3 Independent Living Skills to Learn During the Winter Break

This week’s Tuesday Tip is all about independent living skills. How many of you have heard your kids say “I am bored” when you know full well they have a ton of chores and other activities to do around the house? This winter break is the perfect time to practice independent living skills. Skills your kids can learn to succeed at living alone.

Take out that pencil and paper and create a list of skills that you think will help you, your student, or child transition to independent living.

Before moving forward, make sure you have that list completed.

Many of these skills you likely wrote down are activities you can do in your home or around the neighborhood. Now, ask yourself if they are fun. There is a way to make learning and practicing these skills more fun rather than asking your kid to complete a chore. Having fun can add a lot of interest and value to them. I bet when your kid was young and learning to wash their hands, this activity was fun because they got to splish splash around. Cleaning all that water off your countertops and floors made it worth it because your child learned a new skill AND had fun while doing it. Some of those skills you thought about earlier can be fun too. Even if you break it down into smaller steps. Whether your child learns from you showing them or from verbal support through written instructions, picture sequences, or video modeling, these independent living skills can give them a sense of accomplishment.