100 Essential Life Skills Teens Needs to Learn at Home (Before they Leave for Good!!)

by Lisa Endlich Heffernan | February 12, 2020

Do you ever wonder if you’ve taught your teens enough life skills to go out into the real world and succeed? School fills them with facts and numbers, history, math, writing skills, and rudimentary sciences. But do our teens have the life skills to function in their day-to-day lives? If you could craft a series of 15-minute “you need to know this to function in the world” lessons, what would they be?

Here are 100 of some of the most common life skills that teens and college students need, but don’t always have. While they are still home we can help them by teaching them to:

 Life skills to teach teens and college students

1. Say “no”
2. Set and manage a goal, with a timetable and milestones
3. Communicate with and get to know professors and teaching assistants
4. Manage their time with a calendar
5. Read a bank statement and monitor an account balance
6. Create a lifelong habit and plan for saving money
7. Use ride-sharing services safely
8. Make a phone call rather than texting (some things require a conversation)
9. Understand, improve, and maintain your credit score
10. Mail a package
11. Address an envelope
12. Figure out postage/buy stamps
13. Make, change, or cancel an appointment
14. Deposit, withdraw or move funds in an account (either by ATM, phone app, or teller)
15. Find medical care in an emergency and how and when to call an ambulance
16. Get involved in their community and help others
17. Understand how compound interest impacts savings or borrowings
18. Memorize their social security, credit card, and student ID numbers
19. Turn off an overflowing toilet
20. How to wisely borrow and lend money
21. Manage peer pressure
22. Walk away from…anything
23. Utilize a meal plan and not waste money
24. Do laundry
25. Shop for groceries (lists, budget, coupons)
26. Read nutrition labels
27. Tip a waitress/waiter
28. Make a list of favorite recipes
29. Write a check
30. Understand the terms when applying for a credit card
31. Use any form of transportation including navigating and ticketing
32. Choose a doctor
33. Fill and refill a prescription
34. Manage subscription services
35. Correctly use over-the-counter medications
36. Maintain scholarships and financial aid
37. Eat healthily and resist unhealthy food choices
38. Fill out health insurance forms
39. Do their taxes
40. Clean anything and everything
41. Administer basic first aid
42. React and what to do in a lockdown
43. Be prepared for a weather/power emergency
44. Find and work with a study group
45. Find academic help/tutors/mentors on a college campus
46. Cope with feelings of stress or being overwhelmed
47. Decide between a doctor’s appointment, urgent care, and the ER
48. Understand their medical coverage
49. Write a resume
50. Dress for an interview
51. Complete a LinkedIn profile
52. Stay in touch with friends and family
53. Understand the dangers of alcohol (changed)
54. Get a physical (changed)
55. Live with a group of strangers
56. Plunge a toilet
57. Stay safe
58. Get the right amount of sleep and exercise
59. Know when to seek professional medical or mental health services
60. Prepare if you are pulled over when driving
61. Store and prepare food safely
62. Read and understand a credit card statement
63. Use basic tools for minor repairs
64. Create and stick to a budget
65. Deal with unexpected expenses
66. Turn off a smoke alarm
67. Stay healthy, including hand washing
68. Use a fire extinguisher
69. Recognize fraud in emails, phishing, and phone calls
70. Write a professional email
71. Stay current with the local and national news
72. VOTE, because it matters
73. Advocate with and ask questions of medical professionals
74. Apply for jobs, internships, and on-campus positions
75. Locate routing and account numbers on checks
76. Remember and recognize important dates in other’s lives
77. Complete important forms like HIPAA, FERPA, Power of Attorney
78. Get renter’s insurance
79. Aid a friend who may be in need due to bad decisions (changed)
80. Deal with a car accident
81. Be clear about consent 
82. Be your own strongest advocate in a positive way
83. Manage if a credit card is lost or stolen
84. Write and send a handwritten thank-you note
85. Pay bills on time and set up automatic payment
86. Understand the expense and responsibility of owning a pet
87. Follow an auto maintenance schedule
88. Understand auto insurance and coverage
89. Save money on textbooks
90. Change bed sheets
91. Manage social media presence
92. Change a flat tire
93. Sew a button
94. Iron, or at a minimum steam an item of clothing
95. Cope with loneliness
96. Greet someone respectfully, with eye contact and a handshake
97. Use jumper cables
98. Research potential career paths
99. Put yourself out there and make friends
100. How to pack (changed)

But the most important thing we want to teach our teens is that this is a process and we are here to support and teach as they move towards their independence. Some of these lessons are quickly taught. Some life skills teens need take years to absorb. Many involve asking questions, getting it wrong, trying again, and learning along the way.

We made mistakes, lots of them and they will too. They can come to us for advice, counsel, or just an ear and we will not judge them nor will we grow weary of answering their questions. That’s our job.