Three Things You Should Teach A Child - Blog Hop Tuesdays

The Blog Hop theme for this coming Monday is "THREE THINGS EVERY PARENT SHOULD TEACH THEIR KIDS".
To keep from getting a lot of the same obvious answers, try to be specific and let's bypass some of the obvious: be honest, love your parents, love God, be kind to others, accept Jesus as your Savior (Christian parents will feel obligated to list some of those).
This is not a list of the MOST IMPORTANT, so do not feel like you must list the highest priority or the obvious, which will end up having the same thing repeated by everyone over and over. Try to be specific and creative. This your three items with a sentence or two explanation.

My number one answer would be love of God and His word, but since we've been instructed to leave out the obvious I didn't put that as one of my three. Here are a few, less obvious, things every child should be taught.

1. If You're Going To Regret It, Don't Do It! This rule of thumb has served me well through my life.  Before doing something think, tomorrow, next week, or next year will I regret making this decision?  A lot of heartache can be spared just by looking before you leap.
   
2. How To Change A Tire And Jump Start A Battery And Other Minor Car Repairs. DS left his lights on at school yesterday.  Fortunately, the campus security has a jumper pack but even if they hadn't DS knows how to use jumper cables.  Anytime Hubby has work to do on our vehicles he makes DS help, even if he just watches it's important for him to learn basic car repair.
3. The Basics Of How To Clean And Cook.  My mom worked some evenings when I was in my early teens and I was responsible for making dinner and getting the house in order.  I may not have loved it at the time, but it gave me some great life skills.  I just realized that I haven't taught my son much in the way of cooking, (I'll get right on that!) but he is expected to do certain chores which include emptying the dishwasher, taking out the garbage, weedeating, dusting, and cleaning his room.  A little responsibility never hurt anyone!