The Seven Important Home Management skills to Teach your Child

All of us bring up children knowing that one day they will take off independently. We want our children to be able to take care for themselves and their surroundings when it is time to be on their own. These days children are studying in boarding schools and as they grow up they do not hesitate opting a job away from home.

In Indian society girls get married soon after education and it becomes very important that they understand the essential Home Management skills to balance home and work. The partners will get influenced with their Home Management skills. Therefore every parent should teach the seven important Home Management skills to the child and make them equipped to face the world.

Good Cleaning habits

It is always better to spend 3 to 5 mins on regular cleaning rather than spending an hour at the end of a long day due to pile up. Initially it may be difficult to adopt this practice but as the benefits are plenty it is good to start this habit. Remove clutter and waste things .You will get more space and less of dust accumulation. The place will be clear and facilitate better thinking.

Every article should have a place and if there are too many not in use articles dispose it off. You can sell it as scrap or donate to some needy person.

Laundry skills

Laundry skill is essential when you plan to stay away from home. Your child should be prepared to face a situation like button dropping out from shirt. Children should be trained to wash their undergarments as they are growing. You need to train them on folding the laundry clothes, sewing a button on a shirt / jeans truly because mommy will not be always around the children

Time Management

Successful home management is about planning and execution. All of us are blessed with 24 hrs in a day. Time lost now is lost forever. Therefore train your kid to utilize time effectively. Make a schedule for the kids , involve them during preparation such that they own the new time table. These skills in managing time will help them as they are growing up, during higher studies and in their career as well. Such children value time and make the most of the allocated times. But first you should role model the quality of being masterful with time.

Basic Money Management

Basic money management skills is a must. Parents should make children realize that money is required to buy all stuff and money is earned with hard work , therefore needs to be spent wisely. As they grow up, it becomes very essential to teach them about saving money and planning for future expenses.

How to Cook and Plan a menu

Learning to cook is not a home management skill, it is basically survival skill. By learning to cook, the child becomes associated with other essential skills like menu planning, budgeting, time management and overall creating healthy eating habits. These qualities lasts for a lifetime.

Menu planning saves a lot of time and money too. It is generally said that “A family that prays together, stays together”. Likewise a family that cooks and eats together is definitely teaching their child the values of life, spending time with family is important and there is lot of value attached.

Team work

Team work is a great home management skill to teach because no one is capable of running a household without help. Teach the kids to do their part of cleaning and arranging at home in order to keep the house clean and organized. Assign a few activities to each family member, no matter how basic, to ensure everyone contributes their role in the home functioning.

Relax on Perfection

Most of us get discouraged when things are messy and go out of control in the environment. Teach your child not to give up easily, but have a fighting spirit and face life and situations bravely as it comes. Do not be stringent about perfection and do not police around. Children, spouse and elders may not appreciate your military standards and may feel like being at home. Relax on certain matters that involve perfection, make your family enjoy the time you are all together.

You have gone through the seven essential Home Management skills to teach your child and you need to educate them with proper examples and role modeling. Motivate the kids to do good and practice the skills in life.

Menu Planning Saves Time in the kitchen

A common question for most individuals and moms is what to cook for dinner today? Women stand in front of the refrigerator and take an account of the vegetables that are stacked. They stare at the bottled jars in the kitchen pantry and try to figure out what to be cooked for meals.

For Indian homes, cooking is a big deal. Family comprises of people with varying age groups. Three meals a day, seven days a week and all round the year the kitchen tasks goes on. To top it all Indians indulge in too much of snacks and evening special called 4 to 6 pm snacks.

The regular chores in a kitchen and home includes buying groceries from the market and stores, transferring stocks to pantry and refrigerator, planning for the current menu, chopping all stuff, cooking and serving, shifting all soiled utensils to sink, washing utensils etc. This is a routine and at times you get hassled up with all the activities that are going around you.

Menu planning means that you plan in advance what you want to cook for meals. You will plan all purchases accordingly.

A small deviation in the schedule will delay your meals. To make things easier you can initiate a new idea- Menu planning. Menu planning doesn’t have be complicated! Planning meals ahead requires a small investment of time, but can reap great rewards:

Menu planning saves money: You will save money with lesser visits to the supermarket and grocery stores and therefore will reduce on extra spending each time you visit the store. You will save money by buying larger packs for foods that can be stocked in the refrigerator.

Menu planning saves time: You actually save time by not visiting store often. You plan and buy groceries such that you do not have to borrow from your neighbor. You will not waste time searching for the ingredients or if you have missed thawing an essential ingredient for the dinner tonight.

Menu planning improves nutrition: By not visiting the stores often you allot time for side dishes and complement the main dishes with salads. You ensure seasonal fruits and vegetables are included in the meals with proper menu planning.

There are different ways of menu planning methods that can be adapted to your family as per the lifestyle. You can plan the night before based on the children’s schedule of packing lunch etc. You can decide based on the leftover quantities as decide what best fits for your meals the next day.

You can plan the menu a week or fortnight in advance. You get advantage of the stocks and groceries you purchase. You have total control of your family’s diet and nutritional requirements with good planning.

You can therefore rotate this menu on alternate weeks and ensure your family gets all seasonal requirements too.

I know few families where the children know in advance what’s for breakfast / dinner at home. That’s how menu planning is followed at few homes. They have benefited from this exercise and have continued.

A sample of breakfast would be as follows:

 

 

 

 

 

Remember, menu planning will have benefits of saving time and money. This will boost nutrition. Initially you may feel strange when you are referring to the sheet always. But then it is a system that brings in discipline. You will remember to soak the pulses in advance, grind masala’s if you know what’s to be cooked the next day and for the South Indians the coconut is a mandatory ingredient they can plan in advance. You can be assured that your family is getting the best meals – planned diet. You can plan a day in the week for dining out or relying on coupons. This way your family will not crib of not having a change.

Give menu planning a try and see the difference it makes in terms of money and time. Convey your unique ideas in the comments.