Additional Coverage:
- My kids and their friends didn’t know how to file taxes or change a tire. My husband and I decided to become mentors. (businessinsider.com)
From Taxes to Tire Changes: Local Couple Empowers Young Adults with Essential Life Skills
Many parents watch their children grow into capable young adults, but for one local couple, the journey revealed a surprising truth: their three young adult kids, and their friends, were missing some crucial life skills. Instead of resorting to lectures, this pair has quietly transformed their home into a practical learning lab, empowering a generation to confidently tackle everything from tax forms to tire changes.
It began with simple observations. These intelligent, curious young adults, despite their academic achievements, were often stumped by basic tasks.
Changing a tire, navigating tax season, or even preparing a meal beyond boxed mac and cheese presented glaring gaps in their knowledge. What started as one-off lessons – guiding them through airing up a car tire, washing a greasy uniform, or taming an overgrown flower bed – soon highlighted a broader, unexpected need.
Before long, their home became a quiet hub for “life hacks.” College students, part-time workers, and even young professionals started showing up, eager to learn. The pattern was evident: these young adults weren’t lazy or disinterested; they simply hadn’t been shown how to navigate these everyday challenges.
It’s easy to chalk this up to a “Gen Z problem,” but this knowledge gap isn’t new. The parent leading this initiative candidly recalls her own youthful blunder, spending an entire year “washing” clothes with fabric softener because she didn’t know the difference. That personal experience, she says, ignited her desire to be the approachable mentor she wished she’d had at that age.
Their approach is straightforward: empowerment, not lectures. When a problem arises, they resist the urge to “swoop in and fix it.” Instead, they break tasks into manageable steps, encouraging hands-on learning and fostering a sense of accomplishment.
Take the college senior who was unsure about filing taxes as a part-time worker. The couple walked him through the “why” and the potential benefits, and the next time they saw him, he was ready, W-2 in hand, to file his own TurboTax.
His pride in discovering how easy it was, once guided, was palpable. Another young man, having saved for a car, had done his research but sought a “second set of eyes” before visiting the dealership, needing only encouragement and a supportive presence to finalize his big decision.
And sometimes, the teachers learn too. Tax rules fluctuate, car maintenance varies, and recipes occasionally fail.
In those moments, the couple openly embraces learning together, often with YouTube as their trusty “co-teacher.” This honesty, they explain, actually strengthens trust, demonstrating to young adults that even experienced adults don’t have all the answers.
The real skill, they emphasize, is knowing how to find information and apply it.
The ultimate win, they say, is when a skill taught to one person is then shared with another. Recently, a young man showed up with a nail in his tire.
Instead of jumping in, the couple prompted their son, who had learned the skill, to teach his friend how to fix the flat. It took time, but the outcome was two young men walking away with new confidence and a valuable life lesson.
Ultimately, this local couple is striving to be the approachable, non-judgmental mentors they once needed. It’s not just about teaching practical skills; it’s about building trust. If young adults feel comfortable coming to them without fear of judgment on the small things, they hope, they’ll know they can turn to them when life hands them the big stuff, too.