My kids are 11 and 14, and I will be the first to tell you that teaching them practical life skills is not my strongest suit. I am genuinely good at the emotional work, the hard conversations, the staying connected through difficult seasons. But the cooking, the chores, the keeping-a-home-running piece of parenting is an area where I know, with great compassion for myself, that we have room to grow.
Summer has a way of opening up just enough space to do something new, and this episode will give you a clear and hopeful place to start if you're like me and it's not your biggest strength.
This week's guest is Katie Kimball, founder of Kids Cook Real Food and a life skills educator who has been doing this work with her own four kids long enough to be living the results.She gave me so much hope that it is not too late — even if your kids are older, even if you feel like you've missed the window, even if you've been meaning to do this for years and just haven't gotten there yet, and even if, like me, you sat down with a life skills expert and within the first five minutes had to ask what a chef's knife was.
Come join us to hear:
💜 Why Katie's 14-year-old was vacuuming the stairs unprompted on his day off from school, and the surprisingly simple system behind it
💜 The exact language shift Rachel made with her own son that reframed how he thinks about contributing to the family — and why the words matter more than you'd think
💜 Why Katie says letting your kid use a sharp knife might be one of the best things you can do for their mental health If you've been meaning to do more of this and just haven't quite known where to start, this conversation is for you.
For full show notes, including takeaways, click here.
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Announcements: Katie's Life Skills Now Summer Camp is happening June 8–12, 2026 — a free, week-long event where over 70 teachers (including me!) teach kids practical and emotional life skills. Register here. Flecks of Gold: This week is also the last week of our Mother's Day Sale — all journals are 10% off through the end of the week!
Related Episodes:
373: Teaching Children to Work Without Being a Drill Sergeant // Danielle Porter
369: How to Teach Your Kids about Money // Abby Chipman
350: Rethinking Chores: A Quick Mindset Shift to Help with Overwhelm
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