Life Skills to Start Teaching Your Kids

Learning real-life skills goes hand in hand with a child’s natural development and the formal education they receive at school, and they’re often essential in preparing them for future challenges. Kids are often more capable than we give them credit for, so it’s important that we as parents, give them as much opportunity as possible to acquire valuable life skills.

The earlier you start teaching your kids, the better foundation they’ll have to make the right choices and decision when the time comes. Here’s a list of life lessons your kids can start learning now.

Basic health and hygiene

 

Kids are never too young to start learning about maintaining hygiene and health. They are told every day to brush their teeth, take a bath and wash their hands, but most of the time, they aren’t told why.

It’s essential you explain to your kids why this is so important and as they begin to understand it, you can make things easier and simpler by setting up a chart where they can tick off the task they completed. It’ll give both you and them a better grasp of things and more control over the matter. Once established, these healthy habits will become an integral part of your kids’ routine, so charts and constant reminders will no longer be necessary.

Simple household chores

 

Kids generally love to be useful and there’s always something that to be done around the house where they can contribute. You can start with age-appropriate, easy tasks such as changing the toilet roll and the trash bag, dusting, putting away toys, making the beds, sorting clothes by colour, folding laundry and putting their clothes away.

Older kids can even learn how to change light bulbs, unclog drains, vacuum and operate the washer and dryer. Soon, they’ll learn to keep the house clean and do their own laundry, which is a life skill that will be very useful once they move out and go to college.

Time management and learning

 

Time management is critical in all walks of life, from keeping a family on track to running a successful business. Young kids need to learn it as well, so they can stay on top of their tasks and set achievable goals that will make a solid base for future studies. Kids today generally have weak concentration and a short attention span due to their constant exposure to technology and social networks.

In the era of digitalization, teaching kids how to manage their time and be resourceful is an essential skill that will help them learn how to select useful information. This is extremely useful during studying for exams at college. A great help and resource can be found online on various platforms, such as Thinkswap in Australia, which offers useful notes that can help a great deal during stressful times of exam preparation.

Decision making

 

Making decisions can be hard on kids and not being able to make a choice often leaves them in state of frustration. That’s why learning decision making is an important life skill all kids should start learning young. You can begin with simple decision like deciding between red or blue T-shirt, playing one game or another, or having chocolate or vanilla ice-cream.

Explain to your child the necessary steps of the decision-making process and help them evaluate their options and the pros and cons of their choices. Observe the result and talk to your child how they feel about it. Once your kids reach the age of about 10, they’ll begin to understand the benefits of good decisions and the consequences of bad ones.

Facing challenges in the great outdoors

 

Developing resilience is one of the most important traits kids need to develop. It will help them face challenges, get back on their feet after failures and keep trying. As a parent, you should create an environment that’s safe, but leaves enough freedom for kids to venture out. Encourage your kids to experiment and try new things, especially outdoors.

When denied this opportunity, there can be detrimental consequences to a child’s physical and psychological growth. Outdoor learning improves social skills, mental and physical health, behaviour, boosts confidence and offers a sense of belonging. There’s a certain sense of awe and wonder that nature inspires and allows kids to see that there’s something bigger out there in the universe.

The value of money

Learning the value of money is another valuable skill kids need to learn early on, as this is something that even many adults struggle with. Learning to save money effectively and spend wisely will help them a great deal once they start earning their own buck.

Following these tips, you’ll easily teach your kids essential life skills.