As we’re growing up, we tend to pick up new skills. Some of them we actively sought out, others we were taught by our parents or through our schooling. Learning these skills can be extremely important in the development of children. It can help them become better prepared for growing pains, life as an adult, and all the challenges that come along the way. So as a parent, you might be wondering, “what are some useful skills to teach my children?”
Cleanliness:
Even as adults, we don’t always feel like cleaning. That’s okay, but you should make it a point to teach your children how to clean up after themselves. A real easy way to do this is by making it routine to have them clean their rooms. Or if your child is still in a real early age group, you can have them put their toys away back into their toy boxes. Finding little ways to teach them how to clean up will help them down the road in being neater, organized, and cleaner individuals. It will also teach them not to rely on others to clean up for them. Find an age-appropriate chore for your children and help them develop this skill early on in their life.
Time-Management:
As your child begins to grow up and understand the world around them, it’s important to teach them the importance of time. There are a variety of ways to teach your children good time-management. Start by teaching how to read time, then you can advance onto more specific things like waking up at specific times (get them an alarm clock), setting time aside for learning (school/homework), dinner time, and so on. This will also help see the importance of time and schedules, which will help them better manage their time as an adult.
Open-communication:
When your children get to the pre-teen/teenage stage of their lives, they’ll start to become more individualistic. It’s during this age range that they will truly have to learn how to handle their emotions in healthy ways. So why not practice open and honest communication at an early age? At an early age, begin asking them how their day was, how they’re feeling, etc. just to get them in the habit of talking to you about what is going on in their lives. Doing so early on will make it more likely that they’ll come to when they have problems growing up, which can help you worry less and help them become strong, healthy communicators.
Healthy Habits:
Health is hands down one of the most important parts of this list. Teaching your children about health is more than just telling them what good health is, it’s showing them. Teach them healthy habits like brushing your teeth morning and night, eating healthy, taking a shower/bathing daily, sleep (healthy amounts), exercising, and so on. Your child will see how you do these things on a consistent basis and it will teach them the importance of taking care of themselves. This skill can coexist with open-communication as health can be both physical and mental.
Respect:
Last but not least, teach your children respect. Teaching your children respect will help them communicate with those around them better. This can be taught by emphasizing the importance of taking turns, using manners, being polite, pointing out what is acceptable and unacceptable behavior, and many more ways. Respect will help them be prepared for school, jobs, and even general socializing. Much like many of the other items on this list, making it a habit early on can help them learn and utilize this skill better as they get older.
The truth is, these are only a few of the skills you should teach your children, but they are very important skills nonetheless. This list could go on and on, eventually becoming almost novel length. Take the time to educate yourself on good skills to teach your children, you may even develop your own skills in the process.