Top 3 Essential Life Skills Every Child Must Have

How are you preparing your child to be independent? Teaching your kid the essential life skills will not only make them self-sufficient in life but it will allow them to be empowered and help develop their self-worth.

You indeed want them to be around you but the truth remains that someday they will become adults and have a life of their own. So it’s your duty as a parent to prepare them to be responsible and valuable to themselves and society at large.

There are various life skills to teach your kids but in this post, we are going to discuss 3 essential skills that you can foster in your kid but as they grow you’ll need to adjust your expectations.

But before we begin to discuss the life skills every child must have, I would like to say this – “don’t just teach them, create room for them to practice them because the more your kid gets to put skills into practice, the more independent they will become.”

What Are The 3 Essential Life Skills For Your Kid?

1. Decision-making skills

Decision-making skills are one of the most important skills to teach your kid. This will help them to confidently make decisions by themselves without relying on you or someone else.

How do you teach your children this skill? It’s pretty simple – some days allow them to make decisions on what to wear or what to take as snacks for the day.

Children don’t like to be told what to do – they love to be in control and have choices offered to them. So you should understand that your kids choosing what to wear or what to eat will help them to take responsibility for their actions without shifting the blame to you.

In primary and secondary school, your kid is in a state of choosing who to call their friend, the activities to participate in, and how to spend their time. As they grow into adulthood, their mind is on how to spend their money, what to do in the future, etc.

So your role as a parent will build that confidence when deciding about the university to attend, careers, life partners, etc.

2. Basic hygiene

Teaching your child basic hygiene will help them take care of themselves. However, this varies based on their age, but your end goal would be for them to take care of themselves without being told to do so.

The basic hygiene to start with when teaching your kid is getting dressed, brushing their teeth, bathing, brushing or combing their hair, and knowing when their clothes need to be washed.

Your teen children should also know some personal hygiene skills that they should master as they enter puberty like learning when to start using deodorant or body spray, sanitary pads, etc.

3. Independence

I know you love to help complete tasks for your kids – it’s faster, less stressful, etc. But to turn them into independent and strong adults, create opportunities for them to develop this skill of “independence.”

Your child should know how to complete their tasks independently, do their assignment, sweep and arrange their room, and take responsibility for their things.

Doing all these successfully will build the confidence they need in themselves. So typically within the 10-13, your kid can comfortably stay home alone for small periods as they build up their independence and you also can have the confidence that they can be safe on their own.

Last Words

These three essential life skills will help your kid to support themselves when they go away to university or move out to stay on their own. So before heading to university, make sure your child masters these three life skills. We are also teaching some great life-skills at Gradely’s Online Summer School. Your child will get to learn skills like coding, culinary, arts and craft, dance, entrepreneurship e.t.c. To enrol your child, visit http://bit.ly/gradelysummerschool or call 08100598268 for assistance or further enquiries.

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