We all want our children to be able to care for themselves and their own homes when it's time for them to fly the nest. So what skills should we teach our children to prepare them for eventual independence? We asked our Top 25 Home Management Mom Bloggers to share the essential home management skills every parent should teach her child.
1. How to Cook and Plan a Menu
"Learning to cook is not only a home management skill but a life skill. Learning to cook can be the single most important factor in teaching skills like budgeting, meal planning, and creating healthy eating habits that can last a lifetime. A family that cooks together and eats together is indirectly teaching their kids that spending time with family is important and there is tremendous value in that." — The Domestic Life Stylist
"Menu planning! It's one of my least favorite weekly tasks, but it saves a lot of time and money." — Jamie Anderson of All My Loose Ends
2. Laundry Skills
"A few lessons in Home-Economics can go a long way. By the time the little chickens leave the nest I think each one should be able to do a load of laundry, iron a shirt, [and] sew a button on a pair of pants. . . .There are some things that mommy can't do forever!" — Alexis Anne of Clean, Smart, Simple Style
3. Time Management
"We all have 24 hours in a day but what makes our experiences unique is how we choose to use those 24 hours. Make the kids a schedule, get them involved in planning the day's activities. These skills will not only be valuable at home management but at school and later in their careers as well. Successful home management is about planning and execution. But first, you have to become masterful with time." — The Domestic Life Stylist
4. Teamwork
"Team work is another great home management skill to teach because no one is capable of running a household without help. Kids should learn that everyone needs to pitch in and do their part to keep the house in order and functioning. Assigning a few chores, no matter how basic, to each family member will help everyone out in the long run." — Alexis Anne of Clean, Smart, Simple Style
5. Basic Money Management
"Basic money management skills are a must. Even at a young age kids can learn that 'stuff' costs money, and people need to work hard to earn that money. As they grow up, it becomes even more important to teach about saving and planning ahead for future expenses." — Alexis Anne of Clean, Smart, Simple Style
6. Good Cleaning Habits
"Clean up as you go! We are still really working on this one around our house but I think that it is SO much easier to spend a couple of minutes to clean up as you go instead of spending an hour at the end of a long day cleaning up. I realize that this is not always possible to do but, for the most part, it is just a matter of creating a new habit." — Jenn of Clean & Scentsible
"Clutter management is important for making sure that personal spaces are enjoyable and contribute to good living, and not places of stress and turmoil. Everything should have a home and if you don't use it, get rid of it." — Angie of Echoes of Laughter
"We regularly clear out things that aren't needed or [that are] used and 'bless' someone else by giving them away or selling them at a yard sale." — Ginny of Organizing Home Life
7. How to Let Go of Perfection
"Children and adults alike can get very discouraged when things are messy. Teaching children not to give up when things don't happen the way they are supposed to is an important lesson in life." — Ginny of Organizing Home Life
"Let go of perfection. Your house doesn't need to be spotless — it needs to be good enough for the people that live there." — Tsh Oxenreider of Simple Mom
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