I agree with those who say that most of this stuff is easy enough to figure out on your own. Also, does it really make sense to laboriously teach kids how to do things like change a tire if they’re going off to college without a car? Plenty of time to teach them those things when it’s actually relevant. My oldest is going off to college in the fall and has never had to clean a toilet, so if she gets her housing assignment and she’s in a suite with a shared bathroom I’ll teach her before she goes – it should only take about 5 minutes. If not, I’ll wait until she’s in a situation where she actually has to clean a toilet.
I think mine doesn’t know how to clean toilets either.
My dorm in college in the 80s had a maid service that vacuumed and cleaned the bathrooms in all the rooms. (Maybe once a week?) Is that atypical? It was in a low minimum-wage state and was not a more expensive dorm than other dorms.
How to use both a paper and an online phone/company directory, that something called an organizational chart (of personnel) exists, how offices and bureaucracies are organized, how to write/format a formal business letter, Getting to Yes…that kind of thing.
@Ynotgo I don’t think it’s atypical in this day and age. My school has a weekly cleaning service at minimum for all of their residence halls.
Hey, if your kid doesn’t know how to clean a toilet that’s fine with me. As long as they’re able to learn or find someone who can do it for them!
I think kids these days are more likely to know to look for a YouTube video of how to do something than their parents. My son has gotten video instructions for DH while DH was still frustrated looking for an online manual. (And I say that as a technical writer who thinks someone should read the manual, because some technical writer went to the trouble of writing it.)
^ so, therefore, how to distinguish between reputable and non-reputable sources on the Internet.
My kid just told me she gave some fresh green beans from our garden to a coworker and he asked her how to get rid of the chewing part. She told her to cut the end piece off. Apparently this kid must been buying green beans from a pre- made bag. It made me laugh and I’m telling the story here as another life skill to know. Not important but if it’s good to know kind of thing.
@Ynotgo, what I understand is that if you’re in a suite with your own private bathroom, you and your suitemates have to clean it yourselves. Understandable since otherwise the cleaning staff would have to have any-time access to your dorm rooms.
I told my kids about this thread tonight at dinner, and they reminded me about all the kids at summer camp who had never done their own laundry. But they all learned how very quickly, because you know what, it’s not rocket science. Although my kids were rather pleased with themselves for already knowing how, and they often had to show other kids what to do. So even though it’s not necessary to know how to do laundry before going to college, maybe you will get bragging rights if you do!
Somebody has mentioned the need to “seek help if needed.” My son arrived at school one day to be told by two friends that they were worried about a classmate, who had threatened in a text message the previous night to kill herself and then had not responded to any other texts. These two kids didn’t tell anyone because they didn’t know what to do. My son started urgently texting me and I called the school counselor, but I was stunned that these kids did nothing. They just didn’t know what to do, but they weren’t willing to inform an adult. (The girl was fine, by the way, but she had a terrible home situation).
For the record this troubled student had threatened suicide repeatedly. She is now living abroad, and at some point she sent a text or snapchat showing the ground from the top of a tall building. In talking to the school counselor that I contacted, he mentioned that several years before a student had called a friend and told him that he was going to kill himself. The friend blew him off over the phone and the next thing the friend heard was a gunshot. For real. I can’t imagine how difficult that was to deal with.
One other life skill that my 16-year-old son does not have. He cannot get himself out of the bed without my going in several times to scream, holler, and shake. My brother was the same way, and he didn’t last long at college. It’s really annoying.
Seriously, I think at least one of the reasons S bought himself a robotic vacuum was to help rouse himself from bed. He programmed it to go off every class day abc hour before his first class. It made noise starting up under his bed and banged into it, rousing him. 
@HImom I bought my son a really LOUD alarm clock. It’s loud enough that it wakes me up two floors below him. He snoozes right through it.
Our S was very tough to wake as well. It was his decision to get the robotic vacuum at fortunately, it really DID help him. They have it at Costco, so if it doesn’t work or suit him, he can return for full refund. The kid has to figure out the solution, not us solving it for them. It made a big difference for him and helped keep the dust down, which minimized his allergies.
Earl-Maybe your son would do well with the kid used for deaf people-that vibrate under your pillow rather than use sound. I am partially deaf and not a sound sleeper, and for now, I can still wake to a regular alarm. But if the time comes and I lose more hearing, I would look at the vibration alarms. Your son may respond to one of those better than a passive sound alarm.
My 16yo read Adulting. There’s also a blog.
Also, they need to know what a loving and respectful sexual relationship is so they’ll have a better chance of avoiding abuse or just a bad romance.
^@dyiu13’s comment is really important.
The Roomba or equivalent is a great idea (we have one), but both of my kids have tended to use the horizontal closet, which would frustrate the use of a vacuuming robot.
Actually, the horizontal closet/clothes on the floor is strongly discouraged by the robot who can’t easily distinguish between clothes and trash.
The only important life skills that I recognize after raising 2 kids (the youngest is 25) are social skills and swimming. These two I consider a must, everything else could be learnt on a fly as needed in some 2 - 5 minutes. Looking back, I can see unimaginable happening without these 2 skills. All other skills are so unimportant in comparison that they are not worth mentioning at all.
19 yr old S is moving into first house (with roommates) next week. Skills he learned (or got refresher course): cleaning the bathroom and kitchen thoroughly, cooking at least 3 different meals, dealing with electric/cable companies, writing checks, laundry, etc. His bedroom may still be a disaster zone but at least I civilized him enough to live with 2 girls. Of course, I’ve told the girls that they have my permission to nag him all they want.