Support Your Child’s Independence By Teaching Them These Life Skills
Teaching children crucial life skills helps them to become independent. However, research has revealed that the nation’s teenagers aren’t equipped for dealing with things on their own. Only 41% of parents believe their teen would choose to eat healthily, while just 8% of parents trust their child to make a doctor’s appointment. This shows the importance of teaching kids life skills young. Thankfully, many child care facilities will support you with this. Here are some of the most essential life skills you should focus on.
Money management
31% of parents confess to never speaking to their children about money. An effective way to teach children about money management is to give them a regular allowance. In a child care center, a toy cash register and play money are likely to be used to support this skill. When you give your child their allowance, speak to them about saving and budgeting for the things they want. Let’s say you give your child a $20 allowance, encourage them to save $10 of it for an item they want and keep the rest for ad hoc purchases. This will help them to become financially independent and they’ll realize in the future that they don’t need to get into debt to buy the things they desire.
Cooking skills
Studies have found that 28% of adults don’t know how to cook. Cooking is a key life skill for children to learn as it encourages them to eat healthily and make the right food choices. They are then less likely to develop serious health issues, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease. Teaching your child to cook from a young age is also a great educational experience. Weighing out ingredients helps kids to develop their numeracy skills while reading recipes is good for improving literacy skills. You’ll need child-friendly cooking tools to really get kids interested. This should include things such as measuring cups and spoons, whisks, and popsicle molds. Don’t forget to buy them their own apron too so that they feel like the real deal.
Basic hygiene
A recent study found that more than 80% of 8 to 11-year-old children don’t have full control of their personal hygiene. Teaching your children about basic hygiene will keep them safe and healthy and will also protect others. The very first piece of basic hygiene you’ll teach your child is to brush their teeth. This should start as soon as your baby’s first tooth comes in which usually happens around 6 months of age. Children also need to be taught the importance of handwashing, especially before eating food and after playing. A good child care provider will always make sure your child washes their hands at these times. As your child grows, showering, shaving, face washing, and cleaning up after using the bathroom will need to be taught. All these skills will ensure your child turns into a fully independent adult.
Every child should be taught key life skills from an early age. These will support your child to become a more independent individual, allowing you to breathe easy when it’s time for them to fly the nest.