Are you teaching your five-year-old these nine life skills?
According to a school social worker, the summer break is the perfect time to teach your five-year-old these important life skills.
As parents, it is our job to raise our children to be independent, self-sufficient adults. This means teaching them to do everything they need to do and ensuring they can do things by themselves. But it can be hard not to do things for them, especially when they are young, and it’s often just easier to do things ourselves.
But we do know that in the long run, this isn’t the best course of action. We need to let them do things for themselves, while supporting them, of course.
A school social worker has shared the nine skills that all five-year-olds should learn to master, and they will help them in the long run for school and many situations throughout their life.
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9 life skills five-year-olds should learn
According to Brittany Brady, a mum-of-two and school social worker who works with children each day, all five-year-olds should be learning these life skills over the summer.
They are:
- Getting themselves dressed (even it takes longer than you doing it)
- Use coping strategies during frustrating moments (teach them to ask for help or take a ‘calm down’ break)
- Following simple routines (this may be a morning, a cleanup or a bedtime routine)
- Take responsibility for small tasks (such as setting the table or feeding a pet)
- Handling disappointment (losing a game and making mistakes is a part of life they need to be okay with)
- Speaking up when they need help (this will help them in so many ways down throughout their entire lives)
- Playing with other children through conflict (this will teach them problem-solving skills and handling conflict)
- Trying again when something is hard (this builds confidence through perseverance)
- Managing basic skills such as opening their lunch box, putting on their coat and buckling their seat belt in the car
According to Brittany, mastering these skills helps kids feel more confident and independent. Luckily, they are all easy enough to teach your children through ‘everyday moments’ in your home.
