In a world where AI and robotics are set to define the way we live and work, it is even more important that we, and particularly our children, are equipped with soft skills. Covering the likes of communication and social skills, these are unique traits that will set us apart from robots and machines.
But beyond these, here are some other important life skills that your child must have to excel and stand out in the world of tomorrow.
Tomorrow’s Leaders Need These Life Skills to Rule the World
1. Creativity
Competition is expected to be tougher than ever in the future, and this then calls for the need for creative skills and ideas to stand out from the competition.
While giving your child opportunities to showcase his/her creativity from the earliest years, you can design his/her playtime with this in mind as well. Building blocks and Lego bricks are top favourites as these encourage children to flex their creativity and imagination as they dream up and construct structures of various shapes and sizes.
You can also assign simple art and craft activities such as designing posters or the theme of his/her bedroom. Get your child to come up with clever one-liners to complement his/her drawings to complete the masterpiece.
Read also: 7 Ways Parents Can Inspire Their Kids to Do their Best
2. Social and Emotional Intelligence
How well does your child relate to others and can he/she sense how they are feeling?
While it is so easy to look up for anything and everything on Google these days, making sense of emotions and body language is something that your child needs exposure and experience on. Rather than just reading and consuming data, having social and emotional intelligence requires your child to think and react accordingly as the situation unfolds.
To develop this life skill, you can sign up your child for charity drives and volunteer activities. These opportunities will give him/her exposure to different situations that other people face in their daily lives. As a result, your young one will learn to understand the viewpoints of others and how or why they differ from that of his/her own.
3. Problem-Solving Skills
Analytical skills and the ability to think critically and come up with smart solutions for a wide variety of issues will give your child a competitive edge in today’s world and that of the future.
You might not know, but this skill actually develops from the moment he/she learns to ask questions during the early years. It’s just the way children learn how things around them work.
So instead of brushing him/her off, you can get your child to search for the answer himself/herself first. Then let him/her share with you what he/she has learnt or found out. This goes a long way to encourage your child’s love for learning as you set him/her off towards the part of active learning – which then brings us to the next point.
4. Love for Learning
In life and in the future, there will be many things that your child will learn and problems that he/she needs to solve. To do well, your child needs to have an open mind to learn and a keen curiosity to find out why things are the way they are.
While there will be a multitude of experiences and encounters that your child will go through in his/her daily life, you can help him/her to reflect on the learnings by jotting these down in a journal. Not only does this allow him/her to take stock of what he/she has learnt, but your child can also add on his/her reflections.
It is through simple notes like this that does wonders to motivate your child in his/her lowest moments as he/she grows older. As parents, we can encourage our children to remain upbeat even if they do not succeed and to emphasise that it is through these that learn and gain valuable experiences, although they did not achieve their goals.
5. Knowledge of Other Cultures
Technology has made it possible for us to stay connected, no matter how far we are from each other in the world. Although physical barriers are no longer an issue, cultural differences still exist.
And that is where the importance of helping your child understand the nuances of other cultures comes in, as he/she works together with workmates of other cultures in the workplace in the future.
Going on family holidays to expose your child to other countries and their cultures is a great start, and so are school exchange programmes too. Your child will learn about why people live the way they do and what makes them tick. In time, he/she will learn to empathise and understand another person’s culture and to take note of the way he/she communicates with others to minimise conflicts and misunderstandings.
6. Manners On Tech
Being tech-savvy is not only about having the skills to operate the latest devices or apps – it is knowing when it’s suitable to be used too. For example, when your child communicates, he/she would need to know the right platform that will help to get his/her message across effectively.
We know of many children these days who aspire to be YouTubers and who can’t get enough of watching videos online. Instead of discouraging them, do encourage them to learn more about making home videos and small digital projects of their own. Go through the different elements that make a great video and guide them on appropriate use for these videos too – for example, they should not, in any circumstances, use these for purposes of shaming or bullying others, but instead to inspire and bring positivity to the life of the people who matter to them.
Read also: Tried-and-Tested Tips to Keep Track Of Your Child’s Progress in School With No Exams
What other skills do you think should be on this list to prepare our children for the world of tomorrow?
