Skills for life: from learning to practice

What do we need to ensure we live a balanced life, a life where we achieve our goals and overcome challenges? In the specialized literature, researchers emphasize the existence and importance of having a set of essential skills that allow people to self-manage and effectively manage their relationships, in order to succeed in achieving success. These are the skills that help us navigate the world, succeed at work, and maintain healthy relationships with others. Although many of them are acquired through experience, with the passage of time, research shows how relevant it is to start this process at an early age. 

We will explore together what are the most important life skills for children and why parents and educators should focus on teaching them.

Decision making : Making appropriate decisions is an essential life skill that every child should learn and practice from an early age. For example, allow your child to choose between different types of clothes, toys, food and games. This will help your child learn the consequences of every decision he makes. Walk your child through this process to help them weigh the pros and cons before making any decisions. Also, allow them to make mistakes when making decisions and learn by doing.

Understanding another person's perspective

When your child explains a difficult situation he or his friends encountered, encourage him to look at the scenario from another person's perspective. Teach your child about the emotional reactions that people give off in various situations. This can improve his/her problem-solving skills and ability to understand the people around him/her.

Failure management

Failure is part of life and often helps us learn important lessons. Children react differently to disappointment. While some may become quiet, sullen or stubborn, others may quickly burst into fits of rage. It is essential to remember that dealing with disappointment can be a challenge for adults, even more so for children. It is essential to give them space and support. 

Critical thinking

Critical thinking is one of the essential skills that every child should learn. Critical thinking helps us analyze and absorb information, compare situations, look at things from different angles and make inferences. To develop this skill, give children opportunities to play games that involve problem solving, reflection, and open-ended questions.

Facing challenges

A child can become a strong adult when he learns how to face challenges. Children learn new things all the time and it is valuable to understand and experience that often every situation can have its own challenges. They can overcome these challenges when they have confidence in their own strength, but also when they know they can call on the people close to them for support. 

Resilience

This skill can be developed when the parent does not Feed, constantly, the child with solutions, but gives him space to understand a certain problem or situation, gives him support to think about what he can do, independently. 

Budgeting and money management

Financial literacy is vital. For a dynamic world with multiple challenges, the efficient management of financial resources becomes more and more important. What do we do with money, how do we have a smart relationship and manage it effectively? Every individual should know at least the basics of finance, and KEN Academy supports parents, children and future generations by offering fun and relevant financial literacy activities. 

In conclusion, life skills are crucial to children's development and success in life. By teaching these skills, parents and educators can prepare children for success and equip them with the tools they need to meet the challenges of everyday life.

In the KEN Academy camps we develop all these skills. Register your small business today.

Useful resources:

Myers, JM (2010). How to Teach Life Skills to Kids with Autism or Asperger's. Future Horizons.

Rodrigues, P., Batsukh, B., Mathew, S., & Perwira, S. (2009). Skills for Kids.

*Article written by Veronica Dunga, KEN Academy trainer.