6 Important Skills to Teach Your Children

Although your children can learn to read and write at school, there are many beneficial life skills that schools rarely provide. These are skills that all adults and children should have. 

Teaching your children these skills will benefit them not just now, but throughout their lives:

1. Ask questions. If you can’t figure out something that’s important, you can save yourself a lot of grief by simply asking questions of the appropriate person. You can also learn a lot by exploring and asking yourself questions.
   
2. The ability to solve problems. Life is full of challenges. Figuring out how to be successful in school, navigating through a new job, making the soccer team; these are all common challenges we must solve. Life is less intimidating when you learn processes that help you conquer challenges, whatever they may be.
   
   • Avoid the temptation to solve your children’s challenges for them. Ask them leading questions, but let them strive to figure things out on their own.
     
3. Finding a passion. No one ever trained us to go out and find the things that really excite and motivate us. Most of us were taught that working and having a job stinks, so you’d better get used to it. However, it doesn’t have to be that way! Everyone should have something they are passionate about and enough sense of independence to attach to it. “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life”
   
4. Independence. Children need to be nurtured to become more and more independent as they grow up. Many adults need to learn to be more independent as well. Strive to increase your child’s independence a little bit at a time, by giving them small things to be responsible.
   
5. Compassion. The ability to work well with others and control our own anger is directly tied to our ability to be compassionate toward others. Strive to be more compassionate in your everyday life and teach your children to do the same. Being compassionate is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself.
   
6. Dealing with change. The only constant in life is change. Those who can be flexible and deal with change effectively are much more successful and happier than those who can’t. Help your child to learn to deal with change and you’ll be doing them a huge favor.

Schools teach us many things but they don’t teach us everything. These necessary skills that aren’t taught in school can be more valuable than anything we learn during our formal education. Check yourself and your child for the presence of these skills. Your lives will be much better for it.