How to Teach Life Skills to a Preteen

Life skills include a broad array of abilities, ranging from personal hygiene to techniques that prepare your preteen for a future job. When teaching your preteen, set a good example, focus on things you know, and arrange for workshops and events to help her with things she wants to learn that are different from your skills. However, you will be able to teach her many skills through everyday living.

Instructions

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      Set a good example. The way you take care of yourself and your home will have a big influence on your preteen. When you pay your bills, go to work on time, tend to her needs, take care of pets and fulfill other responsibilities, you show her these things are important. Even something as simple as checking your mail or doing dishes every day demonstrates valuable life skills.

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      Encourage your preteen to help plan meals and to participate in grocery shopping. Explore recipes and ideas for meals before you both go to the store. Set a budget for food purchases and take a calculator with you. Let your preteen make food selections, but insist that he write down what each item costs, and ask him to check the cost of the items in the shopping cart often. Let him help with decisions about what to buy if the selections exceed the set budget.

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      Pay your preteen an allowance for specific chores, such as taking out the trash or preparing simple meals and washing dishes. Pay out the allowance only if she correctly completes the chores. This sets up an association between working and receiving pay, which helps prepare her for having a job. In addition, praise her for accomplishments, including work well done, homework completed and good grades. Your praise helps her feel good about herself and sets an example for dealing positively with others.

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      Introduce him to tasks needed to take care of the outside of your home or your automobile. Preteens can mow lawns, pull weeds, vacuum the interior of a vehicle or wash the outside of it. While he probably cannot change a tire by himself, you can show him how it is done. He can help you run simple mechanical checks, such as whether the headlights, brake lights and blinkers on your vehicle work correctly. You can pre-teach driving skills by discussing correct road etiquette, such as pulling over to go around vehicles that have stopped on the side of the road or how many car lengths you should maintain between you and the vehicle in front of you.

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