My kids can find their way around a tablet faster than I can find my reading glasses. What they could not do, until I made it my mission, was tell time on an analog clock or fry an egg.
At some point, we stopped teaching the fundamentals of the old-fashioned way of doing things because it looked like the world had moved on. But then, the power goes out, or the wifi drops, and suddenly the old-fashioned skills are the only ones that work.
I began showing them one thing at a time as my parents did with me. Here are thirty-three old-fashioned skills that I have taught my kids, and I would contend that every child needs to learn these skills.
Reading and Writing in Cursive
Children are no longer being taught cursive in school. This also means that children will no longer be able to read in cursive. I don’t want that for my children. I’d like them to be able to read letters from grandma, or old letters from the family. It does not take long to learn, but it takes a few minutes each day. They think of it like a secret code. As a matter of fact, that is precisely the way you sell the idea to a child.
Telling Time on a Clock With Hands
Give a child an analog clock and you will see sheer panic in their faces. My child learned on the old clock that we have in our kitchen, five minutes at a time. Once they got the hang of it, they began to grasp time in an entirely new way. They learned to view the hour hand as a wheel instead of a series of changing numbers. This also means that they can now read the time in all the waiting rooms and school classrooms that still have a clock on the wall.
Counting Back Change Without a Calculator
Because registers tell cashiers how much to give back, people have stopped learning how to count change. We play store at the kitchen table with real coins. A child who is able to count change has an understanding of money that a debit card will never teach them. It is mental math that is disguised as a game.
Cooking Eggs Before They Leave for School
Before my kids turned ten, they each learned how to crack and cook an egg. They started with scrambling, and then moved on to frying and even made omelets when they got more confident. A child that can whip up a breakfast will definitely avoid the trap of starving in college and living off cereal. Seeing the pride on their face when they cook their first ever egg is worth the mess.
Doing Their Own Laundry, Start to Finish
By the time they turned ten, all of my kids could complete an entire load of laundry from the hamper to the folded pile. I taught them sorting, soap, and settings plus how to fold at the end. They would complain, but then they became oddly protective over their own system. Their future roommates will appreciate me.
Sewing a Button and Mending a Small Tear
Just because your shirt has a loose button doesn’t mean you have to ruin it or take a trip to grandma’s house. All of my kids have their own mini sewing kits, and they know how to use them. We began with a button on scrap fabric. Then they did their own repairs when a button came off. Now, they even repair their stuffed animals. That is probably one of the cutest things I have ever seen.
Writing a Thank-You Note That Names the Gift
In our house, you are not allowed to play with the gift until you write the thank-you note. It is simple enough with the rule being, name the gift and say something true about it, and it takes five minutes. It’s better than a text and helps build a habit of thankfulness. By the way, I have found the little notes saved in drawers. Relatives keep those notes.
Addressing an Envelope and Mailing a Letter
One time, I gave my son an envelope, and he honestly had no idea where the stamp went. So now, the kids all learn like this, ‘address in the middle, return in the corner, and stamp on the right.’ We send letters to their cousins and grandparents a couple of times a year. A child who sends mail receives mail and you can’t beat the expression of a kid with a letter.
Shaking Hands and Looking People in the Eye
A good handshake and steady eye contact still open doors, and they always will. At home we practiced it over and over until it stopped being awkward, firm grip, eyes up, say your name. Adults are visibly startled when a kid greets them properly. It costs nothing, and it will matter at every job interview they ever have.
Making a Phone Call and Taking a Message
Before my kids learned to ride a bike, they were already able to text. Surprisingly, they were terrified of the actual phones. So, we practiced things like ordering pizza, calling grandma, and asking a store when they close. They also know how to answer the phone, state their name, and take a message. It may seem small, but in their generation, having the courage to use the phone takes real skill.
Using a Kitchen Knife the Right Way
I prefer teaching my kids how to use knives rather than having them learn through accidents. We started with a butter knife and a banana and graduated as they earned it with their hands. Our rules are to curl the fingers, cut away from yourself, and keep the blade sharp. A kid trusted in the kitchen becomes a kid who cooks.
Growing Something From a Seed and Keeping It Alive
Every year, my kids get to choose one plant to start in the spring and own its care for the whole summer. They do all the work of tending it, and they watch it either thrive or teach them a hard lesson. Growing and then eating your own tomato is a game-changer for a kid’s perspective on food. What better way to learn patience and responsibility than to get dirt under those fingernails and do the work to care for a single seed?
Sitting Still Long Enough to Fish
Fishing teaches a kid something no app ever will, how to wait. We bait our own hooks, we sit, and sometimes nothing happens for an hour. They learn that the quiet is not a problem that needs fixing. Some of our best talks have happened staring at a bobber that never moved.
Fixing a Bike Chain and Pumping Their Own Tires
A slipped chain used to ruin my kids’ entire afternoon. Now they fix it themselves in under two minutes, greasy fingers and all. They can patch a tube, pump their own tires, and raise their own seats. A kid who maintains a bike learns that broken does not mean finished, and that lesson applies to almost everything.
Hammering a Nail Straight
Every child should get the opportunity to swing a hammer before they grow up. Mine started with a scrap board, a box of nails, and safety glasses. There were bent nails and sore thumbs, but then one day they got a clean strike and sunk the nail. Tool confidence begins with driving one nail and grows for a lifetime.
Reading a Paper Map
On road trips, one of my kids rides navigator with a real map in their lap. They plan the route, watch for the exits, and tell me exactly where we are. GPS is wonderful right up until the phone dies or the signal drops. A kid who can read a map never feels truly lost, and that kind of calm cannot be bought.
Knowing Their Address and Phone Numbers by Heart
Before my kids entered Kindergarten, they knew our family’s phone numbers and home address. They memorized it sing-song style until it stuck, entirely from memory and not a piece of paper. If they were to get lost or scared, and a phone is not available to them, they would have to use this information to get help. It is the most inexpensive type of insurance that a parent can purchase.
Swimming Well Enough to Save Themselves
Swimming is the one skill on this list that can save a life outright. I taught my kids to float, tread water, and get themselves to the side of the pool before I ever relaxed at one. In our house it was treated like reading, not optional and not negotiable. The confidence they carry around water now is its own reward.
Building a Campfire Safely
The kids learn fire with all due respect. Small sticks, one match, and a bucket of water close by. They learn to feed it, mind it, and drown it dead when we leave. A child who learns fire doesn’t have to sneak around to be curious about it. Nothing on earth beats their face when their one match fire catches.
Pitching a Tent Without the Instructions
Every kid should be able to put a roof over their own head, even a nylon one. Mine can spread the tarp, sort the poles, and have the tent standing before I have finished unloading the car. The first time my son did it alone, he was so proud he slept in it in the backyard that night. Give a kid a real job and they will surprise you.
Using a Pocket Knife Without Bleeding
There is a right age and a right way, and every family knows theirs. Mine learned to cut away from themselves, close the blade before walking, and that a dull knife is the dangerous one. Whittling a stick to a point by the fire is still one of childhood’s great satisfactions. Trust, once earned, teaches more than any lecture I could give.
Shuffling Cards and Playing a Real Game
Each of my children knows how to shuffle a deck of cards, deal a hand and play multiple card games like Rummy, Hearts, War, and even some games our family invented a few decades ago. Playing card games teaches children how to count, develop strategies, and read people while disguised as fun. A deck of cards has been more useful on rainy afternoons than any mobile charger.
Losing Without Falling Apart
No board games in our house are played without the following rule: You lose with your chin up. No flipping boards or storming off. You say good game and you mean it. You learn to lose little things at seven so you are able to lose bigger things at twenty-seven. This may be the most old-fashioned skill on this entire list.
Ironing Their Own Shirt
Before any big event my kids iron their own shirts (they do this badly at first, then better every time). Collar first, then shoulders, then the long parts, with the steam doing half the work. A wrinkled kid and a pressed kid walk into the same room differently. They groan at me, then double-check themselves in the mirror.
Basic First Aid and Staying Calm
My kids know where the first aid kit lives and what to do with most of what is in it. Pressure on a cut, cold water on a burn, and when the answer is go get an adult, go fast. We practice staying calm the same way we practice the bandaging. A kid who does not panic is worth their weight in gold when something actually happens.
Setting a Proper Table
When setting the table I ensure my kids know, just as I was taught, that the fork goes on the left, the knife on the right with its blade facing the plate, and the napkin where it belongs. I have them set the table each night, and for the holidays they do the ‘fancier’ versions, with napkin folds and centerpieces. I want to drive home the lesson that meals are events worth a little more effort, and that someday they will set a table for someone they love, and know exactly how.
Greeting Guests Like They Matter
When someone knocks, my kids answer the door, say hello, and offer a drink. Guests get greeted, coats get taken, and nobody vanishes to a bedroom without a hello first. Hospitality is caught more than taught, but it still needs the practice. Guests light up when a child treats them like an honored visitor.
Saving Money in a Jar They Can See
At our house, the kids’ allowance is divided into three jars: spend, save, and give. We have noticed that a transparent saving jar teaches them the value of money better than any app designed to teach kids money skills. They can physically see the money in the jar and the money leave the jar. My daughter saved for four months to buy a bike. She rode that bike in a way that she would not have with a bike we bought her. Learning how to wait for something is a skill and the jars instill that.
Washing Dishes by Hand Properly
The dishwasher works, but every kid should learn the sink method. Fill it with water as hot as they can stand, add soap, load it from cleanest to dirtiest, and then rinse properly. At our house, dish duty shifts and is accompanied by music (no phones). Over a sink full of suds we have had some excellent conversations.
Making a Bed You Could Bounce a Coin Off
Making the beds is the first task of the day before all the fun begins. I show them how to do “tight corners” the same way my dad showed me, with the sheet pulled until it sings. It only takes three minutes, but it sets the mood for the rest of the day. A made bed is a small discipline that builds the bigger ones.
Being Bored Without a Screen
When my kids say they’re bored, I actually congratulate them. Boredom can lead to some great activities like building forts, drawing and coming up with crazy (and sometimes wonderful) inventions. That’s why we keep the screens off on long drives and on Sunday afternoons. Kids with the ability to entertain themselves have a superpower that honestly, I feel like a lot of the adults I know have lost.
Knowing the Names of Trees and Birds
We name things on walks. That’s a maple. That’s a cardinal. That call is a chickadee. Kids notice what has a name and they walk right past what doesn’t. Mine now correct me, loudly and with great joy, when I get one wrong. A kid who knows the names of things never walks through an empty world.
Checking the Oil and Changing a Tire
My kids are learning how to drive, so they need to learn how to check the oil, read the pressure, and change a tire. Personally, I think these are prerequisites for getting a license. And while I understand the convenience of roadside assistance, I think it’s far more valuable to be able to pull over and have some confidence in your own skills to handle a problem. This is the last skill we need to cover, and honestly, it’s the one that keeps me the most at ease.
