Life skills are abilities for adaptive and positive behavior that enable humans, young and beyond, to deal effectively with the demands and challenges of life. Why do we want our youth to learn life skills? When should they be learning certain “survival skills”? When are our children old enough to be home alone to self-sustain for hours upon end? These are all questions posed as Lawrence County 4-H developed their own series of skills lessons to be taught to our students in grades 3-5 across the county.

In the first year of teaching “Life Lessons”, we focused on skills that many young children do not know. As a matter of fact, many teenagers and young adults may not either, at least not before they go to college or venture to live on their own. We focused on 9-1-1 and when/how to communicate with our first responders (with guest teachers), sorting and washing laundry (we even made homemade detergent and learned the cost efficiency of doing so), knowing the difference between wants and needs (to make that dollar last longer), distinguishing among household look-alikes (because blue drinks and window cleaner look a lot alike), and the value of having 4-H in their lives as this is where they get to learn these valuable lessons. Life Lessons made such an impact in year 1 that the teachers requested a continuation for a second year.

According to an ABC News survey, “Self-care among school-age children is clearly a fact of life for millions of working families.” Things we need to consider when we leave our children home alone are numerous. Is the neighborhood safe? Can the child handle unexpected situations? Does the child know first aid? Is the child able to exhibit good judgment? These are all factors the Child Welfare Info Gateway suggests parents should know before leaving their children home alone. Likewise, what are the effects our children are experiencing by being alone so much? An article from Psych Central says that our children are feeling afraid and lonely. They are also dealing with obesity, having siblings raise each other and making choices like TV/video games over responsibilities such as homework.  

For year two, we are expanding our horizons as we learn that the number of kids that are home alone after school is astounding, and they need skills to become self-sufficient humans if this is the situation they face.  So, to enable our youth, we will focus on the following topics this school year: personal hygiene, healthy microwave meals, first aid, ordering food from a restaurant (embedding the etiquette of tipping as well), and the art of gift wrapping. All of the concepts we are addressing will not only help our youth become self-sufficient, but they will also end up much more successful as independent beings when they reach that point in their lives.

As parents, caretakers and educators, it is our responsibility to raise our youth to be self-sufficient and knowledgeably independent. The Life Lessons series in Lawrence County is doing just that.