You've probably started instructing your children in tasks they'll need for the rest of their lives — using a screwdriver, loading a dishwasher and the like.

Here's a primer on what kids need to know, by what age:

By age 2: Start sorting clothes for the laundry. Make a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich.

By age 3: Help load and unload a washer or dryer. Make a bed. Lock the door when the family is in the house. Unlock a bathroom door.

By age 4: Tie their shoes. Prepare a simple salad. Greet people, making eye contact and shaking hands.

By age 5: Set the table with everyday plates, utensils and napkins. Call 911.

By age 6: Change a light bulb. Use a house key. Tell time. Learn telephone skills.

By age 7: Open a can. Bait a hook.

By age 8: Take out the trash. Use a needle and thread.

By age 9: Load and unload a dishwasher. Scrub a toilet.

By age 10: Iron a shirt. Shut off the water at the main valve. Throw a circuit breaker. Chop and dice with adult supervision.

By age 12: Set the table with the china. Use power tools.

By age 15: Change a tire.

Here are some more suggestions of activities that kids should master before being launched into the world:

Basic auto care: Back in the day, a dad could take a kid out into the garage and demonstrate how to replace a fuse or change the oil. But cars today are more complicated.

"I wouldn't direct most adults to the fuse panel out of fear of somebody grabbing the wrong thing and causing damage," says Mike Walker, the Southeast Region automotive manager for UPS, a position that makes him responsible for the maintenance of all of UPS' trucks, tractors and trailers in a 10-state area.

Walker, who started learning his automotive skills from his mechanic father, suggests instead that parents instill a mindset in their kids around age 6 or 7, using their bikes as a teaching aid.

"It probably starts with simple things like checking the air in the tires of your bicycle or adjusting the handlebars right," he says. "Keeping the bike clean. What's the tread look like on your tires?"

A kid who understands the importance of keeping a bike maintained will, when he gets older, understand the importance of keeping a car maintained.

"The younger you can get them and drive the message home, the more value it has as you get older," Walker says.

Diaper a sibling: Figure around age 12, about the time most kids begin to baby-sit, says Elizabeth Shaw, Parenting magazine's executive editor. She says even a 5- or 6-year-old could fasten a disposable diaper properly with adult supervision, "but a parent or caregiver should handle the ointment and cleaning duty."

Shaw points out that having a toddler observe is a good way to make the child feel included in his new sibling's life.

"To get older brothers or sisters in on the act, have them hand you a new diaper and the sealed tube of ointment or container of wipes," she says. "They'll feel great knowing they helped, learn a little responsibility and will better understand the process of caring for a sibling. Plus, it's a nice bonding experience for everyone."

Make their own school lunch: When a child is able to get dressed on his own, he can also pack at least part of his lunch, according to Kay Logsdon, vice president and managing editor at food channel.com.

"Treat it as a privilege rather than a chore: 'Look how big you are now!' " she says. "This doesn't mean knives are involved — parents should continue to spread the peanut butter through about fourth grade — but as long as you are stocking your kitchen with good choices, the margin for error is low."

Kids can get involved even earlier — "the minute they can express an opinion," she says — in choosing lunch items. That's also an opportunity to discuss healthful food choices. "The child who has invested in the choice is more likely to feel ownership and less likely to put her food on the lunchroom auction block," she adds.

Write a thank-you note: "Ask Amy" columnist Amy Dickinson says to start teaching this early.

"Very young children can learn the art of thanking people for gifts by doing so in person starting at around 3 or 4," she says, "and then sitting down with a grown-up and 'dictating' a thank-you note and helping decorate and send it.

"As children learn to write, they should assume more of the task, with an adult helping."