As we talk about skills, most of the parents believe that the education their child receives in school is skills and up to some context it’s true but there are some skills that a child needs to be taught at home and cannot be taught in schools.
Did you ever think how self-sufficient your child is? Will your child be able to handle things when you are not at home? Will he manage when he is stuck somewhere and you are not there? No. Until you teach them all these things they will never be able to manage.
It’s very important for a child to learn more than academically because enrolling them in well-named big schools will not help to make your child self sufficient. If your child can’t look after themselves, they can’t develop essential life skills.
Let’s first look at a few skills that are essential for any growing child to learn in order to make them self sufficient-
- Make them do their own work: It is very important to teach them to do their work itself. Start with small things like teaching them to keep their belongings at its place, keep their clothes properly and all the daily-living skills. So that, when they’ll grow up and leave home for studies and jobs they will not find it difficult because till then it will become their habit to manage their stuff.
- Most parents pamper their children so much that they don’t let them do their own little stuff and later on this creates trouble for them.
- Be it putting their school bag together or taking the plate to the kitchen, ensure your child is ‘responsible’ for their work. Teach these skills now, before it’s too late.
- Time management – This must be sounding like a required skill for a businessman. But time management is not a rocket science everyone should have time management in their life be it a kid or an adult.
- Get them an alarm clock that they can use to wake up on time for school. You should make a weekly schedule for your child to do a particular work. There should be a fixed time to play, to study, to watch TV etc.
- Budgeting- No matter how rich you are it is very important to teach them how to manage money. It is not necessary to buy those things whatever they want to. If they want to buy an expansive thing get them a piggy bank and ask them to save money and tell them that you will also add some of the amounts to buy the thing so that, they will understand the value of money.
- How to shop: Always take your child with you over shopping so that they would know about some basic easy to buy things available in the market. In case you are not at home and your child needs something he can go and buy easily even give them charge to go and buy some basic products such as milk, bread, egg, juice etc.
- Cooking Skills- Involve them in simple cooking. You can teach them how to make vegetable sandwiches though chop the veggies to help. They can also ask them to make their chocolate milk on their own. Teach them how to butter a slice of bread. And also teach them to clean the kitchen after preparing the meal.
- Importance of cleanliness- Teach your children why cleanliness is important for a healthy environment by changing their habits in small things and get them into eco-friendly practice such as ask them to use dustbin through waste. If you have even a small little garden then take them to garden give them a portion of the yard to plant whatever they like in.
- Let them interact with others- Interaction will help your child to know people around them. They will be able to judge and to take a decision whether the person with whom your child is interacting is good or bad. Most parents don’t let their children interact with strangers rather teach them how they can judge a good and a bad person because it is not possible to be with your child all the time for his protection.
- Basic Table Manners- It starts with your home. Children observe their elders a lot and grab it quickly so it is very important to behave in a good manner in front of them. Whatever you will do on the table they’ll follow you and will never embarrass you outside.
- Adjustment, Flexibility and Adaptability- Teach your children to be an adjustable person so that they will never face difficulty in a rough time. They will be able to adapt to any situation quickly and will learn to move forward.
- Let them complete their work independently- Whether they are doing their work slowly, let them do. Though, teach them some tricks to do the task quickly but don’t interrupt them. Make them an independent person.
