Your kid's favorite shirt has a button hanging by one thread. School picture day is tomorrow. You have a needle somewhere, probably. This is fixable in five minutes.
You don't need to know how to sew. You need to know three repairs: sew on a button, close a seam, and fix a falling hem. That covers 90% of what comes up.
A basic sewing kit costs about four dollars at any drugstore or grocery store. It'll have needles, thread in a few colors, and small scissors. Keep it.
If you want the shortcut version: fabric glue and iron-on hem tape handle most quick fixes without any sewing at all. Both are sold near the fabric section at any big-box store.
Thread the needle. Pull about 18 inches of thread through the eye, fold it in half so you have a doubled strand. Tie a knot at the end.
Position the button where it goes. Push the needle up through the fabric and through one hole in the button from underneath.
Push the needle back down through the other hole and through the fabric. Pull snug but not tight.
Repeat 6–8 times through alternating holes. Four-hole button: do two holes, then the other two.
Wrap the thread around the threads under the button two or three times to make a shank. This keeps the button from sitting flat and breaking again.
Push needle to the back, make a small loop, pass the needle through it twice to knot. Cut thread.
A seam tear is when the stitching comes apart but the fabric itself is fine. Common on the inseam of pants or the side seam of shirts.
Thread the needle, knot the end.
Start your first stitch just before where the tear begins, through both sides of fabric.
Use a simple running stitch: in one side, out the other, repeat. Keep the stitches small and even.
Go past the end of the tear by about half an inch. Knot off. Done.
Shortcut: fabric glue works fine for seam tears on most fabrics. Apply along the edge, press together, let dry flat for an hour.
When the bottom of pants or a shirt starts to drop, you have two options:
Iron-on hem tape (easiest): Fold the hem back up to where it should be. Slip hem tape between the layers. Press with a hot iron for about ten seconds. It bonds as it cools. Done in five minutes, no sewing.
Hand stitch: Fold the hem up, pin it in place. Use a slip stitch: catch a tiny thread from the main fabric, then a stitch through the folded hem, alternating. The stitches should be nearly invisible from the outside.
Zipper that won't stay up: Loop a small keyring or hair tie through the zipper pull and hook it over the button when zipped.
Hole in a pocket: Turn inside out, sew across the bottom of the pocket just above the hole. Takes two minutes.
Shirt collar that flips up: A tiny dab of fabric glue on the underside of the collar points, held in place for a minute, keeps them flat all day.
Elastic waistband that gave out: Cut a small opening in the inside seam, thread new elastic through with a safety pin, overlap ends and stitch together, close the opening. Thirty minutes total.
Your kids notice when you fix things instead of throwing them out. It's a small thing that teaches something larger.