7 life skills are essential for children you can teach your kids.
It is not difficult to see, our lives today are greatly influenced by the lessons we received as children. Equipping children with 7 life skills are essential for children to develop not only physically but also mentally, spiritually, and personality.
Make a decision
One of the most overlooked skills is decision-making. Parents are too protective of their children, and too many decisions will make children lose the ability to decide for themselves. The long-term consequences are that children are not responsible when growing up, unable to make decisions for themselves, and are always passive in life and often blame.
Self-determination lessons, day in and day out strengthen children’s thinking. Good thinking will help children grow up to be more responsible for themselves, to think before making decisions, and to be proactive in life.
2. Independent
Teaching kids to be independent can be the messiest, most frustrating, stressful lesson a parent can teach a child. However, children who learn to be independent will be strong, resilient adults as adults.
Children should be trained, in self-discipline in completing daily tasks. Tasks such as completing homework, cleaning the room, washing dishes after eating, and taking care of school supplies etc are the first exercises to practice self-discipline. Instead of helping children, teach them how to do it themselves.
3. Personal hygiene
Teaching children personal hygiene is an important skill for children to protect their health. Personal hygiene has different levels according to the age of the child. The most basic for young children can be dressing properly, changing clothes regularly, brushing their teeth, washing their face, and washing their hands.
As children get older, parents can teach children to bathe themselves, wash their own hair, comb their hair, and cut their nails and feet. Children enter puberty, parents should teach children more advanced skills, such as using deodorant, etc.
4. Housework
Teaching kids to do chores doesn’t need to be scolding or punishing. The more parents scold and threaten, the more children become lazy.
Teaching kids to do housework on their own not only makes life easier for parents, but it’s also a fun, worthwhile and enjoyable activity for kids. Parents can choose activities that are comfortable for their children. When children do well, reward and encourage them. Some families have applied the form of “paying” for children to do housework to teach children financial management skills and earn money by doing useful things.
Teaching kids to do chores doesn’t need to be scolded or punishing them. The more parents scold and threaten, the more children become lazy.
However, money is not always the best and most effective part for young children, if you do not want to teach your children to use money. Depending on the child’s liking, you can divide the reward into small pieces to teach them to work hard, accumulate, and strive to achieve their goals.
Work for children should have increasing difficulty over time. Initially, it can be cleaning toys, drying clothes, and arranging things. When children are older, they can teach them to clean dishes after eating, set the table, feed pets, wash dishes, clean the house, arrange to bed, and take out the trash. When children reach the age of 13-14, they can teach them more complex tasks such as using the washing machine, and dishwasher, taking care of the garden, etc.
Teaching children practical skills such as housework not only helps children to live well on their own but also helps parents feel more secure by believing in their children’s abilities.
5. First aid
First aid isn’t just about dressing, or complex skills like stitching a wound. Basic first aid includes calling an ambulance, getting medical help, or washing and keeping minor injuries clean. This is a basic survival skill that a child should learn to prepare for an injury when the parent is not around, or the child witnesses someone getting hurt.
Parents can rehearse their children to call an ambulance and fire in case of emergency. Teach children to react calmly when situations arise and to wait for help to be present.
Having first aid skills ready can help children learn to take care of themselves and others. Children can learn how to take care of someone who has a cold, learn to disinfect wounds, and put bandages on scratches, …
6. Self-defense
One of the skills that parents do not want their children to use is self-defense.
Self-defense is an extremely important skill. Self-defense classes for children are increasingly popular because children now often have to go to school and participate in many other activities, making parents worry about being away from their children.
Self-defense does not just stop at martial arts or physical training but also includes defensive tactics, escape, sharp thinking to assess the situation, or communication skills to reduce stress when something happens. Avoid conflicts, arguments, and fights, and most importantly, don’t fall victim to bullies or strangers with bad intentions.
Self-defense skills help parents feel more secure when they are away from their children, or their children have to go to school or go out.
7. Time Management
Children today are very busy. Attending regular classes, cross-studying, studying outside of school hours, doing homework, sports, etc. This makes the importance of time management life skills more and more important.
As adults, being busy makes us miserable sometimes. For children, there should be an education in time management from a young age so that children can always operate with a schedule, and know how to arrange work orders according to priority, and time limits. In addition to helping children be productive and study effectively, good time management also helps children have more time to relax, which is good for mental and physical health. The end life skills are essential for children. Thank You!
