Parents can have a hard time figuring out how to best prepare their children for adulthood. There is no rulebook or handy guide to parenting. Every mother and father has to decide what is best for their children. How can they make sure their kids are ready to be successful and independent, and what defines achievement in these areas?
They say if you give someone a fish, you feed them for a day. Teach a person to fish, and you feed them for a lifetime. This is one of the best philosophies to parenting. You need to teach your kids how to make decisions on their own, without the help of others.
Moving out of the childhood home indicates that your adult children are ready to take this next step in their independence. We’ll answer some of the most important questions related to these topics so you can have the peace of mind that your kids will survive and thrive long after you are gone.
Driving Safely and Taking Care of Your Car
Is it bad to switch insurance companies often? Do you really need to know how to change a flat tire? There are a variety of automotive questions that run through a person’s mind when they first start driving.
Many children rely on their parents’ knowledge of these subject areas. It makes it harder to live on your own if you don’t start to become independent when taking care of your car. With so many questions to answer, where does one even start in this learning process?
A good beginning would be to instill safe driving habits in your children. Teen driving statistics show that many young drivers fall to the unfortunate temptations of drunk driving and texting while driving.
Show your kids the evidence that these actions will bring horrible consequences to them. Revoke their driving privileges if they don’t understand the potentially lethal fallout of making poor decisions behind the wheel. They should also know they will not have the advantage of being a minor if they make bad decisions driving when they are of legal age.
Instilling these values for smart driving in teens from a young age will help them stay safe on the road far after they move out of your home. But there is so much more to consider when driving and being independent.
Buying Car Insurance
Parents need to teach their kids how to shop for the best offers on car insurance, too. Getting car insurance is one of the universal struggles of adult life as a driver. Teens can rely on their parents’ insurance, but they will need to navigate the world of insurance by themselves when they move out.
Teach your kids to shop for new insurance often. The safe driving habits we talked about will help in getting discounts because safe drivers pose less of a risk to an insurance company. There are no consequences to changing insurance companies often.
In fact, shopping for new insurance yearly will help you learn about the different intricacies that go into getting a good insurance policy for an affordable rate. Your children may ask, “If I buy my car, can my parents insure it?” This is an important question to consider, as rates for young adults are much higher than those for older adults.
Methods for Getting Jobs and Saving Money
Parents must teach their kids the value of money and how to save it from a young age. Always make sure your child understands what something costs when they ask for a toy or a snack on the grocery store shelf. Don’t just buy things without letting them know the value of what they are purchasing.
One of the long-held methods of teaching the value of money and savings to young children is to give them an allowance. This only works if you explain why you are giving them the money, and you don’t change the amount without giving sound reasoning for doing so.
As kids turn into teens and young adults, the lessons on how to save money and gain different career options become more important to teach. Don’t just force your kid to get a job as a high schooler.
Ask them what they are passionate about and encourage them to find a part-time job in an area they enjoy. If they want to go out with friends or on dates, you have now given them the financial knowledge to put their earnings toward these desires they have.
They understand how to gain their own money and put it towards things they enjoy. Financial independence is one of the most vital things you can teach your child.
Unless you have a source of wealth for your kids to draw on when you have passed away, they are going to need to understand how to pay for their necessities without your money.
Teaching Social Skills
This is the most underrated set of lessons kids need to learn from their parents. Social anxiety is a very common problem in children, and when it’s not addressed, it continues into adulthood.
Try to encourage your child to find kids in class with whom they want to make friends. If they aren’t very social, try asking the school or your pediatrician about seeing a psychologist.
Unaddressed social issues can result in your child growing into an adult who has trouble talking to other people, going out on dates, and becoming a good coworker at their job. Communication skills are vital to living a fruitful life.
You can’t talk for your kids, but you can put them in situations where their social anxieties are addressed by professionals who know how to help.
Becoming Independent
Once again, you aren’t going to be around forever. It is important for your kids to become socially independent of you. It’s great to be close to your kids. Still, if they only spend time with you and not with anyone their own age, they’re going to struggle to ever leave the house they grew up in.
Moving out requires social skills to talk to realtors, car insurance agents, and bosses at work. Teaching your kids how to put themselves in social situations will aid them in a variety of ways after they move out of the house.
No parent can control their child’s adult life. All a parent can do is try to create an environment where their kids are capable of being independent. Doing everything for children is harmful because they will become overly dependent on others throughout their adulthood. Teach independent skills and there should be nothing to worry about.
