The Life Lessons That Stick: Why Practical Life Skills Matter for Every Child

Recently, my elderly parents rented out the second floor of their home to two international university students as part of a homestay arrangement. These students? Absolute stars! Both are enrolled in brain-meltingly difficult courses at top universities in Melbourne, and honestly, my parents feel like they hit the homestay jackpot.

One plays the piano like a young Mozart. The other is a tennis ace who could probably moonwalk across the court and still win a set. Their Year 12 results were stellar, their manners are impeccable, and they don’t party until 4 a.m. What more could you want, right? But… there’s always a but, isn’t there?

Despite their brilliance, my parents quickly noticed something missing and it wasn’t their textbooks!!

Let’s talk about the lights! Every time I drop by, it’s like the house is trying to compete with Times Square. Kitchen lights, laundry lights, hallway lights, you name it all blazing away even when nobody’s home. You could land a plane in there!

Then there was the salami incident. Just casually lounging on the counter… for tomorrow’s lunch! When I gently pointed out the small thing called “food safety,” they looked genuinely surprised ! like I was breaking some ancient family tradition of room-temp meats!

And laundry? Forget folding or hanging! The couch is now their official drying rack!

Now, I know these things might sound like tiny quirks, but they actually reveal something bigger: a bit of a life skills blind spot!

Here’s the thing ; these young adults can solve complex equations and probably recite the periodic table backwards… but turning off a light switch? Putting leftovers in the fridge? Bit of a stretch.

And that got me thinking! We spend so much time making sure our kids can succeed on paper:

• Great marks? Check!

• Piano lessons? Check!

• Saturday soccer and midweek science club? Check and check!

  
  

But what about the real-world stuff? You know, the things that don’t win trophies but keep you from living in chaos or accidentally poisoning yourself with unrefrigerated salami?

I’m talking about the small-but-mighty life skills:

• Turning off lights when leaving a room

• Ironing a shirt (or at least knowing what an iron is)

• Making a bed

• Folding laundry (bonus points if it ends up in a drawer)

• Storing food properly

• Cooking something that doesn’t involve just boiling water

• Budgeting so they don’t spend their rent money on Uber Eats

  
  

These may seem basic even boring! But they matter. A lot!

As parents, we often try to create the perfect environment for our kids. We want them to have everything: good education, access to hobbies, clean rooms, and zero stress. So we do the little things for them, laundry, meals, cleaning , just to give them more time to focus on school and activities.

But here’s the plot twist: by doing it all, we’re actually robbing them of the chance to learn how to be capable, resilient, and independent humans.

This isn’t about punishing them with chores. It’s about giving them the gift of confidence that comes from knowing how to manage their life one turned-off light switch and folded T-shirt at a time (see Let Them Be on the benefits of unplanned moments).

So the next time you're tempted to pack their bag, make their bed while they sit doing algebra… pause and ask:

What will actually help them thrive when they’re out in the real world and you’re not there to rescue the salami?!