to think that there are way more "useful things to teach your kids"?

[teraspawn]

In response to the other AIBU thread.

I think it's important that kids leave home knowing how to do various things - including doing laundry, speaking in public, cooking and things like that. I don't think it's important that they know how to be "one of the cool kids!" AIBU? What do you want your kids to learn before they grow up?

[confuseddotcodotuk]

I haven't got kids but based on my own limited experiences so far:

Budgeting/saving skills

How to cook as I learnt mac and cheese at 9/10 but not much else!

Languages that I regret not knowing now, but I wouldn't make a huge deal out of it, I'd rather have au pairs/foreign students and raise them around language iyswim? And make my father speak to them in his language from birth so that they pick it up.

I think I would also make a point of saying not to go straight from A Levels to Uni. Take time out to discover who you are and what you really want in life, and more importantly, to have fun being young around like-minded people! If they fuss they'll get kicked out to be activity centre staff members like I did, had the time of my life and want to go back

Some form of dance lesson, if only to save them embarassment after turning 18 and clubbing becomes a staple of their social life!

Paddling a kayak/canoe the right way and junior coaching, watersports are really great for raising awareness of water safety without even doing much!

First Aid (Red Cross and St John's do clubs for kids still I believe), table manners, self defence, time management, basic housekeeping skills and common courtesy I also agree with :)

[MichaelaS]

how to look after themselves on a basic level - i.e. basic cooking, how to operate a washing machine / iron / dishwasher etc, how to clean a toilet and how often you should do it.

money management - the concept of budgeting, saving up for things and responsible use of debt (and how interest rates work)

the fact that the world does not owe you a living, if you want one you should get off your bum and make one.

that you should be grateful for what you do have, not bitter about the things you don't have, and generous to those who have less than you.

basic contraception, including not getting so incredibly drunk that you "forget" about using it.

how to do basic DIY and car maintenance

how to consider other's motivations and points of view in a professional sense, e.g. what is the person holding the interview looking for? And how can you best present yourself given this understanding? This last one is sadly lacking in most of the candidates I interview, and is a skill gap that is felt in the workplace too (e.g. when negotiating in meetings).

that different people can have vastly different opinions and that's ok, you don't have to agree and you don't even have to like everyone or be liked by everyone.

be true to yourself and you'll never do anything you regret!

[diabolo]

I really hope my DS does not grow up being "cool" (I don't think I'm in any danger - he tells me about how him and his mates laugh at the "cool" kids at school with their identi-haircuts, identi-clothes and identi-ideas, calls them "sheep").

He should be:

individual
able to think for himself
able to cook a little
know the value of everything, but the price of nothing
to get on with people, whether with millionaires or someone homeless.

[minipie]

Hmmm. Interesting question.

Of course being "cool" is not important.

But, I think having social skills is important (and I don't just mean manners, but how to make friends and get on with people.)

I am not sure how you teach this though. I think a lot of it does come down to social confidence. But how do you teach social confidence?

[onceamai]

Basic cooking: omolette, fry-up, bolognaise and cheese sauce, etc.
Basic hygiene: personal and domestic
Grasp of practical tasks: iron a shirt, sew on a button, change a lightbulb, read a map, handle a bank account/budget, operate washing machine.
Good manners
Self assured
Initiative - if you don't know the answer or how to do something to have the ability to find out.
Optimism
Kindness and thinking of others
Awareness of personal safety and security

[stuffthenonsense]

how to be decent upstanding members of society.
how to care for themselves practically and financially
how to put a meal together from leftovers/store cupboard for when times are tight but also to put on a meal fit for a whole array of dignitaries
how to make conversation with anyone, regardless of background/class/income (who REALLY cares about that?)
how to apologise
to be firm in their principles and never let 'wrong' win over 'right'
to know how to argue effectively
how to love and be loved
to neither under or over value themselves
to learn from their mistakes and to value them as a learning process
to always immerse themselves in anything that is worth doing

[noid]

To read the bloody instructions rather than winging it.

[AngryFeet]

Well my parents taught me none of these things but I learnt them all anyway . I plan on teaching my children as much as I can but there are only so many hours in the day and looking at some of your lists exhausts me! My kids are 6 and 4 and I have taught them nothing by the look of it!

[onceamai]

Mine are 16 and 13 Angry Feet - we are only just beginning.

[OTheHugeManatee]

How to budget and live within their means
Enough of the principles of cooking to be able to experiment
That growing plants isn't rocket science (plant seeds, add water, wait)
To say clearly what they want and be able to pick their battles
To enjoy the moment
To be comfortable in their own skins