<p>I just read this great idea in a parenting magazing (sorry I don’t know which one–it was at the eye doctor’s office). This family came up with a way to help kids learn skills they really need to know. I think the children were 8 and 10.</p>
<p>They made a list of 10 “Try It” badges they could earn. Some of the badges were for correctly taking a phone message, packing a suitcase, making a sandwich, reading a map, and so forth. Things busy parents often do FOR kids that they could do themselves. </p>
<p>First the parent demonstrated, then the child showed he/she could do it. In some cases instructions were written down for future reference (such as what goes in a suitcase for a weekend.)</p>
<p>Other ideas would be feeding the dog, or making a salad. Loading the washing machine/dryer. </p>
<p>The author said one of her kids plowed through the entire list in short order, while the other one worked on them on a “need to know” basis. But it was a great system, and gave the kids a feeling of accomplishment while making them more useful members of the family.</p>
<p>Oh, definitely modeled on Brownie “Try Its.” Cute knockoff!</p>
<p>My kids are grown, but I wish I’d thought of it way back when. </p>
<p>Though actually, before the kids go off to college, one could make a list of things they should know how to do—laundry, checking account balance, simple cooking skills, etc.–and just demonstrate & check them off. That way we could be SURE they knew these things and we could stop making snide comments about “how did they get to be 17 and not know how to do THAT!”</p>
<p>^^^D is amazed by how many of her fellow freshmen are lacking in basic “living” skills. She shakes her head every time she sees the laundry truck pull up and they p/u and d/o the bags of laundry. I figure some of that is because parents use those services at home & it’s “normal” for them. Not in my house; I totally cracked up when we got the mailing about that service!</p>
<p>I’m already working on D2 for when she goes away in 2 1/2 years. Laundry, basic cooking, how to clean a bathroom. Later, how to use an ATM card, transfer money, etc.</p>
<p>My children are very small and I love this idea!!! We are definitely going to… try it. Though, my kids do a lot of stuff because I am apparently a mean mommy. DD1 cleans her playroom, makes her bed, clears the table, and makes her own sandwiches and she’s four. So I think we will have to get creative. Filing mommy’s bank statements, perhaps?</p>
<p>Right now she has a star chart which is very motivating, and also helping her learn her tens, because for every ten stars she gets a sticker. I never thought I’d do a star chart and look at me now.</p>
<p>I’ve never understood why doing laundry was so hard. You throw the clothes into the machine, you pour soap on them, and you turn the machine on. It barely requires physical effort and you can probably watch TV or do whatever you want at the same time.</p>
<p>Not only that, it doesn’t really need to be “taught.” Even if a student hasn’t ever done his or her own laundry while at home / in high school, the lesson takes about 5 minutes and that’s about it.</p>
<p>MmeZeeZee–Hi, I am a mean mommy, too! My daughter called me that when she was 3 years old, and to this day I don’t know where she heard the term (as she didn’t watch TV at that age).</p>
<p>My daughter made her first breakfast before she was 2–but that was due to a mistake on my part. I was pregnant with my S and on a non-cordless telephone constantly that morning because we were moving soon. The next thing I knew, I went downstairs and found she was eating cereal using a bowl and a spoon from her play kitchen. </p>
<p>My family has travelled a lot, so I used to give the kids illustrated packing lists for their suitcases. After a while, they didn’t need lists any more (but would ask whether they would need a jacket, for example.)</p>
<p>I wish my kids could make their own breakfast, but in spite of repeated cajoling and scolding and so on, they freak out when they spill the milk (which they always do).</p>
<p>Also I have to put the cereal in the medicine cabinet or they will sneak it when they are supposed to be playing and I am cleaning.</p>
<p>I love the suitcase idea! We still pack all our stuff together but soon they’ll be able to do their own.</p>
<p>“She shakes her head every time she sees the laundry truck pull up and they p/u and d/o the bags of laundry. I figure some of that is because parents use those services at home & it’s “normal” for them.” </p>
<p>Laundry is harder at college. But a lot depends on how far away the laundry room is and how busy. We did contemplate laundry service for my son because we were surprised about how close it was to the cost of using washers/dryers each week. And trust me, we are NOT a family that sends out our laundry. Heck, I only visit the dry cleaner a few times a year.</p>
<p>My coworker uses “try it bites” when introducing her young children to new foods. She puts a small spoonful of whatever on their plates, tells them it’s a “try it” bite. If they eat it and don’t like it she doesn’t make them eat anymore as long as they tried the full amt. she gave them.</p>
<p>I can’t even remember now how my kids picked up living skills, though they apparently have. I did coach them on laundry when they each did a residential summer program in high school. Try-It badges sound like great idea for parents who are that well organized.</p>
<p>Don’t think it would have worked for our household, though. I was a Scout Leader for 10 years and my troops always earned far fewer badges than any of the others in our service unit. My first year, we earned two (and I seriously fudged some data to qualify for one of them).</p>
<p>After one summer program, d2 told me about two boys who had clothes in the washer discussing how the clothes were supposed to get into the adjacent dryer. I wouldn’t have believed her if I hadn’t heard my grandmother, who always sent her laundry out and never owned a washer/dryer, ask my mother the same question years before.</p>
<p>My son was an early bird and wanted breakfast the minute he woke up; I on the other hand needed a few moments to come to! The night before I would pour his cereal in a plastic bowl and the milk for the cereal in a tupperware cup. He would pour the milk into his cereal without a spill and sit at his little table while mommy tried her best to wake up :-)</p>
<p>This little trick was learned after he opened the fridge at the age of 18 months, took out the gallon of milk and dropped it on the floor! Of course my husband was not home and couldn’t move the fridge myself to clean the milk that had run under it. Having him get his own breakfast was taught right after that.</p>
<p>Take this great idea a step further. We did something similar when my kids were younger.</p>
<p>Buy a piece of fleece big enough for a lap blanket. Finish the edges off if you like. Buy felt squares in different colors. Cut the felt squares in smaller squares (or whatever shape you like - hearts, rectangles, stars). Everytime your child completes a “try it”, take a felt shape and with a sharpie, put the task and date “mastered” on it. Then, hand stitch it onto the fleece. (I am not a sewer by any means! You can even iron on if you have the right stuff). A nice dated momento of their accomplishments! </p>
<p>If you are more talented, you can skip the fleece and just use the small felt squares and “quilt” together.</p>
Though, my kids do a lot of stuff because I am apparently a mean mommy. DD1 cleans her playroom, makes her bed, clears the table, and makes her own sandwiches and she’s four. So I think we will have to get creative. Filing mommy’s bank statements, perhaps?</p>