As a parent, one of your biggest priorities should be to teach your kids the skills they need to eventually leave your home and take care of themselves. While many parents find that it’s just easier to do things themselves, this doesn’t give your kids the chance to learn how to do things on their own, which can be very debilitating later on in life.
So although you might be planning to just give your kids a crash course in adulthood right before they leave home, it’s much more beneficial for your child if you’re able to begin teaching them there all-important principles from a very early age. To help you in doing this without completely losing your patience, here are three tips from For Ladies By Ladies for teaching life skills to your kids.
Start Small
What can set both you and your child up for failure when teaching life skill is if you try to teach them things that they’re not ready to learn yet. Not only could this be dangerous, like if you try to teach your child in elementary school how to prune large trees, but it can also be very frustrating both for you and for your child.
To keep this from happening, Apryl Duncan, a contributor to Very Well Family, recommends that you start small and from a very young age. At first, try just teaching your child about smart decision making. As they learn how to master this skill, which can be done when your child’s just a few years old, then you’ll know they’re ready to move onto more complicated tasks and skills.
Focus On Basic Concepts Rather Than Specific Tasks
When your child is on the verge of adulthood, you might want to start focusing on how he or she should accomplish specific tasks. But as you spend the years of their childhood helping them before more independent and self-sufficient, Christine Field, a contributor to FocusOnTheFamily.com, suggests that you teach more basic and broad concepts or principles.
For example, your kids should slowly but surely learn how to do things like interact with others, manage their time, work with money, make certain repairs, conduct maintenance, and do basic homemaking tasks.
Allow Them To Learn
Once you’ve learned something, it’s hard to remember what it was like before you had that knowledge or skill. Because of this, it’s very easy for parents to get frustrated when their kids can’t seem to grasp something that seems to basic for them.
Especially when teaching basic life skills, many parents experience this frustration. To help with this, Michelle Crouch, a contributor to Parents.com, advises that you try to just take a step back and allow them to learn in their own way and at their own pace. While this can be difficult, it can also be very effective.
To help your children be ready to meet life head-on, consider using the tips mentioned above to assist them in learning life skills.
