'Adulting 101' programs are helping Gen Z catch up on key life skills
Psychologist says Gen Z children grew up with fewer opportunities to learn practical skills
Aldhen Garcia, a first-year student at Toronto Metropolitan University, says he has a lot of life skills to learn.
"I don't know how to change a tire — I don't have a car at all. I don't know how to sew, I don't know how to do a lot of things other than cooking," Garcia told The Current.
Garcia also has questions about financial matters, like interest rates, mortgages and paying rent.
"I think it's so important that children are taught financial literacy. A lot of stuff involves money," he said.
Waterloo University's Director of Student Success, Pam Charbonneau, has a message for students like Garcia: you're not alone.
"What you're experiencing is normal. A lot of your peers are going through the same thing at the same time," she said.
Some post-secondary institutions have added resources like courses and information sessions to help students learn life skills. Experts say that young people, especially Gen Z, are missing out on learning critical skills because they're not given enough independence.
University of Waterloo created a online resource called Adulting 101 in 2023 to give students access to information about important life skills — like household maintenance, basic nutrition and how to navigate a grocery store — and help them manage their responsibilities and expectations.
Offerings at other universities address issues like career planning, finances, first aid and maintaining healthy relationships.
Charbonneau says many students report feeling anxious or stressed trying to navigate life in post-secondary school and that access to resources helps normalize their experience. She also said many students express that they wish they learned these skills earlier.
Bella Hudson is one of those students.
"There's a lot of things that are missed in education about when you actually become an adult," said the third-year TMU student.
"I do wish that they had classes that taught how to manage yourself and manage your life."
Generational differences
Members of the Gen Z demographic, people born between 1997 and 2013, grew up with fewer opportunities to learn practical skills, according to researcher Jean Twenge.
Twenge is a psychology professor at San Diego State University who researches generational differences. She argues that limiting kids' freedom and not teaching them practical skills is "doing them a disservice."
"We send them off to adulthood without other skills. If they're not learning how to make decisions on their own and solve problems, that can be challenging," Twenge said.
Twenge is the author of several books, including Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents―and What They Mean for America's Future.
"Kids are growing up less independent, they're less likely to learn how to do adult things as high school students. Then they get to university and they still don't know," she said.
In her 2017 book iGen, she described "the slow life strategy" — the idea that people live longer, spend more time in school and parents tend to have fewer children but nurture them more carefully. Twenge says the approach typically means kids gain independence later than in previous generations.
And because students are living at home with their parents longer, she says they typically take on fewer tasks while parents handle responsibilities like cooking, laundry or paying bills.
"You are just more likely to be financially dependent on your parents for longer. And as a result of that, people get married later, they have children later, they settle into careers later," Twenge said.
According to Statistics Canada, the number of Canadians aged 20 to 34 living with at least one parent increased from 31 per cent to 35 per cent from 2001 to 2021. However, the older cohort — those aged 25 to 34 — rose from 38 to 46 per cent over the same time period, signalling that Canadians are living at home longer.
Increasing mental health concerns
Twenge says she supports universities introducing methods to help students learn important life skills but that, ideally, this education would begin earlier.
She encourages parents to move away from the idea held by some parents that it's their job to do everything for their children and instead have them take on tasks like cooking or laundry.
She says her biggest concern is the rise of depression among young people.
A commentary published in the Journal of Pediatrics in 2023, which reviewed dozens of studies and reports, argues that increases in mental health issues are attributed to declining opportunities for children and teens to engage in activities independently from adults.
It says depriving young people of independence can contribute to high levels of anxiety, depression, and suicide among young people.
At the University of Waterloo, Charbonneau says Adulting 101's objective is to help students develop as young people, not just as learners.
In addition to teaching basic life skills, the resources also prioritize mental and physical health, and help students explore their own personal growth. The university also offers students skill evaluations to help them identify strengths and areas they can improve.
Charbonneau says self-advocacy is one of the most important skills students can learn from the programs.
"Self-advocacy is probably the most important piece and probably where the gap is right when they come in, if they really haven't had to do much of that before," Charbonneau said.
She said students are usually grateful and relieved to have access to these tools.
"You see their shoulders drop when they realize there's actually someone and something here to help me solve my problem."
Interviews with Aldhen Garcia and Jean Twenge produced by James Chaarani
