We tend to have children with this idealistic view that we’re going to help them with everything and make their lives as easy as possible. While this is certainly the right way to be when they’re younger, once your kids reach their teens, it’s important to shift your focus to preparing them to survive on their own. With that in mind, we’ve compiled this list of five things you need to stop doing for your teenager:
Helping with Their Homework
Number one is to stop helping them with their homework. Not only will they not have someone at their disposal 24/7 to help with things out in the real world, but you also run the risk of actually hurting their education as the system has likely changed quite a lot since you were at school. Whether you need to enrol them in a general tutoring service or a specific VCE tutoring service in Melbourne, for example, it’s crucial to have professionals take care of their schooling. You can then focus on teaching life skills.
Cooking Their Dinner Every Night
Speaking of life skills, far too many young adults don’t know how to cook even the most basic of meals for themselves. This tends to lead to an unhealthy diet and a food budget that’s much larger than it needs to be when they move out. If you don’t want them existing on takeaway and ramen noodles once they’re out on their own, encourage them to learn to cook healthy meals for themselves. Arm them with the best ceramic cookware in Australia, and turn at least one night a week into a cooking lesson.
Managing Their Money
If you’ve been helping your teenager budget pocket money or any income they receive from a part-time job, it’s time to stop. There’s nothing wrong with providing advice, but being able to manage their own money is a vital life skill. Teaching them the value of this while they’re still in a safe environment is crucial. This allows you to protect them against the major problems that will arise if they can’t handle their personal finances once they’re living independently.
Organising Their Schedule
Time management is one of the most important life skills someone can have, and out in the real world, your child won’t have you there to book all their appointments, tell them where they need to be, and remind them on the day. You can still oversee their schedule in order to ensure that they don’t miss anything important, but we strongly suggest having your child make their own appointments and create their own schedule each week.
Buying Them Coffee Each Morning
Finally, if you’re the type of person who needs a coffee each morning to kick start your day, you’ve probably been buying your teenager one alongside yours whenever they request it. While there’s nothing wrong with allowing your teenager to caffeinate, they probably won’t be able to afford this luxury every morning. To help prepare them for this, keep some delicious coffee beans in the house and teach them how to make their own.
We all want the best for our kids, but sometimes giving them the best actually means stepping back and allowing them to blossom independently. Try cutting these five things from the list of tasks you do for your kids. It will be hard at first, but the results should surprise you in the best way possible.
