As a parent or guardian, teaching your child is one of the unwritten rules in life. It takes time and patience, but the rewards are worth it. Your son or daughter adopts good morals, important life skills, and values that positively promote success and impact the community.
How do you ensure your child becomes a successful athlete, entrepreneur, or everything they dream of? Well, it all boils down to teaching them vital life lessons contributing to their success. Here, you’ll discover the nine most important life lessons to prepare your kids for the future.
Teeth Care
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), over 50% of children between six and eight years have a cavity in at least one tooth. Further studies show that more than 50% of adolescents (12–19 years) also have cavity issues. So, can you protect your child from these dental problems? The answer is yes.
Start by teaching your kids to brush at least twice daily using fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride is known to prevent cavities. Also, take your kids to regular dental cleaning services, including scaling and root planing, gross debridement, and periodontal cleaning.
Children with dental problems may find it hard to socialize with others, which could affect their self-esteem. Teaching them proper tooth care procedures ensures strong teeth, healthy gums, and a life full of smiles. Show your kids the importance of seeking professional dental services to screen, prevent, or treat certain oral health issues.
Besides brushing, encourage your child to floss at least once daily for good oral health. You should also teach them the right way to brush their teeth for maximum benefits and without hurting their gums or teeth. According to the Havard Medical School, you should angle the bristles at 45 degrees, rotating around in a gentle sweeping motion.
General Health Wellness
Empowering your child with the knowledge of healthy physical, emotional, and social well-being is a significant step towards giving them an important life. Imparting this knowledge doesn’t have to be complicated. You can start by helping them understand the health terms like heart rate, body temperature, and menstruation.
Teach them to consume healthy foods and beverages that aid in developing a healthy physical body. Also, enroll your child in personal training gyms to enhance the development of strong joints and muscles. According to the National Institute of Health, physical fitness boosts school performance, good behavior, and self-confidence. Don’t forget regular checks to keep ailments at bay and detect conditions that could develop into severe diseases. Thanks to technological advancements, you can arrange virtual doctor visits for quick, professional health services assessment. These e-visits only require an internet connection and a phone or computer.
Additionally, develop a close relationship with your child and give them a helping hand to create a trusting environment. The idea is to make them share their feelings easily. Close relationships make it easier to guide them and solve emotional challenges together. Don’t forget to discuss how to handle emotions healthily.
We live in a world where people connect differently through communication. It is essential to create meaningful connections with genuine people. You need to teach your child how to create relationships that express their needs and experiences with you and other people. Maintaining these relationships improves their social health.
Safe Driving
Another lifelong skill to teach your children is driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, most US states allow teaching children safe driving as early as thirteen. By law, you can receive a driver’s license between the ages of 16 and 18, depending on your state. Getting experience at a young age helps them become experienced and responsible road users.
Ideally, you should show your child how various controls like headlights and pedals work, followed by basic driving techniques. Train them to drive short distances in safe places like parking lots. Teach them to check and obey traffic signs, practice safe driving, and respond to various road conditions.
Teens are highly energetic and in the age bracket where they are still experimenting. So, the thrill of fast driving might excite them, oblivious to the dangers. Additionally, young drivers may engage in driving under the influence. These behaviors put them into headwinds with the law, affect their certificates of good conduct, and put their lives at risk. For these reasons, you should inculcate safer driving skills and good morals early.
Enroll the child to a licensed driving school to learn from a professional. Driving programs are designed to meet your child’s needs. Once your child comes of age, obtain a driver’s permit according to your state laws.
Care for the Environment
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 24% of deaths worldwide are environmental-related. You should teach your children that nature is a reminder of reality, and they should learn to care for it. A dirty environment harbors parasites and dangerous organisms that might harm your family.
You must lead the way, showing them how to conserve the environment at home. Care for nature goes a long way to ensure children live an important life in a natural setting. Environmental pollution has also led to climate change and global warming, which affects the quality of life of every child, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Exposure to nature helps children to connect with creatures and plants inhabiting the environment. Children love fun activities and interact with nature by organizing fun activities like camping and hiking. Programs involving hands-on activities such as tree planting and picking plastics in packs also create a time for them to explore nature. Be a role model as a tree planter and they will grow to care for the environment.
Responsibility
Teaching children responsibility nurtures them to become accountable individually as they grow up to live a fruitful and important life. Children like to be involved in activities around their environment, giving them a sense of dependence and belonging. Young adults can be helpers with house jobs, including cleaning up after using utensils, laundry, and tidying up their toys.
Consider your children’s age before giving out responsibilities, allowing the development of age-specific skills as they grow. Molding responsible children involves rewarding them for completing chores and positive punishment for incomplete chores. Correct punishment, such as grounding, teaches them to take responsibility for bad or good actions. You should also be reasonable and realistic to allow for mistakes – it’s part of enhancing decision-making skills.
Another way to nurture responsibility is by tasking them with a pet to look after. For example, you can find a mini puppy for sale and give your kid a fur friend. Taking care of the pet promotes accountability for feeding, cleaning, and walking them. Raising responsible children requires patience and consistency, and focusing more on the effort put in than the results.
Future Planning
Setting goals is one of the important life lessons you should teach children. This skill is critical for your children’s needs for a better future. Encourage positive thinking and remind them that planning is essential for personal success.
According to the World Economic Forum, 65% of children joining school today will work in new jobs that currently don’t exist. For this reason, an emphasis on planning for the future and anticipating the job market is critical for children. Teach your children how to set goals and help them develop the right mindset for success.
Developing a plan with your children creates a special trust in the family and elevates your relationship. Future planning also creates accountability, and it’s easy to track your child’s progress and offer guidance where they feel challenged. You can also involve them in estate planning without fear that they will plunder your hard-earned assets. Don’t let negative thoughts and fear of the unknown stop you from teaching children how to plan for their future.
Car Maintenance
Driving is among the most indispensable skills in the world. Though kids don’t necessarily need this skill until they are of legal age, preparing them with car maintenance skills can be handy. This knowledge can save them time and money when they start driving. Proper car maintenance can also prevent fatal accidents, saving lives. According to NHTSA, 2% of accidents are vehicle-related (mechanical parts failure).
Parents can bond with their kids while teaching them various basic car maintenance practices. These include checking whether the tires are worn out or have enough air pressure for safe driving. Show them the importance of having jumper cables and how to use them in case the car breaks.
Another key skill to learn is checking the dipstick to see the oil levels and replacing the oil. You should also use the weekends to bond with your children while cleaning your car(s). Show them how to clean the interior and exterior of the vehicle, wipe windows, and check for dents or scratches. Explain the meaning of dashboard warning lights to your children and teach them basic skills for replacing a damaged light bulb. You can go a mile further and let your kid accompany you on one of your visits to the car repair shops.
Eye Care
According to the Journal of Behavioral Optometry, about 80% of the learning activities are presented visually. Therefore, visual health is vital to your kid’s academic and future success. According to the American Optometric Association, children need vision and visual perceptual skills to read and learn effectively. This factor makes eye care an important life lesson to teach your children.
Besides learning, a child requires healthy eyes to engage in co-curricular activities, avoid danger, and adapt to various environments. As a parent, teach your children how to care for their eyes by eating right, wearing eye protective gear, and reducing time spent in front of digital screens. Eye care also involves exercising outdoors, avoiding rubbing eyes roughly, and properly handling sharp objects to prevent accidents.
It’s also vital to take your child to regular or annual eye exams for screening by an optician. Detecting common eye problems earlier ensures the kids get the right treatment before the issue becomes severe. The National Institutes of Health also advises learning centers to integrate eye health into their programs. These initiatives should include health awareness activities, screening, and treating common eye conditions.
Communication Skills
There’s no doubt that humans are social and emotional beings with a strong desire to connect with other people. Therefore, communication skills can positively affect our personal and professional lives, regardless of age. Children require proper communication skills to build relationships with peers and teachers, collaborate with others, and express their thoughts and opinions. Learning how to communicate effectively is among the most important life lessons that can boost your children’s success rate. As a parent, you should strive to teach your child five vital communication skills.
The most common way of communicating is verbally through words. Ensure your kids know how to use proper language to convey messages clearly and courteously without hurting other people’s emotions. Similarly, teaching kids visual communication skills, like using diagrams, images, and other visual elements to deliver information, can help them during school discussions.
Visual communication skills are also vital in business and careers. According to Michigan State University, active listening skills can help build relationships and better understand others. Take time to show your children the importance of listening to their teachers, peers, and other adults.
Another important life skill to share with your kids is using nonverbal communication. Take time to help them communicate and understand others through facial expressions, body language, eye contact, and gestures. Besides taking kids to school to learn how to read and write, you should take extra steps to teach them written communication skills. Show them how to write creative pieces, letters/emails, and school-based projects.
Raising healthy and prosperous kids takes more than providing basic needs. You must teach them important life lessons that equip them with skills to conquer the world. These include communication skills, future planning, and healthy living. Foster a sense of responsibility to kids and teach them to care for people and the environment. Then, watch them transform into adorable adults who bring much-needed change to the world!
