Teaching Your Children Independence

I recently heard a wonderful talk on CD by Merrilee Boyack called, "Teaching Your Child to Fly!" {The following information is going to change your children for the better in a remarkable way!}

Think about the first time you were on your own. What surprised you the most? Utilities? How expensive food was? How to use a laundromat? How to properly cook or do laundry?

Personally for me it was how much stuff I needed just to function in a place of my own and how expensive those things accumulated to be! {Condiments, cleaning supplies, medicines, toiletries, and all other basic supplies}

Merrilee made a list of all the things she wished she had known and all the things she thought were important for an adult to know and then decided she was going to train her children all these things by the age of 18 so that they would be fully prepared for the real world. She then broke down all the things on that list in a year by year basis so her children would constantly be learning and growing according to their increased capabilities. You can find the original list on her website HERE.

Since I like my lists to be pretty... and match my personal binder {I know I know... ridiculous!} and since I wanted to adapt the list a bit and even add a few things here is the list I came up with:

A guideline for every age:

{It's personalized to fit my families needs but this list should give you a rough idea/guideline of what to include on your child's list.}

(this is a copy of a copy of a copy- hence the awful quality. I apologize:) But you get the idea!)

AND...........

a DIY version so you can create your own list and track your child's progress!
This list is printable! To print CLICK HERE!

**According to Merrilee it takes a child an average of 8 times of training with Mom/Dad before they are fully trained to do it on their own. So be patient :)

** She also suggests that summertime is a really good time to tackle the training. If you don't know how to do a particular thing let alone teach it, enlist the help of other "specialists" in that area such as friends, family, neighbors, or even church leaders!

**And remember.... It is NEVER too late to begin!! I am backtracking a bit with my oldest to get her caught up :)

Heck, even I need training in some of these areas!! :)

I HIGHLY recommend her CD. It is funny, inspiring, and a quick listen. You will not be disappointed!

Anyone going to do this with me? Anyone already doing this?

And if you haven't seen my Family Planner printables yet, go check them out! I keep my Master List so I can refer to it in my Home Management Binder. And my kiddos (and I) each have a copy of the current list they are working on in their Responsibility Binders.