Life skills – An integral aspect of childhood learning

Have you thought about how independent your child is? Can he or she manage to be by themselves for a while without adult supervision? In an age where a two year old can navigate a smart phone, surely, children can learn how to butter toast or find their way to the house they live in. Yes your child is more capable than you think. But in today’s tech savvy, gadget driven world it can be easy for children to lose out on some practical skills. Also, as parents we tend to focus on the academic success of our children.  Teaching them basic tasks like doing the laundry, managing money, making a simple meal can be equally essential to their success. Without certain life skills even adults find themselves at a disadvantage.

So how soon should you start teaching your children life skills? You can begin teaching a child age appropriate skills as early as two years. Before your child leaves home to go to pre -school, they must learn how to put away their toys, be able to feed themselves, dress up with help from you and brush their teeth, wash their face (with help from the parent)

Once a child has learnt basic reading at school, has the ability to recite from memory and can recognize numbers. They can now be taught their own full names, and that of the parents/ caregiver, they can be made to memorize parent’s telephone numbers and home address. They must be able to know how to make an emergency call to the parents, or reach out to a neighbor for help if needed. You can also teach them the basic concept of money. For example, they can now understand that you need money to buy things from a store. At this age children must also be able to fully dress themselves on their own, help with small chores around the house. Like put the dishes they have used in the sink, put their dirty clothes in the wash bin.

When the child is at 6 and 7 years of age they should be able to bathe on their own, help out in the kitchen with some basic stirring when cooking and washing dishes. They can be taught to fold their clothes and make the bed, make a simple sandwich with butter or jam. They may not be able to do these tasks perfectly at this stage but the idea is to get them used to these tasks. It’s also a good time to let them choose the clothes they want to wear, this can be the first steps in decision making and helping them discover their likes and dislikes. Since they have also been taught simple maths at school they can be taught to differentiate denominations of currency and how to use it.

Another important skill for children to teach children to do their school work on their own, as they grow into adults it’s important for them to be able to solve problems at work and life on their own. By the ages of 8 to 10 parents must let children do their homework on their own. Of course they can reach out to the parents for help if they need it. It is now that children must be taught to set aside time for school work and focus on getting it done and doing it well. This practice can help your child pick up time management skills. This is also the age when they can be given money and taught how to manage it.  Teaching them how to save with a piggy bank concept will help them understand how to delay gratification, stay out of debt, and make investment choices wisely in their future as adults. They can also pick up a few first aid skills like cleaning a wound or cut with water and applying some antiseptic cream. This will teach them to handle some amount of pain and not panic when they see blood or have to face an illness. 

Once your child is 11 years and older, they are at the pre-teen stage and now they must be fully independent. Going to a store nearby and buying small things like milk or bread should be a routine task. They must be well versed in checking expiry dates and reading labels on products. They should also have the ability look after a younger sibling, know how to use the stove safely, be able to use the microwave to heat food and so on. Washing dishes, using the washing machine, helping with moping and sweeping should be added to their list of regular household duties.

In conclusion, life skills are an integral aspect of learning in childhood. Not only will it help your child to self-care and be independent, but it also gives children a sense of confidence, and makes them feel empowered. It improves reasoning and works on socialization. “I did it all by myself” is a statement that shows the joy an pride a child feels when he/she has accomplished a task on their own. As parents we have to give them more opportunities to feel this way!