Young people between 16 and 18 have many life skills to master.  Many of those skills involve transportation and self care.  The time that we have children in our care passes quickly!  At this point, the time needs to be spent teaching intentionally so that the needed skills are taught before the next adventure begins.  Those last years of high school are precious preparation time, no matter the direction the young person is headed.  There are many areas that need attention and mastery.  Critical ones follow.

These are the Life Skills for young people between 16 and 18:

• Plan menus and prepare a wide variety of meals
• Perform sophisticated cleaning and maintenance tasks (unclogging drains, cleaning gutters, power washing porches)
• Perform basic car care (fill the car with gas, check air in tires, check oil level)
• Schedule oil changes and other car maintenance
• Use a cab service (Uber, Lyft) or master public transportation

• Read and understand medicine labels and dosages
• Make regular doctor and dentist appointments
• Fill out job applications and create a resume

• Interview for and get a job
• Understand the basics of insurance (car, renters, health)
• Understand a wide variety of financial matters (balancing a checkbook, paying bills, how credit works)
• Read and understand basic contracts (apartment leases, utility contracts)
• Use reliable sources to check information coming from news articles, blogs, and social media