Make sure that when you praise them, you also tell them how they can improve. Help them make these improvements. Self-advancement comes from learning from your mistakes.
Let your kids fail
This may seem counterintuitive but hang with me for a second. If your child fails and feels miserable for that failure, their self-esteem will be dashed and their confidence will be crushed. But if you point out that everyone fails, and they should look at it as a learning experience, they’ll be able to handle the trials and tribulations of later life without losing their confidence.
Prepare your kids by giving them the gift of confidence
We all want what’s best for our kids. But you can’t coddle them and protect them forever. At some point, you must let them loose on the world and hope that they flourish. But if you help them to build their confidence early, they will have the poise they need to succeed.
It may not be the most hated chore in the household (that’s reserved for that pile of dirty dishes in the sink), but laundry can be a pain in the neck.
It’s not the actual washing and drying that’s difficult—it’s the folding and putting away that can drive you crazy, especially if you’re a parent with lots of little ones causing the amount of laundry to multiply exponentially.
If you’re searching for a way to make this a little easier on you, give these laundry hacks a try:
(Please note: we do not make any money off the links below. We’re simply wanting to make your life easier by providing links if you’re interested.)
1. Get a Flip Fold
If you watch The Big Bang Theory, you’ve probably seen Sheldon folding his clothes with one of these. It’s a clothes folder that you place a shirt on and with three quick flips it is folded perfectly and ready to go out on display at a clothes store.
While it’s not ideal for all clothes, this can save time and make your clothes stack up nicer. Plus, kids love it because it looks like fun and they will be more likely to join in and help.
2. Keep All Your Socks Together
If you’ve done laundry for an entire family, then you know about the mystery sock. That’s the one lone sock that turns up at the end of a laundry session that doesn’t have a mate, no matter how hard you look.
Instead of losing a single sock every washing, invest in a mesh laundry bag. This way, you put all of the socks in the bag, wash them in the bag, and they’re all still together when you take them out at the end.
As an added bonus, the bag can double as a travel case for organizing your clothes on vacation!
3. Separate Your Clothes by Person
I’m sure you’re used to sorting your laundry by color. But if possible, also sort it according to who they belong to. That way, when you get your clothes out of the dryer, you don’t have to do a massive sorting session to see who they belong to.
If that’s not practical in your household, at least consider washing the kids’ clothes separately from the adult’s. That way, when the clothes are finished, you can have your kids help you put up their clothes, saving you sorting time.
4. Pre-Sorted Hampers
If you have the room, invest in a few different clothes hampers and label them: Colors, Lights, Delicates, etc. Whatever system may work for you and your family’s needs is best. But make sure you put the clothes in the right bin and then just toss them in without having to sort them.
5. Combine Laundry with Something You Like Doing
Laundry isn’t just washing, drying, folding, and putting up. It also involves a tedious task—ironing. But if you find yourself dreading this, then try to liven it up.
It may sound goofy but try turning laundry day into a party. Put on some music that everyone will enjoy and dance around a bit as you all put away your own clothes. If you have young kids, you may need to help them a little, but it can still go quicker, or at least it will feel that way.
Laundry hacks can help you gain time
Laundry doesn’t have to be the bane of your existence. As with any chore, it’s all about finding the right mindset and a way to get organized and shave off some time here and there.
A lot of moms nowadays identify as a helicopter parent because they want to keep their kids safe. You may sometimes restrict your kids’ movement to ensure their safety, but this doesn’t always equate to helicopter parenting. In my opinion, there’s a big difference between being a helicopter parent and making sure that your kids are safe.
Worrying for your child’s safety is what any responsible parent would do, but going to extreme measures is another story.
Being overprotective and overbearing like any other helicopter parent may be detrimental in the long run. You need to identify the difference between what is a helicopter parent from that of a responsible one.
By doing so, you are letting your child grow, but what is a helicopter parent, exactly?
What is a Helicopter Parent?
Learning the traits of what a helicopter parent is can be helpful in avoiding becoming/being one. Here is a list of what I think a helicopter parent does:
Doing things for your kids even if they are capable of doing it on their own.
Setting impossibly high standards on your kids.
Not allowing your kids to do what they want even if they are in a perfectly safe environment.
Stopping your kids from experiencing new things because of your irrational fear of the outcomes.
Making decisions for your kids as much as you can.
Do any of the items in the list resonate to you?
I get it, a lot of us can relate to some items on the list, and it’s perfectly normal. We want to make sure our kids have everything they need since It’s our motherly instinct kicking in!
While these feelings are normal, acting on them by being overbearing and overprotective to your kids isn’t gonna help.
Effects of Helicopter Parents to their Kids
We have the tendency to overlook what the effects of helicopter parents to their kids are and become one, ourselves.
Now that we’ve clarified what is a helicopter parent, learning on the effects of helicopter parents to kids comes next.
Commonly, the effects of helicopter parents to their kids include:
Their kids become indecisive and helpless.
Their kids have low self-esteem
Their kids finding it difficult to cope
Their kids become too dependent on others and,
Their kids become entitled
These traits may be common in younger children, but these shouldn’t persist as they grow into their adult lives. Hence, it is important to identify early on if you are a helicopter parent or not to prevent these effects.
Are you a Helicopter Parent, or not?
There is no perfect parenting style in the world, so we shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. More so, we shouldn’t be too hard on our kids as well.
I believe we should assess our parenting styles frequently to come up with an effective style that best fits our kids. By learning what a helicopter parent is and the effects of helicopter parents to their kids, you can adjust accordingly.
We want our kids to grow holistically and become successful, and these things can only be achieved through experience. As Julius Cesar once said, “experience is a great teacher..” and we shouldn’t be afraid to let our kids learn.
If we let them learn, we are giving them the opportunity to grow into the best citizens that they can be.
Are you a helicopter parent, or not? What are your thoughts on it?
I’d love to hear them; just leave me a message or make a comment below.
Struggle with staying on top of your bills and budgeting?
Do you stress out and dread when the 1st of the month rolls around?
Tired of living paycheck to paycheck?
Have constant arguments with your spouse around the family finances?
Have no clue on how to even get in control of your financial life?
Download this FREE Monthly Budgeting Action Plan, which includes Worksheets with step by step instructions on guiding you exactly on what you need to do to set up your own family budgeting plan that works for you and your family.
Struggle with staying on top of your bills and budgeting?
Do you stress out and dread when the 1st of the month rolls around?
Tired of living paycheck to paycheck?
Have constant arguments with your spouse around the family finances?
Have no clue on how to even get in control of your financial life?
Download this FREE Monthly Budgeting Action Plan, which includes Worksheets with step by step instructions on guiding you exactly on what you need to do to set up your own family budgeting plan that works for you and your family.
Do you struggle with getting your kids to clean up their room?
Are you ready for your kids to be more responsible?
Would you like your kids to be able to manage their time better?
Ready for a simple way to teach your kids good money management habits?
Download this FREE Family Chore and Money System Action Guide. It includes worksheets with step by step instructions on guiding you exactly what you need to do to set up your own chore, schedule and money management plans.
