<p>With just a couple of weeks till kids start arriving at Bama, are your kids ready to live independently? (If not, you’ve got 2 weeks for a crash course!)</p>
<p>1) Do they know how to treat stains and do laundry? (The Spray and Wash with Resolve Power is very good. Also Oxyclean for other kinds of stains)</p>
<p>2) Do they know how to do banking? </p>
<p>3) Can they cook simple things?</p>
<p>4) Are they “resourceful” - I mean can they figure out a solution for an unexpected problem/obstacle? </p>
<p>5) Do they know how to clean a bathroom? shower? Floor? Toilet?</p>
<p>6) Do they have the habit of keeping their things organized and in one place?</p>
<p>7) Do they remember to keep their phone charged?</p>
<p>My son can cook poptarts - does that count?</p>
<p>He does laundry though not the way I do it. Everything goes in together :eek:. His first year and a half living away he was using fabric softener to wash his clothes until his then girlfriend asked what on earth he was doing.</p>
<p>Cleaning? What’s that?</p>
<p>Organized and in one place! LMAO.</p>
<p>Based on the above my son is not ready. And he is 23 and has already lived independently for 5 years but just moved home temporarily while he is job hunting after finishing school :rolleyes:</p>
<p>I suspect (hope) they do differently when they are on their own.</p>
<p>1) Do they know how to treat stains and do laundry? (The Spray and Wash with Resolve Power is very good. Also Oxyclean for other kinds of stains)</p>
<p>A. No I’m terrible with treating stains but I do know how to do laundry with one year under my belt! Lights and darks in separate washers and dryers!</p>
<p>2) Do they know how to do banking? </p>
<p>A: I started keeping a budget in the spring to see where my money was going and I check my debit card account every couple of days to make sure I’m not gonna overdraft.</p>
<p>3) Can they cook simple things?</p>
<p>A: Ramen noodles? Frozen pizza? haha I’m going to 15 meals/week this year so I want to learn how to cook this year (probably will take some learning pain of cooking something disgusting)</p>
<p>4) Are they “resourceful” - I mean can they figure out a solution for an unexpected problem/obstacle? </p>
<p>A: Haven’t encountered every unexpected problem but I think I’ve done the best with everything this past year.</p>
<p>5) Do they know how to clean a bathroom? shower? Floor? Toilet?</p>
<p>A: I’m a clean freak. If something is dirty, I’ll get a magic eraser and scrub the tub, vacuum the floors etc…</p>
<p>6) Do they have the habit of keeping their things organized and in one place?</p>
<p>A: You should see my room right now. It’s been spotless and organized for the last 10 years of my life. My parents whipped me into shape :)</p>
<p>7) Do they remember to keep their phone charged?</p>
<p>A: People have learned that I don’t really check my cell phone a lot so most people have learned that it’s faster to get in touch with me via facebook. But my cell phone is mostly charged.</p>
<p>Mine now has a credit card with a low limit and an ATM card so that he can get used to banking.
I think the best first step to keeping the dorm room in good shape is simply not bringing any more stuff than necessary. Colleges are generally not in the wilderness (okay, some are…) and most stuff can be acquired once kids are there.</p>
<p>I hardly know how to do any of that stuff and I managed to successfully make it through one year of college. Stop worrying, your kids will be fine.</p>
<p>I think D1 knew how to do half of those things when she went off to school. There were quite a few emergency phone calls from her the first year, especially about her laundry and her missing bank card.</p>
<p>Learning a few different methods of stain treating is really important. I mentioned this recently, but my fiance was actually throwing out stained clothes his first two years of college if a regular wash didn’t take care of it. His entire wardrobe, until recently, consisted of athletic shorts and t shirts from free giveaways. I have been trying to teach him properly now. We use shout gel, which generally takes care of everything, but I’ve recently discovered that the blue dawn dish soap will take out tough grease stains if used the same way. I also had to salvage two loads of laundry washed with ink pens in the last couple weeks and succeeded with that using cheap hair spray. That took, oh I don’t know, days. lol. I have yet to find something that works really good on blood, though. </p>
<p>He doesn’t separate his clothes, but I don’t either. I wash everything together in cold water and it comes out fine, I wouldn’t do it otherwise. Maybe it’s my detergent? And I’ve lately taken to washing hand-wash-only items in the machine in mesh lingerie bags, also with good results. I am a laundry rebel.</p>
<p>If my D isn’t up on any of those, it’s easy enough to figure it out or ask someone (roommate, RA, me, etc.). That stuff is not my top concern. My #1 concern is TIME MANAGEMENT. She is very conscientious but balancing classes, studying, social life, etc., is the big challenge. The clothes will get clean. She won’t go hungry. Neat - HAH. To me, time management is the real test of maturity.</p>
<p>I don’t know if he’s perfected the art of stain removal but he’s good to go. With full time working parents since birth all three of mine are pretty resourceful.</p>
<p>Son is about to turn 21. He can’t do most of the stuff on that list. But like Marian’s son he seems to survive.
Plus from what I have seen knowledge doesn’t always translate into action.
Clothes without stains aren’t important to him. Heck he has been known to wear clothes right out of the hamper unwashed. Somehow females still find him attractive.</p>
<p>One thing I would add if you kid is planning to be an OOS then make sure you research the Dr. Office’s for that area…and if you have relative 's near by they are useful for if your kid gets a little homesick…</p>
<p>Keeping cell phone charged??? That must be a grad school level skill- this spring, 4th year in college and used to living alone in an apt, son forgot his charger and his not recently charged cell phone ran out of juice while at an OOS weekend family wedding- our chargers don’t work on his phone (mine used to until last fall when I lost my newer one and had to revert to an old one) and dear mom didn’t pack an extra charger for him (did remember his good shoes/clothes as requested by him). He made all of his travel arrangements (missed no classes!), worked on group homework in between flights but couldn’t share with partners as his phone was so dead he had no phone numbers.</p>
<p>“Independent living”- I’m an old parent, thought it might refer to getting that first apartment. Dorms are semi-independent in comparison. Cleaning skills not needed when someone else takes care of the bathroom. H says clothes get clean again when they sit in the laundry hamper…</p>
<p>Organized- if it is viewed as imortant. Neat and tidy- ha! College junior men sharing an apartment- their problem living in the mess, not mine…</p>
<p>Parents of entering freshmen. It is not too late to teach those laundry skills and many others. It is surprising how well they do without you. The kid who needed multiple reminders to get up in the morning never missed classes, gets things done (of course, it is what he determines needs to be done, not what you think should be done). There is a learning curve that must be followed- and all the advice needs concrete experience/practice to be remembered (he needs to pack/unpack his stuff so he doesn’t first realize he had things when moving out next spring).</p>
<p>I got 3, 5, and 7, and I think #4, but I don’t know if that was something I could judge about myself. I bet I could figure out 1 and 2 when I needed to. Doubt I’ll have 6 down for a long time. I’m not a huge slob but my room is always a bit cluttered.</p>
<p>If you plan to teach them anything before they head out, forget cleaning, forget cooking, forget laundry.</p>
<p>**Teach them how to budget. **
Teach them the pitfalls of debt, and about contracts (phones, apartments, etc.). Don’t lecture, but explain the pros and cons of banking, loans, etc. Explain to them about APRs and defaults and mortgages and apartment rentals. Share your own experiences.</p>
<p>Teach them how to read a map, and look up info.
If they’re lost, they should be able to read a map (or operate a GPS). If they have a flat tire, they should know how to get that fixed. They should know how to schedule a doctor or dentist appointment, and they should be able to know where to find services (car oil, dentist, haircut, etc.)</p>