When the day comes that their children are ready to set off on their own, parents go through all kinds of emotional upheaval. Pride competes with stress and anxiety, especially for parents of young women. For parents who are on their own due to separation, divorce, or bereavement, this moment is especially emotional. You’ll feel better if you tick off some things you must teach your daughter before she leaves home.
Financial Literacy
Your daughter needs to know how to take care of her own money. That means you should teach her how to make a budget and stick to it, even if it means forgoing that new pair of shoes or the expensive spring break vacation. Explain how credit cards can trap her in debt for years and teach her to be responsible when using them. She also needs to know how to recognize scams and avoid being taken advantage of financially.
How To Be a Good Roommate
Having a slob for a roommate is a pain, and being that slob is a sure way to alienate someone who could have been a good friend. Clothes should be hung up or stowed in dresser drawers, dishes should be washed, and bathroom sinks should be kept clear of blobs of toothpaste.
Laundry and Cooking
All young people ought to learn these basic life skills before they leave home. Young women tend to be overly concerned with their appearance, so they need to learn how to take care of their clothes so that they look good and last. They also need to recognize that bedsheets don’t magically wash themselves.
Even if your daughter will be on a full meal plan at college, she still needs to know how to cook for herself and others when friends get together for potlucks or celebrations. Help her develop a few of her own signature dishes that she can proudly present, even if she has to cook them in someone else’s kitchen.
How To Recognize Toxic Relationships
Most parents of daughters are hyper-concerned with safety and walk a fine line between overprotectiveness and allowing a young woman to develop confidence. But even if they are old enough to leave home, young women are still subject to peer pressure and vulnerable to abusive relationships. One of the most important things you must teach your daughter before she leaves home is how to recognize a toxic relationship.
Teaching girls about healthy relationships is particularly important if they witnessed an unhealthy one while they were growing up. Talk to your daughter about self-respect, confidence, and the kind of treatment she has a right to expect from friends and romantic partners.
You’ve spent 18 years trying to teach your daughter how to survive without you. She’s still got a lot to learn, but have a little faith that you did a good job and that your daughter will keep herself safe, get a job, flourish on her own, and even call you once in a while.
