What practical life skill should every child learn before leaving primary school? £100 voucher to be won

[CeriMumsnet]

As parents, we're constantly teaching our children life skills - from making their own breakfast and crossing the road safely to managing friendships and handling tricky situations.

But if you had to choose, what’s the most important skill every child should know by the end of primary school?

What practical skills do you make a point of teaching your children? Are there things you wish you'd learned earlier yourself? And how do you help your children build confidence and independence as they grow?

We're working with St John Ambulance to raise awareness of First Aid with Bertie - a fun programme that helps children learn essential first aid skills and feel more confident knowing what to do in an emergency.

Everyone who posts on this thread by 29 July will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Amazon voucher. (Prize draw fulfilled by Mumsnet - T&Cs here).

Excel - how to use it as it’s a fundamental part of many jobs

money management

Various sewing methods. For boys and girls. A mix of machine sewing, hand sewing like embroidery and cross stitch, and repairing / modifying clothes.

With so much of life being digital these days kids are losing dexterity in their hands and are less able to do some manual work than previously. The medical field in particular are struggling with finding people with enough skill to do surgery and other procedures, but many jobs and life tasks require a steady hand and patience.

It's also a very meditative experience and does wonders for your mental health to see something slowly be created by your own two hands.

Finally, it's a fantastic life skill to be able to mend clothes and tailor what you own to fit better. Clothes are far too disposable and fast fashion is destroying the planet. Instilling sewing as a basic un-gendered skill in the next generations might help reverse the trend of throw away clothes and make people care more about each item if they have a more personal hand in creating and maintaining them.

Swimming
Road Safety
What to do in an emergency - calling 999
Personal boundaries/stranger danger
Time management and organisation - hygiene/getting ready/packing bag/getting own breakfast

Road safety.
Navigating public transport
Personal hygiene including regular showers and deodorant
learning to organise things the night before for the next day. Just a basic check of bag, PE kit, uniform.
Some basic food prep. Mainly breakfast.

How to cook.

Basic first aid and how to make a 999 call.
Basic saving and budgeting.
Cooking skills.

Scotland here, so leave Primary School at approx 12.
I believe they should know:

• Basic first aid - my son goes fishing and has patched up his friends with antibac wipes and given plasters, if they have cut themselves. He knows to apply an ice pack to a suspected sprain or strain. *How assess a dangerous situation and know how to respond. E.g. are they being followed home from school - they should know to run to a trusted neighbours house, if that is closer than home. Not to talk to strangers and not be afraid to cause a scene and make as much noise as possible, if someone comes too close into their personal space.
• They should be able to swim confidently - this is an essential life skill!
• They should be able to make basic lunch meals: sandwiches, scrambled eggs. And clean up after themselves I.e. load dishwasher and wipe up crumbs and bin packaging. *Be able to cross a road safely. *Change their own bed linen. *Dust, hoover, empty their room bin, put dirty clothes in a laundry basket. *Have access to a bank account and be able to understand budgets. If you spend all your money on sweets - there is no more money to go to McDonalds with your friends. *Table manners - do not grab the majority of shared food - everyone gets served before you ask for seconds. Use cutlery properly. *Care about your friends. Understand that they are going through different stages and don’t be self-absorbed, nor overly sensitive. Trust the friendships, but don’t be anyone’s fool or walkover. *Keep showering! Showers, flossing & brushing and personal hygiene are good! *Your family are the only people you can 100% trust in life. We will always love you, no matter what.

Reading.

Road safety is an obvious one, but also self defense. Just the easy stuff, what parts to go for to get away etc. I've also taught them how to be smart with money.

I wish I knew self defense when I was younger as it would have come in handy a few times.

Basic finance, first aid, self defense, basic cooking skills with supervision.

I find it helps to give the illusion of supervision, like they did it all on their own, or got the answer on their own. I always find that to boost their confidence. They know that they can always ask me for anything if they ever get stuck.

Budgeting /money management. Incredibly important.

Calling 999

How to call emergency services from a mobile, and what information to give them when they answer.
Road safety.
Water safety – not just being able to swim but also to know where it is safe to swim.

Surprised nobody has mentioned parenting skills - start young to at least try to avoid too many teenage pregnancies.

Money management, loans, taxes, savings, investments, etc.

Besides some of the answers already stated, I wish I learned camping skills and had the knowledge to impart it upon my kids. I feel like in this day and age, lots of basic skills are kind of tossed aside because in this age of technology we just take it all for granted. I suspect a lot of these skills will come in handy one day.

Road safety, for getting to secondary school and basic independence.
Safe walking and safe public transport if that is needed.

How to swim tops the list for me.

First Aid, Sign Language & Swimming would be better taught in schools these days & much more useful than RE.

Road safety and water safety, including how to swim.

In this day and age, definitely self defense. Thankfully, my kids have an uncle who does BJJ and he gives basic defense lessons to them. On top of that, I also give them the more easier things to know that will at least allow them to get away if they were ever in a position that it was required.

Cooking skills. I'm glad my dad taught me as I grew up and it's something I hope to pass on. Also DIY; I feel like that's something that's important for everyone.

How to clean, what to use to clean and how to organise oneself. From finances to cooking a meal and buying food etc. life admin alongside that all married with self awareness of it’s ok to not hit “milestones” at the same time as everyone else. It could really help their mental health.

1. Money management - budgeting and saving.
2. To swim.
3. What to do in an emergency - calling 999
4. How to use public transport

Decision making connected with safety...ie: risk awareness that leads to everything from road crossing to not putting themselves in damgerous positions.

Swimming I think is a crucial life skill. Also, what happens if a family member has an emergency - how to dial for help, and give address etc.