A person’s teenage years are pivotal for growth when they start learning about how the world works outside their home. You must take your time as a parent to help teach your teens how to live independently, as they won’t live with you forever.
For this reason, the sooner you start showing your kids how to function as an adult in the “real” world, the better they will be set up for a successful future as young adults into their 20s and beyond. To make this task a little easier, we will go through some of the best ways you can do this below.
Teach Them Basic Life Skills
First, teach your teens the basic life skills needed to live comfortably and independently. There are several important skills to this; however, many are relatively simple and don’t require much effort to enforce. For example, your teen needs to know the importance of completing mundane household chores and not having everything done for them. It is a good idea to start delegating tasks to them that align with those they will need to do when they live on their own, such as laundry and cleaning. This way, they will know how the equipment works and understand how often they need to complete these chores.
Another essential skill to teach your teens before they move out of the house is to cook. Having a good diet is super important for living a healthy life, so take some time out of your day to show your teens how to make simple but healthy meals. Additionally, try to familiarize them with what to look for while grocery shopping and the effectiveness of meal prep. This way, they won’t be lost when cooking for themselves for the first time. Before you know it, your once-young teens will search for things like an apartment for rent in Seattle as they start their new chapters as young students and professionals. For this reason, it is important to teach these skills sooner rather than later.
Although schools cover some basic finance education, a significant responsibility falls to the parents to ensure their teens know how debit and credit cards work and other things, such as how interest rates affect loans. This will help them understand how to budget and have a good credit score, which is extremely important when getting a loan for their first home. Other important life skills to teach teens include driving and preparing for a job interview. This will give them the freedom to do what they want as adults and set them up for success when securing a good job.
Charge Them Rent Once They Turn 18
When your child turns 18, they become an adult, which means you should start to treat them as one. You may no longer be setting curfews and ensuring they are doing their homework, but you can ask them to pay bills for living under your roof. Of course, this doesn’t mean charging them a huge amount to live with you, but they must understand that things cost money in the real world. By charging them monthly for rent, they will quickly understand the importance of saving money and where to spend what they have earned. They will also be less likely to take the things you do for them for granted as they start to understand the sacrifices you have made to provide for them.
Explain the Importance of Good Credit
Credit cards give people a sense of financial freedom that can come back to haunt them if they aren’t careful and don’t understand how they work. Therefore, you must ensure that your teen knows exactly how credit cards work and the importance of paying them off each month. It is a good idea to show them how they can start building their credit score so that when they make big purchases on things like a car or a house, they don’t run into any problems.
You may feel it will be a while before your teenagers live independently, but that day can creep up on you faster than you might think. You are doing your kids a huge favor by taking the necessary steps to show them how to live on their own in a kind, gentle, and structured. Not only will this put them in the best place for success once they do move, but it will also help them relax and not stress as much when the day comes for them to live on their own.
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