Old Fashioned Skills that Kids Need to Know

Modern-day kids have more expertise in anything electronic or the latest gadgets, which is a good thing. Technology is changing rapidly and Gen Z is keeping up with it. However, no matter how much technology changes our lives, there are some basic life skills that kids need to know even today. Here is a list of many old fashioned skills that kids need to know before they move out and start life on their own.

Old Fashioned Skills that Kids Need to Know

As parents, it is up to us to prepare our children for the future. They need to learn lots of basic skills to become independent adults before they head off into the world. With modern conveniences these days, many people have lost the basic skills that not only save money, but in many cases, could prove essential, especially in a survival situation.

Here are 80+ old-fashioned life skills that modern kids should know.

Homemaking Skills

Wash the dishes with and without a dishwasher
Cook and bake basic dishes
Sew on buttons, hooks, and line stitches
Mend holes in clothes and socks
How to do the laundry
Learn to iron clothes
Learn how to correctly set the table
Grow a garden
Use basic tools such as a hammer, screw driver and power tools
Entertain and care for younger children and babies
How to change a lightbulb
To read and follow a recipe
How to care for a pet
Hang a picture
Have good table manners
Clean the house including dusting, vacuuming and mopping
Unclog the toilet and sink
Use kitchen appliances
Basic first aid skills
Assemble furniture
Test a smoke alarm

Technical Skills

How to write a letter
Learn to read and write cursive
Read a book
Take a message
Make a phone call and talk on a phone
To write a thank you note
Address and send an envelope
Use office equipment such as refilling a stapler
Find and check out a book at the library
Read a map
To be able to use an alarm, a calendar, and schedule appointments
To to speak publicly
Back up computer files
Protect / change passwords
Contact roadside assistance
Renew licence / registration
How to vote
Forward mail
Create a will
File important documents
Read a manual

Survival Skills

How to change a tyre
Put petrol / gas in a car
Check for tyre pressure
Light a match and start a fire
Pitching a tent
Finding clean water
Be able to recognise harmful plants
Identify animal prints
Use a fire extinguisher
Pump up bike tyres and balls
Learn how to catch a fish, hunt and gather food
Wash, detail and book a service for a car
Jumpstart a car

Personal Skills

How to apologise for a mistake
Learn to take responsibility for actions and admit fault
Show respect to elders
Initiate a conversation, and ask questions to keep the person engaged and to get to know them better
Genuinely apologise
Shake hands
Introduce yourself
Take notice of things around you and the needs of others
Work at a job until it is completed
Work out the pros and cons of a decision
Working to the best of your ability
To care for someone who is ill
To be kind to everyone
Dress for the occasion, present yourself well and behave correctly
Learn to be grateful for what you have
To be able to socialise without technology
Prepare for an interview
How to work in a team
Accept compliments and criticism
Self care – sleep, nutrition, exercise, hygiene

Financial Skills

To choose a thoughtful gift for someone within your budget
How to make and stick to a budget
How to save money
Pay bills
How to make major purchases
Organise financial records and to tax
How to negotiate effectively
Open bank account
Understand credit and debt

Some of these might sound obvious, but in the fast-paced world we are living in, kids are forgetting these basic life skills, getting absorbed in video games and social media instead. They are unable to remember the very essence of basic livelihood, relying entirely on technology every step of the way.

Be it ordering food or groceries, doing the dishes, doing the laundry, we have a machine to do it for us. And this is making us sedentary, leading to a multitude of physical and mental problems like obesity, depression, identity crisis, and more.

The only way to stop this is to teach our kids these basic life skills, the old-fashioned way. They might not seem interested at first, but once they get their hands on it, they will love doing it just like we did before technology replaced us. You could even use these as ‘chores’ or as part of your homeschooling.

It is not important to use these skills all the time; it is important to have enough knowledge of these so that in case of an emergency, such as when the dishwasher breaks, they run over a screw and their car tyre goes flat, or when they are lost, they know what to do. These skills will even teach them how to survive in hard times, without technology.

Above all, being self-dependent is the main purpose of learning these skills. Why depend on machines and technology or other people to do your work for you? The joy derived from doing your own tasks on your own is incomparable and the sense of accomplishment it leaves behind is to be cherished. They will truly feel like an adult when they act like an adult; take responsibility for themselves and their actions as well as present themselves in society as someone knowledgeable and independent.

Be it writing letters instead of sending a text message, or changing the tyre of the car on their own car, without the help of a mechanic, these skills will come in handy to them in every situation of life.

And believe me, they are super fun to learn too!

More Resources

To grab a printable copy of this list, sign up below:

80+ Old Fashioned Skills that Kids Need to Know