Life Skills for Kids

Author Christine Field tells us at the outset why she wrote Life Skills for Kids—it was the book she needed for her own family, in order to raise kids that were not just academically capable but could survive and thrive on their own. A lot of home school families end up with houses full of kids who can read anything you put in front of them but can't do the laundry or balance a checkbook. Field wanted her kids to be able to check "all of the above."

Home ought to be a place where children learn the basics of life and self-management, but too often it's simply seen as a refuge. While that is an important element, someday those kids are going to leave and go to college, get jobs, have families of their own. It is essential they know how to take care of themselves when that day comes, and it's the parents' responsibility to make sure they do.

Life Skills for Kids is intensely practical. Chapters are built around fourteen "maxims" (like "We are given only a certain amount of time. We have to use it wisely." or "Much of life involves money. Either we learn to handle it or it will handle us.") on which to base more detailed instruction. Parents will learn how to teach kids to wash the dishes, keep a budget, answer the phone, be creative, make decisions, etc.

This isn't just a collection of facts and advice, however. While there are plenty of lists, Bible verses, bullet points and references, there is also plenty of insight into our culture and its often debilitating attitudes, guiding your children toward making your Christian faith their own, and generally forming a community within the home rather than a model in which parents exist to serve their children.

Field recommends you read her book straight through before trying to implement it, then review key passages as needed. This is good advice—by understanding the author's philosophy, the reader will have a foundation from which to build practice, rather than trying to follow what could otherwise seem like disjointed procedures. If you want your kids to grow into adults who can function well outside as well as inside the home, Life Skills for Kids is highly recommended.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.