5 Life Skills to Explore With Your Child From a Young Age

Helping your child learn basic life skills will set them up for their journey to becoming resilient, self-sufficient adults. To get you started, take a look at the following advice from an independent college in London.

Communication

Learning how to communicate with others helps children to form friendships and develops their confidence to vocalise their thoughts and needs. Encourage your child to practice their communication skills whenever possible. When ordering in a restaurant, have your child talk to the waitstaff directly, rather than ordering for them. Talking to unfamiliar people can be daunting for children but avoiding doing so can really hold them back.

Time Management

Young children tend to live in the moment, meaning time management can be a somewhat tricky concept. To make things easier for them, consider using a chart to display daily tasks. This can help them to visualise what they need to do and can evoke a sense of accomplishment as they tick things off their to-do list. Teaching kids to tell the time from a young age is also a huge advantage, as they can keep track of how much time they have to do things.

Cooking

Getting your child involved in food preparation helps introduce the cooking skills they will rely on in later life. Small children may only be able to help you wash vegetables or measure out ingredients, but being involved in the process will give them an insight into what it takes to prepare a meal and will give them a foundation that can be built upon as they get a little older.

Health & Hygiene

 It is important to get your child in the habit of taking charge of their daily self-care. There are things you can do to make this easier for them, try setting two-minute timers when they brush their teeth to make sure they are doing a thorough job. This dentist in Ballwin also adds that you should teach them flossing as soon as they have two teeth that touch. Teach them the importance of hand washing and keeping their nails clean and get them into the habit of covering their mouths when they cough and sneeze. The more vigilant you are at reinforcing these habits, the easier it will be for your child to adopt them.

Decision Making

Children often rely on parents to make decisions for them, so it is important to start to build their confidence and allow them to make some choices for themselves. For smaller decisions, such as what shoes to put on or what cereal to eat, let your child follow their instincts. For larger decisions introduce strategies such as pros and cons lists or mind-maps to help your children get into the routine of evaluating their options before landing on a decision.

How to Raise an Environmentally Conscious Child

It’s important to try and teach your child to respect the environment from a young age by exploring topics such as global warming and carbon footprint etc. Doing so will not only help the planet, but it will also help your child with their overall development, on both an academic and personal level. I have teamed up with a private prep school in Somerset to share some ideas of how to raise an environmentally conscious child.

Try and find opportunities to chat to your child about how our actions affect the environment. For instance, if your child leaves a light on once they have left a room, you can explain how this is a waste of energy that increases carbon emission and other harmful greenhouse gases. You could also teach them about landfill sites and how it is important that we separate our household rubbish into relevant recycling categories. There are plenty of documentaries that explore these topics in greater detail if you don’t feel knowledgeable enough to teach your child yourself. Not only will this help them understand our environmental impact, but it will also teach them a sense of responsibility.

Another way to help your child become more environmentally conscious is to ensure they are spending plenty of time outdoors. There are so many activities they can do outside of the house that will give them a break from their digital devices. You could start a vegetable patch if your garden is big enough, go camping, walk through the woods, build a den or countless other activities. It’s an opportunity for you to spend some quality time with your youngster, while also teaching them about nature and how everything works in harmony.

Try and be a good role model; you can’t expect your child to be kinder to the environment if you’re not leading by example. You could also consider speaking to their teachers to find out how the school is exploring environmental issues with their students. They may also be able to suggest some learning activities that you could try at home.

Teaching Your Child to Resist Peer Pressure

Every child will experience peer pressure at some point, it is an unavoidable social dynamic that both adults and children will face throughout life. Knowing how to navigate peer pressure and determining when to resist is an important lesson to learn from an early stage. With these tips from an independent school in Warwickshire, you will be equipped with the help you need to teach your child to resist peer pressure throughout their life.

Get Them Prepared

By understanding the tell-tale signs of peer pressure your child will be able to identify when it is happening and learn to act accordingly. Role play is a great way to practice dealing with peer pressure. Think of situations they are likely to encounter, a peer picking on another child and encouraging your child to join in, or someone encouraging your child to copy their disruptive behaviour. Talk about how your child feels as you run through each scenario and teach them to tune into their gut feelings which will tell them when something is wrong. You can also teach them how to respond to each scenario, encouraging them to say ‘no’ when something doesn’t feel quite right.

Build Their Confidence

A child who is self-assured with a good sense of who they are is less likely to be influenced by peer pressure. Discuss integrity in an age-appropriate way, perhaps reading them books where the protagonist stands up for what they believe in. Teach them about moral values such as kindness and respect, and demonstrate these within your home, creating a space where your child feels comfortable discussing their feelings openly. A child who feels empowered to speak their mind will be more accustomed to saying ‘no’ or disagreeing if peer pressure arises.

Encourage Positive Friendships

You can’t control who your child makes friends with, but you can encourage them to lean towards healthier friendships. You can demonstrate healthy friendships to your child through your own relationships, never gossiping about friends in front of your child and always showing respect and kindness. If children see these healthy relationships they are likely to model their own approach to friendship on the example you have set. If you are concerned that your child has fallen into the ‘wrong crowd’ you could always encourage them to join a club or team where they can meet a new group of like-minded peers.