Practical stuff everyone should know

My Perfect Child[sup]TM[/sup] will be living at home for two more years before making her way into the big, bad world of college, then life. As a parent, I need to prepare her for the day when Mom and Dad aren’t at hand to help out. In fact, once we get her settled - likely in Orlando, since she wants to go to UCF - I’ll be joining my husband in Maryland, so we’ll be 800+ miles away.

Things she knows:[ul]How to do laundry
How to follow a recipe
How to run a lawnmower and weed whacker
How to sail a boat
How to run a vacuum cleaner
How to program a VCR, microwave, cell phone, cordless phone
Never never never mix bleach and ammonia[/ul]
Things she needs to know:[ul]How to change a tire, check her oil and other fluids, basic auto mechanics
How to budget and pay bills
How to establish credit
How to sew on a button and repair a hem
How to stop a toilet from running and running and running
How to change a furnace filter[/ul]
Teaching her to talk and brush her teeth was easy - teaching her to be independent and self-sufficient is a bit trickier. But it’ll be the equivalent of tossing her in the deep end of the pool, sorta. Grandma and Grandpa live in Ocala - they’ll be an hour or so away and Uncle Mark lives in Gainesville, maybe 2 hours away. Still, it’s strange thinking that my baby, my one and only child will be on her own at the much-too-young age of 18. (yeah, yeah, my mother and mother-in-law both married at 18, but that was half a century ago!!)

<sigh> I’ve got two years to teach her everything she needs to know. What have I forgotten??

How to wire a plug
How to get someone reliable to fix things (like emergency plumbing) and how much to pay them
How to get her bf to clean her bathroom floor for her

(…ok - not vital - but I managed it and it’s SUCH a help!)

Here you go.

[ul][li]Rights as a tenant when in rented property, including (UK-specific) the need for Gas Safety Certificates to be provided annually by the landlord.[/li][li]The ability to at least understand the fundamentals in a legal document such as a lease or contract (i.e. to know when you’re being ripped off).[/li][li]How to change a fuse and to reset a fusebox.[/li][li]How to change a tap washer (and to know where the main water stopcock is!).[/li]Basic first aid (if at college, at least knowing how to look after someone who’s drunk so much they’ve passed out).[/ul]

How to food shop so her budget is maximised - how to use and re-use basic foods like pasta and tinned tomatos and such. Buy her a decent Student’s Cookbook!

Crusoe, she has had first aid and CPR training - and you’re right, it’s a definite good-to-know item.

Scarlett, thanks for the site - looks like hours of surfing fun!

istara, I made a deal with my husband that his only chore was to be scrubbing the shower. I’ll spare you the sad tale of how often that gets done without reminders.
And not only finding reliable repair people, but how to pick a doctor and dentist, apart from Eeny-Meeny-Miney-Moe.

Francesca, she goes grocery shopping with me frequently - she’s pretty good at finding good deals.

Thanks for the added ideas!

How to make:
[ul][li]Shortcrust pastry[/li][li]Basic soups/stews/casseroles[/li][li]A simple roast dinner[/li][li]Sponge cakes[/li][/ul]

Self-defense. Many colleges and women’s groups offer these courses. Martial arts schools, too.

I should qualify the above by mentioning that I’m a bloke and I can do them all; I posted the comment, then realised it could be read as a ‘women must do the chores’ post.

What is the proper way to choose a doctor or dentist?

When you should bite your tongue and when you should speak up.

(From someone who has a little trouble doing either at various times.)

rubes - my method, proper or im, is to ask people who’ve lived in the area, bounce their recommendations against my insurance company’s “Preferred Physician” list, then call their office - you can tell a lot by how you’re treated on the phone. Plus, if I can’t get an appointment in what I consider to be a reasonable period, I try another. Granted, it’s not foolproof, but I have managed to avoid the bad experiences of some friends/coworkers.

How to pick locks <---- VERY USEFULL! I’ve saved a bundle on locksmiths.

Basics of computer repair… Like how to swap out components and troubleshoot stuff yourself.

How to bartend!

And probably most imortant, teching her never to give up.

Oh, and (sorry to do this to ya FairyChatMom but she’ll need this too) even though she’s only sixteen she’ll need to learn soon (or now) about birth control, STDs and the various ploys a guy would use to try to take advantage of her.

How to have a 15 minute conversation with anyone.

How to negotiate public transportation systems.

miamouse, we’ve had those talks a’plenty. How bizarre is it that I’m more concerned with whether she knows how to use an electric drill?? Then again, is it too late to sell her on a remote convent school?!?

If you manage to convince your teenager to go to a conevnt school, be sure and tell me how you managed it. Jr Ranger 1 is not far behind The Perfect Child.

Knowing when to swallow your pride and ask for help is a difficult, but very important lesson, to learn. I don’t know that it can be taught.

Knowing that a night on the town with the credit card is going to cost more in the long run. Money management skills are a must in college.

Knowing that she doesn’t know it all is a sure sign of maturity. Another lesson that probably can’t be taught.

While this thread seems to be pretty daughter specific, I’ll throw in one the young men sometimes have a little difficulty learning:

You don’t have to sleep with her just because she wants to.

How to do minor wiring without shocking onesself (Cable TV “extensions”, moving phones, adding phones, etc…).

Time management tricks, as with Money management.

Comfort in asking for help.