It’s really mind-boggling when we think about all our kids need to learn as part of their lifelong skills.
Making a conscious effort to teach our kids some of these skills from an early age actually goes a long way.
In this post, I have put together what I would refer to as the six basic skills that I feel every parent should instill in their kids.
Making Decisions – I encourage my girls to make basic decisions related to stuff like their meal choice for lunch or brunch on weekends… and so on. Now, parenting style differs and is also flexible… there is no hard and fast rule. This is just how I do mine. For instance, my mom would prefer to prepare a suitable meal for the children without having to seek their consent first. Well… I do that sparingly, but most of the time, I simply ask. The reason is simple; it makes them eat well, being that they are picky eaters, like I’ve mentioned in a previous post, they tend to eat better if it’s something they really want.
Showing Gratitude – I encourage it a lot in the girls. In fact, I start doing that once they are few months old and able to respond to the sound of my voice with smiles and coos. I remember on one occasion during Steph’s diaper change, when Hubz walked in on us to find me asking her to say thank you to mummy for making her all clean again, and she was barely 6 months old. Hubz still makes jokes out of that scenario till date. I couldn’t care less.
Hygiene – In my opinion, the perfect time to begin to teach the kids hygiene is once they have attained the age of understanding… so I would say anytime from 12 months. I know we always tell our kids to brush their teeth, wash hands and all, but the mistake we make is not telling them why. In the evenings, I allow my older girls brush their teeth by themselves after taking their bath. The baby, as you rightly guessed, will cry for hers too and I will just let her hold her toothbrush and nibble away… swallowing all the toothpaste (if any) in the process. I have also taught them how to wash their private parts. My 3 year old does that independently now but of course, still with some adult supervision.
Courtesy And Respect – Charity they say begins at home. If your child is not used to greeting you at home when they wake up in the morning, when you get back from work and so on, there is no way they will cultivate that habit and use it outside. Try to inculcate this in them as early as possible.
Honesty – Here is what works for me; I tell the girls that if they have done something wrong and they open up to me about it, they won’t be punished (as severely). Now by punishment, please it mustn’t always be spanking. There are other ways you can get your kids to behave sensibly without using the stick or violence often. Will throw more light on this in my next post…
The last but not the least;
Prayers – I always teach my kids the power of prayers and bible reading. They see God as their Big Daddy in heaven. During morning and night prayer sessions, I try to involve them to lead as often as they can and they share moral lessons too. They know that God can do anything and is always there for them.
Are there any life skills you teach your kids and how well have they imbibed those skills?
Please share your answers and opinions in the comment section below.
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XOXO,
Yours Truly.
