140 Essential Life Skills to Prepare Your Teen for Adulthood

List of Life Skills for Teens

If you’re the parent of a teen, chances are you’ve experienced at least one moment of realization that your child is completely unaware of how to do something that will be essential for them to navigate the world on their own. This huge list of life skills for teens provides a resource for thinking about the many essential life skills your child needs to prepare them for adulthood.

Use this as a reference point and incorporate learning into your daily life. Even if your child is 17 and you’re panicking about how little time you have left, you can use the time you have to thoughtfully consider which life skills they most need for the next phase of their lives.

Keep reading to download a free printable list of all 140 life skills for teens for easy reference.

Life Skills Categories

The life skills on this list are broken into eight categories.

• Household Cleaning Skills
• Car and Household Maintenance Skills
• Kitchen Skills
• Finance and Home Organization Skills
• Communication Skills
• Personal Skills
• General Skills
• BONUS: Outdoor/Survival Skills

Start reading the “Character Counts” series of 9 positive character traits to develop in your kids

Household Cleaning Skills

Obviously, if you’re reading this, you want your child to clean up after themselves! No further explanation needed here. The life skills listed in this category are able to be taught much earlier than the teen years, so if you have young kids, start now.

1. Clean a bathroom
2. Vacuum
3. Dust
4. Wash & dry dishes
5. Load and start dishwasher
6. Sweep & mop floor
7. Make beds
8. Clean appliances
9. Wipe counters/cabinets
10. Wash clothes
11. Fold/hang clothes
12. Wash towels/sheets
13. Fold towels/sheets

Read: 3 Ways to Handle Laundry

14. Clean windows
15. Iron
16. Stain removal
17. Collect and empty garbage/recycling
18. Decluttering
19. Occasional tasks/spring cleaning: clean fan blades, window tracks, clean out freezers & fridges, clean blinds, change filters
20. How often to do household cleaning tasks

Number 20 deserves a little emphasis. Knowing how to do all these cleaning tasks is great, but knowing how to create a schedule for household cleaning and chores is crucial to managing their own household.

Car and Household Maintenance Skills

Many of the life skills in this category are what traditionally come to mind when thinking about what your child needs to know before leaving home. One great way to teach these skills is to include your child each time you have to deal with these issues in your home. Use a progression of having them watch you do it, then try with your instruction, try with your supervision and minimal instruction, and then try on their own.

21. Pump gas
22. Change a tire
23. Check oil
24. Check tire pressure
25. Replace wiper blades
26. Wash a car
27. Jumpstart a car
28. Register a vehicle/renew registration (DMV, DEQ)
29. Bicycle maintenance
30. Unclog a toilet
31. Unclog a drain
32. Change a lightbulb
33. Use a hammer
34. Use a drill
35. Fix a ripped seam/sew a button on
36. Change batteries
37. Test smoke alarm
38. Mow the lawn
39. Paint a room
40. Use a grill/BBQ
41. Pull weeds
42. Plant seeds
43. Rake leaves
44. Use a caulk gun
45. Turn off water and power
46. Fix a leaky faucet
47. Find service or repair persons

Kitchen Skills

Your child should learn how to feed themselves before leaving home. Here are important kitchen skills to teach your teen now.

48. Set the table/use variety of utensils
49. Make a meal plan

50. Navigate the grocery store
51. Safe food storage
52. Make coffee/tea
53. Follow a recipe
54. Measure and weigh ingredients
55. Cook a few breakfast items (eggs, pancakes, muffins)

Read: Best Homemade Pancake Mix

56. Cook a few dinner items (i.e. spaghetti, grilled cheese sandwich, chicken and rice)
57. Bake cookies
58. Make a cake
59. Peel vegetables
60. Cut fruit
61. Operate the oven
62. Use the stovetop
63. Operate a food processor
64. Use a blender
65. Check food expiration dates
66. Read ingredient/nutrition labels

Finance and Organization Skills

Teaching your teen how to handle their finances, organize important papers, and schedule their time will provide them with vital life skills they will rely on throughout their lives.

67. Create a paper filing system for household documents
68. Pay bills
69. Open and use a bank account
70. Write a check
71. Understand how credit cards work
72. Check credit report
73. Apply for a passport
74. Address and send postal mail
75. Ship a package
76. Create a budget
77. Compare prices
78. Use a calendar to schedule appointments, events, and reminders
79. File taxes
80. Change ink in printer
81. Refill paper in printer
82. Basic understanding of insurance (home, car, medical)
83. Create and manage passwords
84. Use identity protection measures

Communication Skills

These are skills that often go overlooked, but are invaluable for developing strong personal and professional relationships.

85. Schedule an appointment
86. Contact customer service with a problem
87. Call a business and ask for information
88. Call 911 and communicate details of an emergency
89. Report non-emergency situation to police
90. Write a thank you note
91. Send an invitation
92. Introduce yourself
93. Make small talk
94. Small group etiquette
95. Dinner party etiquette
96. Host a party
97. Appropriate social media usage
98. Apply for a job
99. Prepare a resume
100. Write a cover letter
101. Write a professional email
102. How to vote
103. Tip service providers
104. Understand non-verbal cues
105. Sincerely apologize
106. Accept and respond to criticism
107. Give a presentation

Personal Skills

Before your teen leaves home, they should have skills that help them manage their lives well, both physically and emotionally.

108. Identify and manage emotions (anger, sadness, irritability)
109. Habit formation skills
110. Productive goal setting
111. Study & learning skills (take notes, prepare for a test, research)
112. Time management (creating productive routines and schedules)
113. Memorize social security number
114. Personal hygiene (nail trimming, washing, grooming, tooth care)
115. Understand general nutrition and fitness

General Skills

These general life skills will give your teen a boost of confidence in their ability to navigate the world on their own.

116. Use the library
117. Use public transportation
118. Book an airline flight
119. Book and check in to a hotel
120. Pack a suitcase
121. Use an ATM 
122. Type proficiently
123. Change a diaper
124. Read and follow a prescription
125. Use over-the-counter medication
126. Do research using trustworthy sources
127. Troubleshoot internet/technology issues
128. Use standard software (word processing, spreadsheets, presentations)

Outdoor/Survival Skills

Some of these skills may not be necessary for everyday life, but in the event they are necessary, your teen will be grateful they learned these survival skills.

129. Set up a tent
130. Orient to north, east, south, west
131. How to read a map
132. Basic first aid
133. Start a fire/put out a fire
134. How to purify water
135. How to tie knots
136. Situational awareness
137. How to signal for help
138. Self-defense
139. Preserving food (dehydrating, canning, smoking)
140. How to react when encountering wildlife

Most Important Life Skills for Teens

For those with teens who will be heading off to college soon, the best way to teach important life skills is to include your child in your own decisions and tasks whenever possible. Take them with you to do your banking, have them work with you on meal plans and grocery shopping, show them how to pump gas the next time you fill up.

For tasks that aren’t as easy to teach as part of your daily life, assign them to a week or month of the year and put it on the calendar. If you normally work on tax preparation in March, create a task to show your teen how taxes work in March. Goal-setting? Most people do some type of goal-setting in January, but the beginning of any month might be a good time. Make a note to work with your teen on packing a suitcase, reading maps, and checking into a hotel the week you’re planning to take a road trip to visit family in another state.

It might not all stick, but some of that good advice is sure to surface when your teen needs to put these skills into practice on their own.

Visit my homeschool resources page for monthly unit study ideas, projects, and homeschool planning help!

Visit my Etsy shop for checklists, planning templates, and student projects

Join my mailing list to receive updates when new printable resources are added to the library, plus tips and encouragement for your organized homeschool journey.

Want more resources to help manage your home life and homeschool?

Leave this field empty if you're human:

You May Also Like…

Essential Life Skills for Teens