Five things my child must learn
I’m old school. And I like things that are simple. If things are simple, they can be fancied up. If things are complicated, it’s tough to know what’s what when things go wrong. In my household of genderless chores, I teach my daughter basic, universal skills. The first two are fatherhood and apple pie; any kid should already be familiar with food preparation and rudimentary sewing. She may not use these skills everyday, but when she does, they won’t be new to her and the skills could get her out of a pinch. Other skills could improve quality of life or even save it.
Cooking from raw. Since I love cooking, my daughter has become quite adept at it as well. And if your daughter is still tentative around the kitchen, teach her to cook. Not just boiling an egg or reheating leftovers, but actually teach her to cook from ingredients. Slow cooker recipes are probably the simplest to start from. Making sauces and pairings later could also be tasty, fun and useful. She should also not be afraid to touch raw meat, whether it’s cattle, fowl or fish!
Teach her to sew. Not just a button to a shirt, but threading a needle, tying a knot, patch a knee or elbow and maybe even run an actual hemline. We’re not talking about haute couture. But if a button frays from her blouse, she can easily use the hotel sewing kit in a pinch.
Public speaking. Do anything in front of a group to encourage engaging an audience. Many kids who are enrolled in music, dance or sports have opportunities to perform either solo or in teams. Encourage this from a very young age as much as possible! Leadership is built on a person’s ease in the way they interact with people. If a child freezes up from stage fright, it means they are likely looking for assurances from the masses. Teach her that acceptance comes from within.
In my household of genderless chores, I teach my daughter some basic, universal skills that are fatherhood and apple pie.
Fix a clogged toilet. Life sometimes is shit. And if you can’t flush it, things will just build up. Teach her how to use a plunger and why it works. Calling a plumber may be required, but for minor clogs, it can be unnecessary time and expenses and there’s definitely no way they will show up in 10 minutes. Teach her that sometimes, she’ll just have to roll up her sleeves and work through it!
Finally, teach her how to drive a manual transmission vehicle in the future of driverless cars. Really! I know that these cars are rare finds in North America. But outside of this continent, many still operate with a manny-tranny. It’s not a macho thing. It’s not even a theft deterrent thing (although in reality, many Millennials don’t even know what a clutch is for). The reality is that the standard transmission is the most common form of powertrain in most vehicles in other parts of the world. She doesn’t need to know how to fix it, but she should know how to operate one. Besides, it’s way more fun to drive.
There are definitely more things you’d want to teach your daughter, but these five should be right up on top of that list. Who knows when these skills will come in handy, but I guarantee that these skills will be way more useful. Unlike deriving an equation from First Principle, she will never say ‘When will I ever use this in the future?’
