Summer is here! It’s the season to make the most of extra time with the kids. Teaching kids important life skills is a great way to spend the summer hours. From indoors to outdoors, here are 5 things to teach your kids this summer.
1. How to Cook
Show your kids around the kitchen and teach them the basics. For instance, how to boil and season pasta, fry an egg, or bake a pizza in the oven. Build upon those skills as they progress. Depending on the ages of your kids, you might also teach them how to grill and barbecue correctly and safely.
2. Healthy Outdoor Activities
Our children spend way too much time indoors. Science has proven that being outside and active is not only physically healthy but also mentally beneficial. Teach them how to swim. Go biking, hiking or on a long run. Perhaps take up tennis. The options are endless.
3. Household Chores
As hard as it is to imagine, one day, our children will live independently. They will have a big head start on life if they aren’t living in squalor. Show them how to run the vacuum, clean the toilets, push a mop, and properly make a bed. Introduce them to the washing machine and how to operate it without turning their clothes pink. Set up weekly chores to complete and stick with them.
4. How to Be Charitable
Popular culture tends to breed selfish desires and unrealistic expectations of what we think we deserve. As parents, we can counter that by teaching our children to have a charitable heart and humble nature. Have a clean sweep day and load up all those unused toys. Gather up the mountain of clothing that is of great need to others. Donate it all to your favorite source. Also, designate a volunteer day where you and the kids donate your time to areas beneficial to society.
5. Handy Life Skills
Americans increasingly waste millions of dollars on repairs and jobs we could easily do ourselves. We don’t always need to “call the man.” Teach the kids basic skills, such as how to mow the lawn or paint the front porch. Learning how to change a flat tire and jumpstart a battery are both essential. Even the most simple of tasks such as changing AC filters, replacing bulbs and flood lights or fixing a leaky faucet are skills that need to be taught. We should teach our kids self-reliance, not dependence.
Sound off: What are you planning to teach your kids this summer?
Huddle up with your kids and ask, “Which of these things would you like to learn first?”