70 Life Skills Your Kid Needs Before College

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Make sure your kiddo knows their way around a washer! Photo courtesy of Canva

When it comes to life skills, I can’t be the only mom of a college-bound senior wondering whether I’ve done all I can to prepare my kid for life outside my day-to-day care. High school graduation is on the horizon, and my son will fly the coop shortly thereafter. He’s smart, poised, and well-spoken, and I marvel every day that I had any role in shaping this incredible human. I also worry that I haven’t done nearly enough to teach him how to handle the day-to-day life skills that seem almost innate to me.

So, to help him—and me—prepare for his college days, I’ve put together this list of 70 life skills for teens. Checking off even a few of these lessons before my son heads to college will ease my mind, and hopefully his!

Looking for life skills for younger kids? We’ve got a list of 65 life skills for kids of all ages that will get you teaching everyone from toddlers to teens. And, take it from me, you’ll need this list soon, because high school graduation comes quicker than you think!

Best Things To Do in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn with Kids

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Bay Ridge's American Veterans Memorial Pier is a communal gathering place and offers an NYC Ferry landing to connect the neighborhood with the rest of NYC. Photo by Katherine Fox/NYCGo

Filled with family-friendly things to do, Bay Ridge, Brooklyn is the perfect compromise between city and suburban living making it a great place to raise kids. Bay Ridge is ethnically diverse, relatively affordable, and easily accessible. There are quaint townhouses on its side streets and lots of cute mom-and-pop shops and good restaurants on its commercial avenues, plus a strip of big chains on 86th Street. Though many residents have cars, they aren't necessary. The neighborhood's top things to do are all just a short walk away, and the R and N trains offer a direct commute from Bay Ridge, Brooklyn to or from Manhattan.

Bay Ridge, Brooklyn also boasts tons of green space, playgrounds, and epic sledding hills, plus fun annual family events, and awesome views of New York Bay and Lower Manhattan.

Here are our top picks for things to do in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn with kids. Find more unique NYC enclaves to explore in our Guide to Family-Friendly Neighborhoods in NYC.

How to Start a Green Club at Your School

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Raise little activists! Kids are never too young to get involved and make a difference, and school is a great place to start!

Green clubs are a great way to bring environmental activism into the spotlight at your school. Whether your school has a thriving climate club or none at all, we're here to help you start a green club, expand your existing climate club, and get more students involved to make the biggest impact possible. And hey, maybe you'll make some new climate-conscious friends along the way!

For more eco-friendly tips and tricks for kids of all ages, check out our article about how one kid can be a climate hero, and subscribe to our Earth Kids newsletter.

The Chicago History Museum with Kids: Top Things to See and Do

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The Chicago History Museum is free for kids 12 and under.

The Chicago History Museum is off the beaten path of Chicago's Museum Campus and downtown area in historic Old Town, and gives kids an idea of how this great metropolis got here and why its people are so interesting. It's the only museum in Chicago that focuses on how the Windy City got to be what it is today. Just like the city itself, the museum is a little eclectic and a lot of fun. It's great for kids because most of its exhibits have interactive elements, and you can get through most of the exhibits in about three hours.

The Chicago History Museum is open Tuesdays through Sunday and is always free for kids 12 and under. It's also relatively affordable to adults at $19, with a $2 discount for students and seniors. It's easily accessible via the Brown Line and several buses, or you can park nearby for $10 a day with validation. And if your kids like this museum, check out more in our Museum Guide for Kids and Families in Chicago.

What makes Chicago such an awesome city? Here are our favorite parts of the Chicago History Museum for kids:

Top Art Summer Camps in New Jersey

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At Artsi Studio, campers learn technique and create paintings, drawings, sculptures, and more. Photo courtesy of the studio

Kids can get their creative juices flowing at summer art camps in New Jersey. Art camps offer the opportunity to explore pottery, drawing, sewing, ceramics, and more, with options for kids as young as preschool up through the teen years. These art camps are located in art schools, museums, and pop-up locations and often can be booked by the week.

For more summer camps in New Jersey, check out our lists of affordable summer camps, Bergen County Camps, and STEM summer day camps, plus bookmark our Guide to Summer Camp in New Jersey and our New Jersey Summer Camp Directory, where you can search for summer camps by age, interest, and town. 

Best STEM Summer Camps in Connecticut for Science, Coding, and Engineering

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With coding, experiments, and more, STEM summer camps in Connecticut are calling all scientists! Photo courtesy of Empow Studios

From Stamford to Hartford and beyond, Connecticut is home to fantastic STEM summer camps. Some kids love sports and some kids love art, but then there are the other kids who love STEM. These are Connecticut's future computer programmers, engineers, mathematicians and scientists. If you child would love to spend his or her summer immersed in these subjects, there is a camp near you that will make them happy!

Check out these STEM summer camps across the state, or take a look at our extensive Connecticut Summer Camp Guide and Summer Camp Directory for tons of options to fit any interest. You can also find free coding for kids websites and apps.

Sleepaway Camps in New England with Short Sessions for First-Timers

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First time campers can learn the ropes at some amazing sleep away camps with short sessions! Joseph Conrad Overnight Sailing Camp photo courtesy of Mystic Seaport

Going to sleepaway camp is a rite of passage for many kids in Boston, Connecticut, and the rest of New England. However, the idea of being away from home for more than a couple of weeks can be a deal breaker for many kids. This is especially true if they're on the younger side or have separation anxiety. Fortunately, many overnight camps offer one- or two-week (some even even shorter) sessions. These are designed to introduce children to the independence and kid-bonding of sleepaway without forcing them to "stick it out" for longer than they may be ready to handle.

Established on shorelines and lakefronts across six states, we've rounded up popular overnight summer camps. These sleepaway camps have first-timer-focused starter sessions for children 6 to 12 years old. The only catch may be if you're unsure you can part with your kiddo for more than a night. (Trust us—you can!)

Look to our complete camp directory for more ideas on summer enrichment for kids in Boston and Connecticut.

Best STEM and Science Summer Camps for Atlanta Kids

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The projects at STREM Summer Camp can get highly innovative! Photo courtesy of STREM HQ

STEM or science camp allow Atlanta kids to have loads of fun with opportunities to launch rockets, develop game apps, build robots, make slime, play in the dirt, and more! The benefits of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) and science camps are numerous. Kids learn better with hands-on activities in a relaxed environment and they gain confidence by developing problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Aside from all the technological fun, these summer camps require collaboration, which provides socialization opportunities for campers as well.

Who knows? Your child may become the next Albert Einstein, Marie Curie, Jacques Cousteau, or Bill Gates!

For more camp opportunities, refer to our Atlanta Summer Camp Guide, which includes preschool, sports, and overnight camps. And if you don't want to miss out on exciting Atlanta happenings, subscribe to our free Mommy Poppins newsletter.

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