Dad, what's a dipstick? Don't let your teen leave home without these basic life skills.(LIFE AT COLLEGE)

When I got my high school diploma, I thought for sure I was ready for the world. My first clue I didn't quite know everything came a few weeks later when I stood in front of a foreign square machine with a pile of dirty rags in my arms. I figured out how to open this "washing machine," but the rest of the process was a mystery. I was in trouble.

I was at my summer job and it was my turn to wash the shop rags. My boss gave me this task and went home for the day, assuming I didn't need instructions. Thankfully, another employee found me poking and prying at the washer as if it just dropped from Mars. That's when I realized that despite picking up all my school supplies and buying my college sweatshirt, I wasn't fully equipped to move away from Mom and Dad.

Of course, I probably could have survived college without mastering laundry or other home skills right away (although I probably would have been a little dirtier). So parents shouldn't panic if their kids don't know everything about life outside the nest, but there are basic survival skills every college freshman should pick up even at the last minute.

Household

My mom's first warning sign about laundry probably came when we were school shopping. She…