Slow Release Programme
I met a friend’s American aunt, with a son who is working and a daughter who is studying. She used a wonderful term to help prepare her children for life away from home. She said we started a ‘slow release programme’. This is when you teach your children, nieces or nephews one life skill a year to set them up for living away from home.
This encompassed:
- Learning how to cook and the benefits of batch cooking
- Doing the laundry/washing (they actually had a laundry class in the first year of secondary school)
- How to shop economically
- Opening and managing a bank account
- How to file and pay bills
The above will help empower your child to take control and lead an independent life. With the basics mastered, this will allow them to thrive in their studies or life away from home. They will be in autopilot when it comes to looking after themselves and they can focus on the important business of work or studying.
I loved this piece of advice.
