5 life skills to teach your kid early in childhood

As a parent, there is nothing more important to you than your child’s happiness. So, you work hard day and night to provide all the luxuries and facilities to your kid. Although toys and new video games can make your children immensely happy, they need much more to become successful adults. You have to teach your kids important life skills from an early age so that they are able to handle challenges the world throws at them later on in life.

Here are the most important life skills you must equip your kids with –

Personal hygiene

You must teach your kids personal hygiene so that they can keep themselves clean and healthy. Instruct them to wash their hands before eating, and use a sanitizer or a handwash. Make sure they clean their hands and legs after coming back from school or the playground.

Instil the habit of covering their mouth and nose with a tissue or a handkerchief, whenever your child is about to sneeze or cough. Teach them that this will prevent germs from being transferred from their nose to others. Also, instruct them to not touch their eyes unnecessarily or pick their nose.

Make sure your kid is brushing his or her teeth daily after waking up and before going to bed.

Household chores

You might do all the household chores by yourself or have someone to help you out. But these are crucial skills the kids also need to learn. It will help them manage their life after school – if they leave for college or work, and also if they buy their own house someday.

Start with teaching them how to make their bed and keep it clean. They must keep their entire room clean by keeping their books and toys in place. You can give them a basket or a box to keep their toys. You can make them dust and clean their study table and chair.

Assign them simple and easy housekeeping duties and ensure they complete them.

Time management

Being a parent, you have to manage your time wisely to keep everything on track. It is important that your kids learn the value of time from an early age to handle life better later on.

Start by teaching them how to tell the time and how to make a timetable. You can help them prepare the routine, but make sure they stick to it. Teach them to wake up and go to bed at the same time every day. Help them separate study time and playtime, so that they can enjoy both.

Understanding time management will help them immensely later on to get things done and be disciplined.

Getting ready and dressing well

This is an easier skill to develop. You might get them ready every day, but let them do it on their own. For example, lay out their school uniform on a table or on their bed the night before school. Lay out their toothbrush, hairbrush and toothpaste in a place where they can easily see them. This way, they can easily get start getting ready as soon as they get up in the morning.

Your child wants to look good too! So, teach them how to dress well on special occasions or any casual outing. Let them pick out their favourite clothes and buy them clothes in their favourite colour. Teach them the basics of fashion, what to wear on a formal and casual occasion. Also, each of them how to comb their hair.

Give a peck on their cheek when they are done!

Communication skills

As kids grow up, they have to communicate more than just their parents, friends and teachers. They need to know how to clearly and effectively communicate with anyone, even if they are strangers. Start with teaching them basic etiquettes such as saying Good Morning, Please and Thank You. Then teach them how to speak to a shopkeeper, their bus-driver or another kid.

It is best to protect your kids from strangers, but ultimately strangers are whom they would have to deal with the most later on in life. So, accompany them to a store but let them buy something. This way your kiddo will learn communication skills and gain confidence while putting their thoughts forward.

Teaching them life skills from an early age will help your kids to master them slowly as they grow up. Do not forget to reward and appreciate your little angel’s efforts when they make their bed or keep themselves neat and tidy!