One of life’s biggest changes is moving into adulthood. For many teens, the law considers them legal adults before they are truly ready for the responsibilities and expectations outside their parent’s home. Here are some of the reasons young adults are not fully equipped for adulting:
- Their parents were too controlling or overprotective
- They focused on academics more than practical life skills
- They were unwilling or unable to mature socially or emotionally
There are many reasons why a legal adult may not be ready for adulthood. Some of those reasons are parents and some of them are due to changes in the world, making it harder for teens to develop skills to help them with their independence.
It’s important to be intentional when teaching teens the skills they need for adulting 101. Whether they are moving into the job market, entering college, or staying home for the foreseeable future, there comes a time when kids need to morph into adulthood.
Give teens more responsibility
It is vital to give teens more responsibility as they move closer to adulthood. Teen children should be able to:
- Clean up after themselves and deep clean any room in the home
- Create a menu, buy groceries, and prepare a variety of meals
- Operate a washing machine, dryer, lawn maintenance equipment, and other tools
- Care for animals or dependent children and adults with efficiency, respect, and dependability
- Be independent and make sound decisions without the influence of authority
- And more
Offering teens the chance to take on more responsibility allows them to trip up and fail while the consequences aren’t as intense. Learning what the teen is proficient in and where they are deficient helps teach skills that close any gaps and ensure they are ready for more independence. It’s better for this to happen as a teen than a struggling adult where the consequences are much higher.
Help teens manage money
Does your teen have a checking account? Do they know how to use an ATM, budget their money, and face the consequences of not having enough? Teaching teens money management is a vital aspect of adulting. If your teen relies on you for their income and to solve their economic problems, they may run into a rude awakening when they are expected to make it on their own. Teens deserve the responsibility to understand money and to make solid decisions while they are living at home. This will make issues like budgeting and prioritizing purchases less stressful when they are on their own.
Give teens independence
Teens need to experience doing things on their own. It is important to gauge their inner GPS and determine if they can make wise decisions. Giving teens some independence helps parents and teens see how mature they are and if they can be trusted and respected to make sound decisions. From allowing teens to stay home alone overnight to giving them the freedom to make certain decisions on their own, independence is a great way to help teens get ready for adulting where there are no restrictions on them. Kids who are overprotected or controlled often make foolish choices when they finally have freedom to choose for themselves. Reduce this likelihood by empowering teens to be independent.
Adulting has a lot of expectations and being ready for them is partly connected to how a teen is parented. Parents who equip teens with skills they need as young adults have a higher rate of success than parents who provided sheltered or over protective lifestyles. Empowering teens with skills they need will help them be more successful at an earlier age.
