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Life Skills
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Test Lab

Life Skills

NOTICE

These test lab requirements are available for Scouts until June 30, 2026. At that time, these requirements will disappear and the surveys will be closed. Learn more About the Test Lab.

Life Skills Overview

The Life Skills Badge helps Scouts develop a variety of practical skills that are essential for independent living and personal growth. It covers areas such as health, household management, finance, social interactions, employment readiness, and transportation. Scouts learn how to maintain their physical and mental well-being, manage personal finances, care for their living spaces, communicate effectively with others, explore career options, and safely navigate transportation systems. By completing the requirements, Scouts gain valuable tools for responsible decision-making and become better prepared to take on adult responsibilities.

life skills REQUIREMENTS

1. Health. Do the following:

 

  1. Describe the steps to make a doctor’s appointment.
    2. Steps to make a doctor’s appointment

  2. Locate the hospital or urgent care center closest to your home.  

  3. Explain what health insurance is and why it is important to have.
    4. Health Insurance Basics

  4. Identify 5 ways to practice medication safety at home.
    5. Medication Safety and Your Health

  5. Describe what information should be included in your personal health record and create one for yourself.
    6. Personal Health Records

  6. Identify 5 everyday situations where first aid would be required and what to do when first aid is needed.
    7. Got Safety

2. Household. Do the following:

 

  1. Explain the steps required to do laundry. With your parent or guardian’s permission, wash and dry one load of laundry.
    2. How to Do Laundry

  2. Explain the steps required to iron clothes. With your parent or guardian’s permission, demonstrate how to iron two different articles of clothing.
    3. Ironing 101: Everything You Need to Know About Ironing Clothes

  3. Demonstrate your knowledge of sewing by sewing a patch or button on a shirt or pair of pants.
    4. YouTube: How to Sew a Button by Hand

    YouTube: How to Sew On your Badges

  4. Explain the importance of maintaining a clean household. Describe why it is important to control clutter. Demonstrate your knowledge by cleaning your bedroom, bathroom, or kitchen.
    5. Essential Home Maintenance

    Cleaning at Home

  5. Demonstrate how to set a casual dining table and a formal dining table.
    6. How to Set a Table: Basic, Casual, and Formal Table Settings

    How to Set a Formal Dinner Table, According to Etiquette Experts

3. Money. Do the following:

 

  1. Explain what is required to open a bank account and compare the differences between a traditional bank, an online bank, and a credit union.
    2. What Do You Need To Open A Bank Account?

  2. Explain the importance of saving money.
    3. Top 3 Reasons to Save Money Starting Today

  3. Explain what online bill pay is and compare the pros and cons of paying your bills online.
    4. How to Use Online Bill Pay: Simplify Your Monthly Payments

  4. Describe how a credit card works, the reasons to get a credit card, the costs you may incur by using a credit card, and how to use a credit card effectively.
    5. Credit Cards 101

4. Social. Do the following:

 

  1. Demonstrate how to properly introduce yourself in a social situation.
    2. How to Introduce Yourself in Any Situation

  2. Explain what social etiquette means and how to practice it.
    3. What Is Social Etiquette?

  3. Explain what it means to set personal boundaries and what to do when those boundaries are crossed.
    4. 10 Steps to Set Healthy Boundaries

  4. Create a list of similarities and differences of the members of a group you are involved with (troop, school club, sports team, etc.). Share this list with your counselor and describe how these similarities and differences affect the group.

  5. Explain how equity is different from equality. Describe a situation that might exist in school, sports, an extra-curricular activity or Scouting that could result in inequity.

  6. Give six examples of appropriate table manners
    7. Top Table Manners Tips For Kids.

5. Self-Care. Do the following:

 

  1. Explain what self-respect means and how you can demonstrate it.
    2. 20 Ways to Respect Yourself and Why It Matters

  2. Explain to your counselor what might cause stress and how to manage it.
    3. Stress Management

  3. Explain the importance of good personal hygiene and give examples of how to practice it.
    4. The Importance Of Good Hygiene

  4. Explain the benefits of exercise and demonstrate three types of exercise found in the fitness section of your Scouts BSA handbook.

6. Employment. Do THREE of the following:

 

  1. Create a resume and review it with your counselor.
    2. How To Make a Comprehensive Resume (With Examples)

  2. Write a cover letter for a job posting and review it with your counselor.
    3. How To Write a Cover Letter (With Examples and Tips)

  3. Describe how to make a great impression during a job interview and give 5 examples of questions that you would ask during an interview.
    4. How To Make a Great Impression in a Job Interview: 20 Tips

    Career Coach Tips: 36 Questions To Ask in a Job Interview

  4. Explain why it is essential to write professional emails. Write a professional email thanking someone for interviewing you for a job.  Share your email with your counselor.
    5. How To Write a Professional Email (With Tips and Examples)

  5. Demonstrate how to leave a professional voicemail message.
    6. How to Leave the Perfect Voicemail Message

  6. Explain how posts to social media can affect you when applying for a job.

7. Transportation. Do TWO of the following:

 

  1. Explain what to do if you are involved in a car accident.
    2. What to do after a car accident: a step-by-step guide

  2. Describe the steps on jumpstarting a car battery.
    3. How to Jump-Start a Car in 6 Steps

  3. Explain the benefits of regular car maintenance.
    4. The Benefits of Regular Car Maintenance

  4. Compare the differences between leasing versus buying a new car.
    5. Leasing vs. Buying a New Car

  5. On a map of your community or using an electronic device, locate and point out the public transportation infrastructure. Plan how to get to a friend’s home or shopping center from your house. Explain the route and cost of the roundtrip to your counselor.

8. Complete the survey below to complete the test lab requirements

Go to Survey

About The Test Lab

Scouts can complete these requirements in order to provide feedback and receive a certificate

You decide if this activity becomes an official Merit Badge of Scouting America.  By filling out the survey, you vote for or against this becoming a Merit Badge.  You can also suggest changes to make the merit badge more engaging.  The fate of this potential merit badge rests in your hands.  Come back and complete the survey after you finish the requirements to make your voice heard and to get your certificate of completion.

Auctioneering
Wildland Fire Management
Life Skills

Bray Barnes

Director, Global Security Innovative
Strategies

Bray Barnes is a recipient of the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award, Silver
Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Learning for Life Distinguished
Service Award. He received the Messengers of Peace Hero award from
the royal family of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and he’s a life member of
the 101st Airborne Association and Vietnam Veterans Association. Barnes
serves as a senior fellow for the Global Federation of Competitiveness
Councils, a nonpartisan network of corporate CEOs, university presidents, and
national laboratory directors. He has also served as a senior executive for the
U.S. Department of Homeland Security, leading the first-responder program
and has two U.S. presidential appointments

David Alexander

Managing Member Calje

David Alexander is a Baden-Powell Fellow, Summit Bechtel Reserve philanthropist, and recipient of the Silver Buffalo and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the founder of Caljet, one of the largest independent motor fuels terminals in the U.S. He has served the Arizona Petroleum Marketers Association, Teen Lifeline, and American Heart Association. A triathlete who has completed hundreds of races, Alexander has also mentored the women’s triathlon team at Arizona State University.

Glenn Adams

President, CEO & Managing Director
Stonetex Oil Corp.

Glenn Adams is a recipient of the Silver Beaver, Silver Antelope, Silver Buffalo, and Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. He is the former president of the National Eagle Scout Association and established the Glenn A. and Melinda W. Adams National Eagle Scout Service Project of the Year Award. He has more than 40 years of experience in the oil, gas, and energy fields, including serving as a president, owner, and CEO. Adams has also received multiple service awards from the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.