Your young child is more capable than you realize. You can teach your young kids practical skills. Read on for tips on teaching practical skills.
1. Preparing a Simple Meal
Invite your child to help make meals and do your best to stay calm when the flour spills and the eggshells fly. If you gradually add to their developing kitchen skills, your child should be able to use the stovetop with supervision by age 10.
2. Using the Web Wisely
With kids spending more time on screens than ever before, it’s essential to reinforce a few rules to help them safely navigate the digital world, says Joscelyn Ramos Campbell, a mom of four in Clermont, Florida, who blogs at Mami of Multiples.
3. Doing the Laundry
Don’t let your child become a child. You can begin laundry lessons when the kids are around 6. If you have a top-loading washer, keep a step stool nearby. Walk through the process—how to measure and add the detergent, choose the settings, and start the machine—and make it fun.
4. Writing a Letter
Letter writing is a lost art, but it doesn’t have to be. Toddlers can dictate a note to a family member or friend, attach the stamp, and drop it into a mailbox. Older children can pen their letters and address envelopes. You can also teach them the five parts of a letter: date, greeting, body closing, and signature.
5. Treating a Wound
To help your child not freak out when they see blood, do your best to avoid having a big reaction yourself. Giving them a first aid game plan will also help distract them from the pain and come in handy when you’re not around to kiss their boo-boos.