Will your kids be able to do all the boring stuff adults have to do someday? If not, maybe ‘Adulting 101’ is exactly what they need to become a fully equipped adult.
A teacher in Louisville, Kentucky thought the seniors in her school could do with a little help learning how to “adult” in the real world. “The term ‘adulting’ has been a big thing lately,” College Access Resources teacher Sara Wilson-Abell told the local TV station. “And I just kind of took that and ran with it.”
Adulting 101 – What Teens Learn
The seniors at Fern Creek High School were lucky enough to have a teacher like Ms. Wilson-Abell. She knew how utterly boring adulting can be, but that we all need to know how to do the boring, but necessary, things adults have to do.
But do kids today have what it take to live on their own and take care of all those ordinary chores themselves? The school believes they’ll have a better chance after this 3-day course.
From learning to do laundry properly, to how to check the oil in a car, there’s a lot of helpful info for kids. “I learned a lot about my laundry,” one senior told the TV station. “I knew, like, some aspects of it but I never sorted my clothes or anything like that. Now I know it’s very important to do.”
They learned all about insurance, how and why they should save money for retirement, and a local banker talked to them about the ins and outs of bank loans.
How to Create an Adulting 101 Class For Your Own Kids
No ‘Adulting 101’ classes in your child’s school? Create one yourself! Here are some things you may want to teach your kids before they go away to college.
1. How to change a tire and change the oil.
2. How to open a bank account and manage it.
3. The differences between types of insurance.
4. How to fix a toilet that won’t stop running.
5. What a good credit score is, why it matters, and how to check their FICO score.
6. How to get where they are going without a phone.
7. How to use credit wisely.
8. How to jumpstart a car.
9. How to perform CPR and the Heimlich.
10. Correctly parallel park.
11. How to register to vote and why it’s their duty to always show up at the polls.
12. The correct way to wash and dry clothes so they aren’t ruined.
13. Memorize their social security number.
14. What utilities, phone bills, rent or mortgage payments cost.
15. How to book a plane ticket.
Ready to Teach Those Kiddos How to Adult?
I’ll bet you’ve already started teaching your kids most of these things, no matter how young or old they are. What else do you feel kids should know before they leave your nest?
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5 comments on “Adulting 101 – The High School Class That’s Going Viral”
My kids started young as soon as they were talking! I have always taught them stuff. They now help their friends fix stuff and do chores. MY youngest is 11 and he can do all that plus cook.
They should add how to book doctor appointments for themselves.
Clearly many children are not being taught these skills at home, hence why the classes are necessary. Encourage students to take CTE classes, particularly Family and Consumer science courses. Usually those are the classes that parents and students alike dhun believing core classes are the only ones that matter. As a proud FCS educator, I have had more students contact me to tell me how useful my classes have been. Can we please stop calling for “adulting ” classes, and instead, demand more funding for CTE?
How to sew on a button, hand-wash dishes without wasting water, plan a weekly food budget, use a hammer and saw and screwdrivers, financial responsibilities such as balancing a checkbook and bill-paying.
A big Kudo’s to Ms. Wilson-Abell, this should be a semester course or broken down into two semesters. I’m sure many of us parents have covered many of these topics, but sometimes it takes someone from the outside and given the opportunities to meet the professionals in their fields to make lasting impressions. Also, it should include job seeking skills, how to prepare for an interview and types of questions that may be asked in an interview. Driver’s Education and Home Economics should be brought back as well.