8 Ways To Help Your Teen Get Ready For Adult Life
Navigating the later teenage years can be challenging for us parents, but maybe even more so for out teens themselves, because they lack the hindsight and experience that we as parents possess.
Preparing them for adulthood requires not just practical skills, but also emotional support and guidance.
Here’s how you can help them tackle what lies ahead with patience and understanding.
1. Guide Their School Journey
Encourage your teen to dive into their interests and guide them as they make decisions about their educational paths and future careers.
To support them, set up a quiet, comfortable study space in your home equipped with essential supplies like a desk, chair, and good lighting. If you can, make sure they have access to the necessary educational tools such as a reliable computer and internet.
Work together to establish a routine that balances study time with breaks and hobbies, showing your interest by discussing their projects and the subjects they’re learning about.
Throughout their educational journey, provide a listening ear and offer encouragement to navigate both their successes and setbacks. It’s about guiding them to think critically and manage their time well, not just about academic success.
Patience is really important.
With my own teenagers and young adults I found that fixing & giving solutions was far less effective than allowing them (with support) to work things out for themselves.
TAKE THE QUIZ!
2. Promote Self-Care
Self-care is crucial for your teenager’s overall physical, mental and developmental well-
being.
It’s an important component of helping your teenager get ready for adult life where they will be flexing their independent wings. They will be relying on & trusting their own choices and decisions.
Model good habits like regular exercise and a balanced diet. Help them establish healthy sleep routines and start to manage their own healthcare, which becomes their responsibility as they turn 18.
3. Financial Wisdom
Managing money is an essential life skill your teenager will benefit from through to
adulthood and beyond, so help them to develop good financial habits early.
How you can do this:
Budgeting
Teach your teenager how to budget and understand financial responsibility.
Show them how to track income & expenses and categorise spending e.g. savings,
essentials, social.
Many of the banks offer excellent advice to teens.
Saving
Emphasise the importance of saving & develop the concept of an emergency fund.
Money Management
Assist them in learning skills in money management. These are essential to prepare
them for independent living whether at university or outside of the family home.
For instance, you could help your teen set up a simple budget using a spreadsheet. Show them how to track their weekly allowance or part-time job earnings against their expenses, such as snacks, entertainment, and savings.
Earning
Support them with ways of earning money. At home as part of an allowance,
through-a part-time job or even through starting a small business.
4. Develop Social Skills
In an age dominated by digital interactions, real-life social skills are actually more important than ever. This is because understanding body language, tone, and feelings when talking in person helps build strong friendships and work relationships that screens can’t fully replace.
Encourage your teen to communicate effectively, listen actively, and understand others’ perspectives.
For example, you could have them practice by summarizing what someone has said during family discussions, ensuring they truly understand the other person’s point of view.
Another idea is to have them participate in group activities where they need to collaborate on projects, which can help them see different perspectives and improve their teamwork skills.
You can also encourage them to engage in conversations with relatives of different ages during family gatherings, which can help them learn to adjust their communication style and understand a range of perspectives.
5. Life Skills for Real-World Readiness
Equip your teen with practical life skills that they can gradually build on as they move into adulthood. Think of yourself as a coach as well as a parent!
Here are just some skills you can support them in learning:
- Cooking and nutrition knowledge
- Car safety
- Personal hygiene
- Personal safety, risk-assessing and first-aid
- Civic responsibility – how to vote, understanding laws
6. Foster Personal Responsibility
With the right support, we can all learn how to hold personal responsibility.
How to instil this quality in your teenager:
- Model responsible behaviour & discuss your own learning experience of making mistakes.
- Provide them with opportunities to test skills e.g. assign chores, encourage part-time jobs.
- Define what personal accountability means.
- Outline the importance in understanding consequences of actions & behaviours through their own choices.
- Provide positive reinforcement, offer praise and rewards and give constructive feedback
- Talk about personal values and beliefs.
7. Prepare for the Career Journey
Going into the world of work for the first time can be a big & daunting step for young adults.
Here’s how you can support your teen in preparing for their first job:
- Encourage them to create an action plan with goals, desires and practical and logistical considerations.
- Help them create professional resumes & letters that highlight qualifications, skills and experiences.
- Guide them with searches or work together on these: job opportunities online, internships.
- Preparing for job interviews. You could try some mock interview role play.
- Encourage a positive work ethic. You can start early with home chores!
- Talk through workplace etiquette such as punctuality, dress code, showing respect, being honest.
8. Create a Safe Base
Ensure your home is a safe and supportive base where your teen can find stability and unconditional love.
You, family members & friends can provide emotional, physical, psychological and practical support in a number of ways:
- Stress relief & decompression
- Guidance and advice
- Encouragement
- Structured environment
- Predictability
- Unconditional love & support
A safe place can provide the stability necessary for developing good habits and discipline whilst your teenager gets ready for adult life.
By following some of my strategies, you’re preparing your teen to succeed as an adult.
Let’s equip them with the tools they need for this exciting journey ahead!
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Hayley Vaughan-Smith is a Person-Centred Counsellor accredited by the National Counselling & Psychotherapy Society. She is the founder and counsellor at The Ridge Practice in Buckinghamshire, and counsellor at Everlief Child Psychology.
Hayley has a special interest in bereavement counselling and worked as a bereavement volunteer with Cruse Bereavement Care for four years.
Hayley is mum to 3 grown up girls, and gardening and walking in nature is her own personal therapy. Hayley believes being in nature, whatever the weather, is incredibly beneficial for mental health well-being.
