Let’s be honest, teens and young adults aren’t well known for being helpful around the house. We all have images of the stereotypical nagging parent, hands on their hips in the doorway of a messy room, barking orders about laundry and cleaning up.
Thankfully, it doesn’t always have to be that way.
At least not for teens who have parents, teachers, and caregivers who have invested the time to teach some basic household skills like laundry, cleaning, and tidying up. Taking some time to invest in household skills–like the ten core skills below–can help boost their independence and help you avoid the role of nagging grown up.
Why are Household Skills Important?
Household skills help our learners meet their primary needs. After teaching communication and executive functioning skills, household skills form the next step in helping your teen or young adult live more independently.
Learners with unique needs may require additional teaching, extra support, or specific interventions to master household skills. Gathering more information on the types of skills your teen needs to know is the first step in helping them be more independent.
Here are 10 household skills your teen needs to know:
Household Skills Your Teen Needs To Know
Use home appliances and kitchen gadgets safely
Does your teen know what’s safe to put in the microwave? Can they use a toaster oven, hairdryer, or coffee pot safely? Many parents and teachers think cooking skills only involve learning to use the stove and oven when in reality, many appliances can create a risk if your teen doesn’t know how to use them safely. Start with one or two devices your teen uses the most and then gradually expand.
How to do a basic load of laundry
Even though washers and dryers have more settings than ever before, the basic rules of “separate the light clothes and delicates” still apply to doing laundry. Does your teen know how to read clothing tags, separate dirty laundry into correct loads, and how to fold and put away laundry?
Wash dishes or use the dishwasher
Helping with the dishes is one of the first household skills that many parents help young kids and teens learn. Regardless of unique needs, learners can support cleaning up after meals somehow. Start with having them clear the table, build up to loading the sink or dishwasher, and then tackle more challenging pots, pans, and appliances.
Dress for the weather
While teens often have unique ideas about fashion and what they feel comfortable wearing, parents and teachers still need some practical skills to help teens with diverse learning needs understand about dressing for the weather. Does your teen know how to read the weather forecast and prep for the temperature? Does your teen understand when to pack an umbrella or rain gear, hats, mittens, or sunscreen? Dressing for the weather is a skill we can easily let slip aside with so many other skills to teach.
How to use the vacuum
If we have to choose any cleaning skill to teach learners with unique needs, we like to start with the vacuum. Practically speaking, it’s a versatile skill to keep things tidy and hygienic (if you teach your teen to use the vacuum, chances are they’ll learn to tidy up a room first). Plus, for some messes like a dropped box of breakfast cereal, the vacuum really is the best tool for the job. So make sure your teen understands how to turn it on, use it safely, and empty it out when finished.
How to ‘tidy up’
Take it from Marie Kondo. There are plenty of reasons to teach teens to tidy up. Some documented studies show that less clutter and distractions in our environment can improve our attention. Humans tend to access more positive reinforcement from clean environments than from untidy or dirty ones. If your teen struggles with executive functioning and mental health, learning to tidy up can be an extra boost that may support the other skills and strategies they use to stay ahead.
How to read and follow expiration dates
No one wants to encounter a brick of cheese in the fridge covered in furry green or an open gallon of milk gone sour. As your teen learns to be more independent in the kitchen and around the house, help them learn to read and follow expiration dates to avoid mishaps and extra waste.
How to set up an appointment
Does your teen know how to set up a visit to their doctor’s office and all their therapy appointments? Part of learning to be more independent is starting to learn the skills of scheduling and keeping track of different components of their schedule. Help your teen navigate online portals or appointment phone numbers. Or, if your teen is assigned a case manager, help them learn to work with that person more independently to get appointment details on the calendar.
How to use basic cleaning supplies
It only takes one instance of your teen mixing up dishwasher detergent with laundry soap to cause some big headaches. Make sure your teen knows their way around the cleaning supplies in your home, including what supplies are used to clean different parts of the house and how to safely use chemicals.
How to unclog a toilet (and not clog it in the first place!)
This may feel like an odd household skill compared to others on this list, but it’s one of our favorites to work with teens and young adults learning household skills. The consequences of not knowing how to unclog a toilet can mean a flooded bathroom and a pretty awful mess. Along with teaching your teen some basic plumbing skills, teach them how to avoid clogging a toilet in the first place.
How to Get Started with Teaching Household Skills
After reviewing the info above, have you decided to start building your teen’s household skills? Unsure where to start or how to know what skills your learner needs to work on the most?
We recommend a values-based approach, focusing on what matters most to you and your learner. For example, maybe getting the dishes washed is essential, but you’re okay still helping with your teen’s laundry right now. Or perhaps your teen’s skills are better suited for laundry right now, but they’re not quite ready for other cleaning products.
Exploring your values and your teen’s values is the best way to ensure that your teen progresses on the critical skills to succeed.
Start by checking out our 6 Key Steps For Making Values-Based Decisions For Your Child’s Daily Living Skills.
Then download our free .pdf values-based assessment for household skills. It will help you evaluate and decide how to start working on household skills.