PapaCalcs
Find my next step

What should my teenager know before they leave?

Responsibility, life skills, and the handover from managing your child to letting them manage themselves.

Questions we have answered

Coming to this section

Written and sourced properly, or not at all. These are the questions queued next.

  • When should I let my child stay home alone?Not written yet
  • Is my teenager ready to manage their own money?Not written yet
  • Should my teenager get a job?Not written yet

The stages where this matters most

10–12, Tweens13–15, Early teens16–18, Late teens18+, Young adults

The answers are free.

Now here’s the system to actually do it.

Prepare for independence. In development

The Road to 18

Prepare your child for adulthood before they need to be independent.

For finding the gaps while there is still time to close them.

For
Ages 10 to 18
The problem
Your child is growing up, and it is genuinely hard to tell whether you are preparing them for independence or just getting through each year.
What changes
  • See which independence gaps are real, while there is still time to close them
  • Hand over one area at a time, permanently, instead of all at once at seventeen
  • Compare post-school paths on cost as well as on hope