Dear Baby, We were looking the other day at "Forty Old-Fashioned Skills All Kids Should Have." A few thoughts: * How to take note of needs around you. Is someone shivering? Offer this person a sweater. My observation is that the number-one need people have is to be listened to. People are generally aware whether you are (a) listening with curiosity or (b) counting down the seconds until you can open your own mouth to say something that is (only) tangentially relevant. Which is not to say that option (a) is particularly easy, or that the Polonius writing this letter is good at option (a). Just an observation. * How to balance a checkbook. I mean, I can show you how to do this, but I don't actually do this. I tend not to pay attention, until one evening, right before bed, I will become seized with anxiety about a check I may or may not have received. Where did that check go? There's a strategy called "Park Your Anxieties," where you write down ...