They Got Into College, But Can They Do the Laundry?

Rachel Watkins underscores the importance of making sure our growing-up children learn essential life skills.

For many families, the approach of spring brings the waiting game for college acceptance letters, packages, or emails. My own home is waiting for the same for child #9. She will be transferring from our local community college to finish her degree at a four-year university. We are both nervous and happy for her.

Sending her off has us thinking about whether she has everything she needs to be successful. We have asked the Holy Family to help us raise our own holy family and we are rejoicing that she is seeking a school with a strong Catholic identity.

Having sent her older siblings out into the world, we know choosing a college is seemingly impossible decision. Each family has to make the decision that best fits their income, situation and child’s education goals. We are grateful for the Cardinal Newman Society, which helps parents in trying to find quality Catholic institutions. We can’t help with that complex decision except to keep praying for all Catholic families doing this in our secular world.

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But there are less weighty decisions, still important, I’d like to weigh in on. Do your children know how to do their own laundry?

This question comes from my own college experience long ago when I was stunned to find out that not just one but several of my new college friends had never done their own laundry! Having done my own since age 13, I was able to help out. My mom considered teaching me and my siblings how to do it upon becoming teenager as one of her best gifts to us.

If one of your kids is heading out of your house—either to a job, college, or something else—along with giving them a solid foundation in their faith, be sure to make sure they know how to take care of themselves.

After my own college memory regarding laundry, I wasn’t surprised to learn of the large number of YouTube videos out there posted by parents and grandparents offering gentle and clear instruction on such things as laundry or changing tires and oil. And of course, there are a seemingly infinite number of cooking channels. All of these seek to fill in a real gap in knowledge on how to be a successful adult.

These are a wonderful gift to those young people who were not blessed to have parents active in their lives, but that’s not the case with our kids, is it? We are good parents; our children are one of the blessings of our marriage.

Take a look at the Catechism of the Catholic Church, #2228 - 2231. Here we are reminded of parents need to educate our children with reason and freedom. We are told about our children reaching adulthood with responsibility with a trusting relationship with their parents. We read of our giving our children judicious advice, especially in regard to starting a family. In other words, we have an obligation to teach our kids to become responsible adults. This means life skills as well as the essentials of our faith.

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As you are considering your child's college plans, think about what they need to be successful beyond the academics. While it may seem unnecessary to say, there are basics of life everyone should know.

Are your children successful in basic hygiene? First aid? The aforementioned laundry? Every young person should be able to cook a few meals beyond heating up frozen pizza pockets in the microwave. Do they know how to go grocery shopping? Build a mostly healthy week of meals? Do they know how to take care of their car? Banking? The list can go on and on.

The easiest way to teach your children all they need to know is to have them helping us since their toddler years, but it’s never too late to start. If you need help yourself, there are any number of sites that provide lists while Etsy even has some for sale.

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As you are considering your child's college plans, think about what they need to be successful beyond the academics. #CatholicMom

You can do this! We all take comfort with the hope of Proverbs 22:6, which reminds us to "train the young in the way they should go" in regard to our faith. Let us remember that also in regard to helping our children become reliable and trustworthy adults.

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