California American Mothers
Learned by Experience
by California American Mother Sharon
I saw this meme on Facebook. At first I thought, “That’s a
good idea. Every child should know how
to sew, change a tire and the oil, do taxes, basic first aid, basic things that
you need in real life.
But then I realized that children already have
such a mandatory class. It’s called home. That
is where we learn about “life”.
age need to learn. They need to learn the skills of
making their beds and putting away
their toys.
I remember seeing my
granddaughters at ages two
and three climbing up on the bathroom
counters to
wash out the sink. Later children can learn to
load the dishwasher, do laundry, and
cook simple foods. They can make doll
clothes to learn how to thread a needle and make a hem, and bird houses to
learn how to use a hammer and paint brush. They can help with home repairs
so they can replace a washer on a dripping faucet and a slipped belt on a
vacuum.
Teenagers can practice shopping wisely and budgeting their
money. They need to know about interest and the difference between paying
money. They need to know about interest and the difference between paying
it and earning
it.
They can
sew on their own buttons and stitch a ripped seam. All my boys
learned how to sew and cook, and my daughters can build a coffee table
and replace a toilet ring.
In
college, I had a roommate who had been raised abroad where they
always had a
maid. She was clueless about cooking and cleaning and felt
that she had a great disadvantage in living real life as an adult.
As we look at the tasks we do
daily, it would be wise to
consider how we can teach the
skill needed for that task to our children. When they need those skills as they live on their own, they will be grateful.