How confident are you that your student has the life skills needed to succeed in college?
If you don’t feel confident that they’re prepared…you’re not alone!
In a recent poll by the University of Michigan, parents of 17 and 18-year-olds were asked how prepared their teens were to live on their own. Here were the results…
- Only 50% of parents believed that their teen could handle a minor injury with first aid
- Only 46% think their teen will save money for the future
- Only 41% think their teen would prepare food and feel themselves healthy meals
- Only 25% thought their teen could dole out the correct dose of an over-the-counter medication
- Only 8% were confident their teen could make an appointment with a doctor on their own
Most parents feel that their teens are not ready for independence.
Being successful in college is about so much more than just doing well in classes. It also requires students to manage more responsibilities independently, without adult supervision.
As a parent, it can be scary to realize that college is approaching, and your teen is not prepared to thrive on their own.
There’s so much pressure put on students to get into college these days, but not much emphasis on making sure they succeed once they get there. Fewer and fewer teens and young adults have the life skills they need to get by as adults…and they know it.
How can you help make sure your teen is ready to be independent, confident and self-sufficient when they leave home?
Kids aren’t learning these life skills automatically or by default. But that doesn’t mean they can’t figure them out! The good news is that these skills can be learned…just like everything else. But it can be really overwhelming to know where to start.
To help you get started, download our FREE Life Skills for Teens Checklist below!
Being able to sit down with your teen and go through this checklist together will help both of you feel more confident in their preparedness to leave home when the time comes.
Remember: You don’t have to teach them all of these skills overnight, or even all this summer. It does take time to learn these skills, though. So, the sooner they get started, the better.
If you’re not sure how receptive your teen will be to talking about life skills, and think they’d do better with someone other than a parent, we can help! Our coaches work 1:1 with students to master academic, life, and mindset skills to help them succeed in school and beyond.
If you’d like to see if coaching might be a good fit for your teen, feel free to set up a free consultation here.
Join 11,000+ parents helping their students earn better grades with less stress!
About The Author
Dr. Maggie Wray is a certified ADHD Coach & Academic Life Coach with a Ph.D. in Neurobiology and Behavior from Cornell and a Bachelor’s degree in Astrophysics from Princeton. She founded Creating Positive Futures in 2012 to help high school and college students learn how to earn better grades with less stress. Her team of dedicated coaches is on a mission to empower students to develop the mindset, organization, time management, and study skills they need to achieve their goals.