Life Skills Classes For Teens: Self-Regulation And Sticking To A Budget
If you're a parent looking to help give your teenager the life skills they'll need to succeed in life, life skills classes can teach them to be more resilient and resourceful.
Here are some of the types of activities and tools they might learn in a life skills school.
Self-Regulation
One of the biggest hurdles for teenagers is coping with the enormity of freedom after leaving home. Having the ability to self-regulate when they have so many ways to cope with their problems can be overwhelming.
- Centering Routines: establishing patterns can be comforting and therapeutic. Particularly, when life doesn't go our way. Life skills courses can provide your teenager with examples of centering routines to help them find solace when life gets tough. For instance, a life skills instructor might have a meditation expert demonstrate deep breathing and centering exercises to cope with feelings of stress and anxiety. The instructor might also show them how journaling and/or maintaining a daily planner can help them feel more in control of their lives.
- Utilizing Resources: one of the most important life skills for your teenager to learn is how to utilize the resources available to them. For instance, how will they establish mental or medical care in a new area? A life skills course can take them to a primary and/or mental health care provider in the area and walk them through the process of establishing a new doctor. They can also review health insurance documentation, prescription coverage, and any other healthcare-related problems they're likely to face when they begin to navigate the world independently.
Budgeting
Although your teenager probably won't need to learn how to balance a checkbook, they will need to understand how to create, adjust, and stick to a budget.
- Checking and Saving: many life skills courses utilize simulation-style video games that require students to create, adjust, and manage a financial budget for a character they create. Aside from the novelty of the game, the financial tools available to the character can be based on authentic banking products and services. For instance, your teenager might be asked to create a savings plan to build credit and capital for a large purchase like a house or car. They might also be tasked with setting up auto-pay for recurrent bills.
- Time Audit: a life skills class can also teach your teen to audit and budget their time. For instance, their instructor might ask them to tally how much time they spend online actually doing school work compared to how much time they spend on social media.