Life skills are significant lessons kids could hold onto throughout their lifetime. Therefore, equipping children with the wisdom they need to have as they grow up is essential. That is why parents must get a jump start and teach their children the lessons they need to grasp at an early age, so when the right time comes, they will not be easily shaken off by false idealism and opinion this world could teach them.
Self-worth
One crucial factor for a child’s success and happiness is self-worth. Self-worth doesn’t only mean having confidence in what they are or what they have but also having respect for themselves, pride, and faith.
Self-worth is the key foundation to build up a child’s social happiness, sound mental health, and academic and professional success. Children who know the value of themselves have a healthy attitude towards their abilities and mostly feel capable of battling challenges that life brings to them, both outside and inside a classroom.
As a parent or guardian, you should speak to your kids in a way that will boost and develop their self-confidence. Perhaps recognizing their hard work and celebrating small wins could be a huge step for identifying their value.
You can also teach your children healthy self-worth by setting an example— do you allow your child to see you overcome struggles with a smile on your face? Are you letting them participate in reaching your goals? How do they see you speak about yourself? How do you carry yourself around others? How do others treat you? Leading an example about these things is important in teaching them their self-worth, their value.
Respect
Valuing other people is as important as valuing yourself. Parents should guide children that everything that has life is precious, so they should be treated with respect.
One good way to show your children respect is by practicing through low-stakes requests. For example, your daughter wants to wear jeans instead of a dress. Let her! Respecting your child’s style and preference could serve as a way for them to know that every human is unique, and people have to embrace and respect differences.
Children should also know that making fun of a classmate is not a good thing to do, that everyone should be treated equally as they are equally worthy.
You cannot teach respect without teaching empathy. Empathy is a valuable life skill that allows people to see life from a different perspective.
Empathy is considering other people’s situations and acting as if you’re in their shoes. Thus, with this life skill, children will understand and interact with other people with respect, without having to judge other’s decisions.
And lastly, think of the way you speak to other people. Do you talk to others with respect? Or with disrespect? Remember that the way your child sees how you behave has a huge impact on developing their qualities as a person. So always speak with kindness, avoid arguments, say ‘thank you,’ and apologize if necessary. By doing this, you are leading your child how they should act to other people as well.
Manners
Simple manners like saying ‘sorry’ and ‘thank you’ should be instilled in children’s minds.
For example, you are in a restaurant for a family dinner. Remind your children to have good manners by saying please while ordering and thank you after receiving an order. This would help the child develop a habit of asking people with respect and showing people gratitude for the effort they have made for them.
Independence
Independence is vital to achieving growth. This life skill allows children to have a sense of control over their lives. If you do not teach children independence, they feel helpless against outside world challenges once they grow up. Perhaps, refusing to give them the independence they badly want could also make them think caged and chained, not having the power to do anything.
By providing your child some exercises he/she could answer independently, you give him/her a chance to develop confidence within himself. In addition, by teaching children independence, you allow them to make decisions and distinguish between wrong and right.
Ask Help
The pearl of wisdom, “No man is an island,” is indeed true.
A person cannot survive all by himself. So we need people to help us with things we cannot do on our own. Kids need to learn that they should ask if they don’t know or want to know about something and if they need assistance.
Curiosity
Children love to examine the people, things, and events around them. They are naturally born curious. However, there’s a role you have to play in triggering their curiosity. Try providing them opportunities to wonder and analyze things. Encourage your children with their hobbies and connect him or her with a community and nature. Let him see the world and allow him to ask questions about everything he’s curious about.
Allow your child to cultivate a mindset that helps them face and approach difficult ideas once they reach their teenage years.
Self-expression
Prohibiting your child from expressing himself, feelings, and desires prompts sadness, lower confidence, and powerlessness.
You can teach children self-expression by allowing them to be who they want to be. You allow children to express themselves by providing them an opportunity to make a decision, supporting their choices, and allowing them to talk about how they feel.
Self-discipline
Disciplining your child is not about controlling them what they should and shouldn’t do. Instead, it is about educating them on how they can manage themselves.
Children who grew up in discipline are more likely to make healthy and beneficial choices in life. Teaching kids discipline at the early phase of their lives is a way to make them responsible adults in the future.
Wise Spending
Aside from teaching your kids to earn and save money, educate them how to spend it for valuable things.
Tim Sheehan, the CEO of Greenlight, stated that you could start educating kids how to manage their encouraging them to save for short-term goals, like for a clothe or toy they badly want.
Motivating them to save short-term would help them learn the satisfaction of delayed gratification. Then, when they get older, they are already equipped with discipline to save money for long-term goals.
Optimism
Let your children know that the world is not sunshine and rainbows. Life is not always beautiful. However, though it’s not always sunny, it’s not always raining. Life is a mixture of yin and yang, light and darkness, good and bad, and you have to teach your child to approach every circumstance with a positive outlook and guts.
Follow Your Dreams
Parents desire the best for their children, but you should not interfere when it comes to your child’s dream. Let your child run after what they really want and not what you want for them. Don’t force your dream on them. If you do, you will be robbing them of their happiness, spirit, and self-confidence.
Every child has a dream, and it is your job to encourage and motivate your children to chase it no matter how difficult the road may be.
You might have heard the aphorism that children are similar to sponges. Children tend to soak everything up, including every influence that surrounds them. That is why self-worth, respect, manners, and value should be taught and shown at an early age by adults that stays around them.
Let kids soak with goodness, so when they grow old, they will have lessons to hold and pass on to.
