Every day is full of learning when you’re a child; the speed at which they develop is overwhelming, with the learning of new words, skills and tricks an almost daily thing. From the first baby months to their progression through toddlerhood and onto childhood, your child will learn an incredible amount of things while developing skills that will last them throughout their lives. Here are four important life skills, and how you can encourage the development of them, that they should learn early so that they continue to grow into well-rounded individuals.
Independence
It’s obvious that a newborn baby will need you pretty much around-the-clock. Feeding, sleeping, changing and soothing are just some of the things that they’ll need you to help with, but in time, they will learn a few little tricks that will help to boost their independence. From settling themselves off to sleep to not waking up in the middle of the night for milk that they don’t need, they will learn self-discipline and independence in no time.
As they grow up and move through childhood, you can encourage this self-discipline to progress by teaching them the value of money, asking them to do chores and expecting them to do their homework when it’s set. Praise and rewards are big motivators, so make sure you keep up your end of the bargain.
Social Skills
It’s imperative that a child develops some form of social skills before and during their time at school. Without these skills, they’ll struggle to make friends and create bonds that will last.
Encourage the development of social skills by organising play dates for them; invite a friend and their child over for a brew, so that your child can mingle and play. Provide them with social toys that will aid interaction and role play, such as the Imaginext Castle playset and plenty of figures for them to pretend play with. This will help them to learn to share and take turns while boosting their imagination and creativity.
Problem Solving
Babies and toddlers will learn to problem solve fairly quickly, realising the essence of cause and effect in no time. As they grow, encourage them to make their own decisions while providing a positive environment in which they can grow and feel happy about having their own opinions.
Control of Emotions
This will come with time, with inevitable tantrums along the way. Kids learn to control their emotions in their own time, but you can help by providing reassurance and positivity while using methods such as time-out to help calm them down.
While there are plenty of other skills that your children can, and should, learn during the early stages of development, these four are some of the most essential if you want to nurture a happy, healthy and well-rounded child.
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