Lessons Every Parent Should Learn From A 9 Year Old Kid that Was Unsupervised, Left Alone, And Forced To Fend Himself

I couldn't even think about cooking, let alone eating, until I wiped those gross boogers off his face.

Of course, I'm talking about my little brother.

We were pretty young and home alone after school. In today's climate, we'd probably be scooped up by some governmental body and placed in "a home" simply because my parents wanted a better life for us.

You see, we grew up as latchkey kids.

I had to get myself off the bus, make dinner, do my homework, and then take care of myself until my parents got home after work each night.

Oh yeah, and then do it all over again for my booger-laden little brother.

For context's sake, the period was the mid to late 1970s, when kids still played outside till dark. We'd walk up to ice cream trucks and buy frozen goodness without fear of ending up on the side of a milk carton. So don't go calling Child Protective Services or anything. This was back in the day.

But I digress...

Being a latchkey kid is how I learned some valuable life lessons that have helped me grow into an independent, and dare I say, successful adult.

But first, in case you're wondering what precisely a latchkey kid is, Wikipedia defines it as such: "A latchkey kid, or latchkey child, is a child who returns to an empty home after school or a child who is often left at home with no supervision because their parents are away at work. Child can be any age, alone or with siblings."

It's not a bad thing nor a good thing.

It was called life. It was the way a lot of us kids back then operated, and while I know it might make a hipster or modern-day parent cringe, it was really all we knew.

Those were my best years, and here are some of the biggest lessons I learned from those formative days.

How to be self-sufficient

It's not just independence that can be fostered by learning to take care of yourself when you're home alone. If you're well-versed in the basics, like how to do laundry and cook dinner, it'll make adulting a whole lot easier later on.

Learning about cleaning up after oneself from a young age will help with future self-sufficiency too. Even if you don't plan on going solo anytime soon, knowing all those tedious chores is so worth it when life inevitably gets busy as an adult or parent - at least then they can rely upon themselves for some basic household tasks rather than constantly depending upon others who may eventually stop being available.

Learning how to take care of yourself around the house from a young age can help foster independence later on in life too.

It will help them take the initiative and feel that their opinion matters so that they'll be more likely to understand...

The value of hard work

When you are responsible for your own well-being, you learn how to put in the effort necessary to achieve your goals.

Even if that goal is simply a grilled cheese sandwich.

It is always a good idea to make sure your future self knows how to take care of themselves. One way they can do this while still being young and gullible is by having the responsibility for their own well-being thrust upon them as a child. Doing so will teach kids that effort pays off in some form or another (whether it be accomplishing tasks more efficiently than others or earning money) and warns people not to underestimate what kind of person they are up against when challenging them.

And yes, to this day, I can whip up a grilled cheese that'll knock your socks off.

Which dovetails nicely into...

I learned how to cook

That grilled cheese from above that came from hard work?

Yep. I learned how to cook and also that I had a knack for it.

I gotta be honest here. I didn't just one day flip on the stove, grab a pan, and try stuff out. I always had an inclination for cooking, watched my grandpa cook, and learned from my mom. I knew some basics.

It was during these years that I took it up a couple of of notches. At least as much a kid with a hungry little brother could, that is.

To this day, I feel very comfortable in the kitchen and cooking for my family. In fact, my wife "let's" me do the cooking.

I learned that there are people worse off than me in the world

Growing up, having to fend for myself and my little brother taught me a lot about life. Real-life.

For the most part, though, it was kind of fun. Being home alone with my brother, I mean. It felt like we were in a mini-episode of Lord of The Flies, or even Peter Pan.

Then there were times where I wish mom and dad were there. The more I sat in those thoughts, the sadder I'd get. Until I realized that our "home alone" was temporary and some kids don't have parents. Some kids will always feel alone. Because they are.

It taught me that there are people who have it a lot worse than I do, and it's a lesson I recall and revere even to this day.

I learned about responsibility and independence

This lesson is different than self-sufficiency. To be self-sufficient is perhaps to be able to survive. Responsibility and independence are kind of the same, and kind of not.

Knowing my little bro depended on me was a fact I grasped back then. A responsibility I gladly accepted as his older bro and protector. Those traits live in me to this day, especially now that I have a family of my own.

Independence. This is perhaps the biggest lesson of them all for me. Knowing that I could make things happen like eat, study, bathe, dress not only myself but my bro back then taught me that anything is possible.

Final words

I'm not afraid to say it: being a latchkey kid was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I learned a lot about myself and discovered what really matters in life when I started my own business.

The fact that I'm writing about those lessons today proves (at least to me) how impactful those days were.

I would say that those days formed me, shaped me, and drove me into becoming the success I am today as an entrepreneur, father, husband, and human.