What basic skills should we teach our children - and at what ages?

MarilynMonroe_2

My daughter is 3 and mostly i've been taking the lead from her as to what she learns. She is interested in reading and numbers so maths and reading we're up to.
Safety issues, like roads and have lately had the talk to her about never getting into cars etc.
She's very interested in the universe and knows mos tof the planet names -so a bit about the moon and sun too.

She hasnt really any interest in learning how to get dressed though or baking, she's happy to leave that to me.



Re waiting for the green man, I say in a loudish voice, ''they are silly and naughty and could get run over not waiting for the green man!'' and when they are stood there waiting I say ''you must always wait for the green man'' in the hope they'll hear and wait.. but adults seldom do.
Me and my daughter tut at them! pmsl.

MarilynMonroe_2

I asked ehr if she'd like to wash the dishes, I didn't mean it was just tired, and she quite plainly stated not until she was 13!
So that's me told!

Savvy_Sue

thorsoak wrote: »

For example, when I was a brownie (about 60 years ago!!) one of the badge skills was being able to lay and light a fire - by the age of 8 or 9. Now that isn't a skill needed by many today - but how about making a pot of tea and toast??

You also had to iron your own brownie scarf when I was that age!

thorsoak wrote: »

Cooking - what about that? When do you teach a child how to boil an egg (not just baking cookies and cupcakes) ? When do they learn how to peel potatoes and veggies? When do you teach them what to plant and where and when?

When my little brother was a cub, he had to prepare and cook a meal for the family. The examiner was hugely impressed that he did roast chicken with roast potatoes and frozen peas! But as my mum said, it's really no more difficult than putting fish fingers into the oven, it just takes longer. So all mine started to do a roast dinner from the age of 11. They were allowed to stay home from church if they were doing dinner.

And they learned to peel potatoes and prepare veg well before the age of 11! One of our few 'traditions' at Christmas is to do all the veg on Christmas Eve, everyone has a knife, a peeler and a chopping board, and no-one leaves until everything's done.

thorsoak wrote: »

Also, in the early 1950s, boys age 9/10 were being taught basic woodworking skills and girls were being taught to knit and to sew/repair tears and sew on buttons. I well remember making an apron and embroidering it in the year before 11+ at primary school!

Again, my brother was knitting (and doing woodwork!) at that age: he did me a maxi scarf on inch thick needles: it went from the floor, up and round my neck and back to the floor (and I was quite tall ...) He also learned to use a sewing machine.

Of course these days boys AND girls have to do both woodwork, metalwork and textiles at secondary school.

I tried to tell the boys that they couldn't leave home before learning to sew on a button. However to this day DS1 only wears buttons if he has to put his suit on, which is very infrequent. I think he's slightly button phobic.

onlyroz wrote: »

For those of you who have 8-year-olds who can cook a meal - how do they reach the fridge/taps/hob? My 7-year-old isn't tall enough to do any of these things and so a simple thing like getting his own breakfast would be impossible.

Toddler step? As long as he's trained NEVER to leave it in the middle of the room (trip hazard) he could move it from place to place.

Although I'm struggling to 'see' a 7 year old who can't reach the fridge ... at that age I was putting the milk in a jug to make it easier to lift and pour.

The key thing is to train them to make sure they have a space to put down whatever they've just picked up, especially if it's hot!

Savvy_Sue

BTW, when mine went into 6th form, they had to start doing their own laundry. AND they had to be responsible for their own cash needs. They had bank accounts with debit cards by then, and I paid money in for bus fares and lunches, but it was up to them to get the cash out - I was absolutely NOT going to be dashing off to find a cashpoint late on a Sunday night if they hadn't got the cash for the bus ticket ready for Monday morning!!!

They also learned to budget that way: DS1 started to make sandwiches to save buying lunches. DS2 started walking to school (4 miles each way) to save bus fares. And DS3 had his bus fare allowance for the first term up front and bought a bike to save bus fares!!!

Of course, as they'd got older I hadn't taken them food shopping with me very much, but they did all have to come on a few trips before going to Uni to get the hang of instant price comparisons and bargain hunting. The older two reckoned they could live on £10 per week for food, so something must have gone in. The youngest works next to Waitrose, which is his undoing, but "Do you know how much MEAT costs?" is one quote he won't be allowed to forget. Yes love, I do know how much meat costs ...

But having seen doting parents taking their students round the supermarket at the start of the university year ... well let's just say I'd be mortified if my offspring needed to have the difference between fabric conditioner and detergent explained at that stage! :rotfl:

lil.smartie

My daughter is nearly 4, she can get up, get dressed & get herself a bowl of cereal with milk and a juice box all without waking us!! She loves baking and knows how cutlery works, still struggles sometimes with her knife though! She knows when her sunflower needs watered but can't reach the watering can!
Peeling veggies with a Y-peeler won't be too long and she already helps choose dinner some nights. She knows she needs coins to buy things and understands when she doesn't have enough for one toy that she can wait until she does or choose something cheaper (or smile sweetly at daddy....)

To the poster above with the son working at Waitrose, he'll get used to that discount card & bonus... Good work ethics there though and each section is run with it's own targets which is good too Tell him to get involved as much as possible, I got a heck of a lot out of working for them at his age!!

Kate

ikkle87

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

The youngest works next to Waitrose, which is his undoing, but "Do you know how much MEAT costs?" is one quote he won't be allowed to forget. Yes love, I do know how much meat costs ...

This makes me chuckle, my cousin has just recently got her own place and went shopping with my grandma and auntie. She picked up the biggest gammon joint she could find and said to my nan wow all that meat for £3.49, my nan said no that's per KG that joint is £15 lol.

maman

We gave our DDs allowances from about the age of 13. Everything was included from lunch money to shoes and hairdressing. It worked well in that it saved us scrabbling around for cash in the mornings but they are such different personalities that it had a variable outcome with budgeting. Both managed their money and never went 'overdrawn' but..DD1 was very organised (and still is) but DD2 hardly ever went to the hairdresser and bought lots of really cheap clothes (she's still the same).

Mupette

The green mans say's Go
But the red man says NO

was a rhyme my son and me used to say whilst waiting to cross the road.

Familyof6

I left home with no clue how to cook or use a washing machine and I'm determined my children won't be the same.

My 7 year old can empty and refill the dishwasher (will be learning to wash up soon!) sort washing into darks etc, load and start it though I do the detergent at the mo, once it's dry she can put it away appropriately. She can Hoover, sweep and mop. She's a great baker and makes a mean shepherds pie. She can read a recipe, figure out what extras are needed and follow the recipe. She uses a step in the kitchen to reach and makes a better cup of tea than her dad! My 5 and 3 year olds are on their way to learning these skills too.

My 5 year old isn't remotely interested in most of it but we are consistent with her and she's learning. The only child who doesn't have any responsibility is my son, because he is 5 weeks old but as he grows he will learn to sew cook and clean as much as my girls will learn engine maintenance, the 7 year old can rehang the chain on her bike if it comes off and is fascinated with engines, if she wants to cycle or in time drive she needs those skills.

We work together so that we all have more time to have fun together, ultimately we are a family of 6 and I don't intend to teach either the girls or the boy that mums/wives are there to skivvy for them.

System

Bar what i learnt in home tech classes at school i didn't really learn to cook till i went to uni. Mainly because my mum does all the cooking (she plans meals weeks in advance and likes to be in control of the cooking). Also never really did much cleaning as she has very high levels of cleanliness and prefers to do it herself (i did use to offer to help but she never took me up on the offer). To be honest it was exciting to go to uni and learn all of these things, it was a pretty steep learning curve but i kind of like the fact i taught myself.