{"id":470,"date":"2025-10-03T01:31:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T01:31:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.familyfeed.net\/?p=470"},"modified":"2025-10-03T01:31:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T01:31:34","slug":"an-age-by-age-guide-to-teaching-your-child-valuable-life-skills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.family-feed.net\/an-age-by-age-guide-to-teaching-your-child-valuable-life-skills\/","title":{"rendered":"An age-by-age guide to teaching your child valuable life skills"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As parents, it is important to teach our children as many life lessons as we can. Teaching your child how to be an independent person should start at a young age. As they learn how to perform life skills they will start feeling empowered and will develop a healthier self-esteem. Read on for a list of age-appropriate skills you can follow to help your child prepare for the time when they are an adult. It\u2019s never too early to learn.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Ages 2 and 3<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>You can start teaching basic life skills at this age. By the time they are three, they should be comfortable:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Helping to put toys away<\/li>\n<li>Getting dressed with minimal help<\/li>\n<li>Putting dirty clothes in a basket<\/li>\n<li>Assisting in table setting and clearing<\/li>\n<li>Brushing their teeth and washing their face and hands with assistance<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ages 4 and 5<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Your child should know about some safety issues at this point in their life. They should know what their full name is, where they live, and a phone number to reach a parent. They should also know how to dial 9-1-1.<\/p>\n<p>Your child should be able to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Help feed pets at this age<\/li>\n<li>Perform some simple chores, such as dusting and clearing the table<\/li>\n<li>Understand the basic concept of the way cash is used<\/li>\n<li>Brush their teeth and wash their face without help<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ages 6 and 7<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Your child can learn basic cooking techniques at this age. They should be able to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Cut with a dull knife<\/li>\n<li>Mix and stir dishes<\/li>\n<li>Put together a simple meal, such as a sandwich<\/li>\n<li>Wash dishes<\/li>\n<li>Take a bath or shower unsupervised<\/li>\n<li>Make their bed<\/li>\n<li>Straighten up the bathroom after use<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ages 8 and 9<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A child should start taking pride in personal belongings at this age. They should be able to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fold clothes<\/li>\n<li>Care for toys outside<\/li>\n<li>Learn how to sew a button or stitch<\/li>\n<li>Bathe or shower without being told to<\/li>\n<li>Make change and count money<\/li>\n<li>Prepare an easy meal<\/li>\n<li>Use a broom properly<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ages 10 to 13<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This is the age where your child can start performing skills independently. They should be able to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Stay at home alone for short periods of time<\/li>\n<li>Make purchases at the store themselves<\/li>\n<li>Use the washing machine and dryer<\/li>\n<li>Read and follow directions for recipes<\/li>\n<li>Iron and fold clothes<\/li>\n<li>Take care of younger siblings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Ages 14 to 18<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>By the age of 14, your child should be able to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Perform more complex tasks, such as cleaning the stove or plunging the toilet<\/li>\n<li>Understand medicine labels and dosage<\/li>\n<li>Fill a car with gas and add air to a tire<\/li>\n<li>Change a tire<\/li>\n<li>Interview for a job<\/li>\n<li>Create a calendar and stick to schedules<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Young Adults<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once your child is a young adult they will need to know how to do the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Make regular dentist and doctor appointments<\/li>\n<li>Schedule regular car maintenance and oil changes<\/li>\n<li>Understand how a credit card works<\/li>\n<li>Manage their own bank account<\/li>\n<li>Know how to pay bills<\/li>\n<li>Understand important contracts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As parents, it is important to teach our children as many life lessons as we can. Teaching your child how to be an independent person should start at a young age. As they learn how to perform life skills they will start feeling empowered and will develop a healthier self-esteem. Read on for a list [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":667,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-parenting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.family-feed.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.family-feed.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.family-feed.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.family-feed.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.family-feed.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=470"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.family-feed.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3433,"href":"https:\/\/www.family-feed.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/470\/revisions\/3433"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.family-feed.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/667"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.family-feed.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.family-feed.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.family-feed.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}