5 Skills All Future Adults Should Have

As parents, our primary goal is to raise considerate, confident, and resourceful future adults. While it may be tempting to believe that academic excellence alone paves the way to success, that’s just one facet of their development. Equipping our children with essential life skills is equally vital. Raising well-rounded, self-sufficient individuals is more valuable than prioritizing financial success.

Whether you are a parent of a toddler or a teen, teaching them the following essential life skills will equip them with the necessary tools to thrive in adulthood:

1. Communication skills

2. Time management skills

3. Resourcefulness Skills

4. House management skills

5. Money management skills 

Before we jump into how we can instill these skills, let’s cover why these skills are fundamental.

Why are these skills essential? 

• Strengthen confidence.

Not only does practice make perfect, but practice also builds confidence. Think about it. If your kids have never learned how to interact with adults at a dinner party, seen you pay bills, or carefully watched how you cook their favorite meal, how will they know how to do it in the future on their own?

To raise confident kids, we must invest time and energy into practice. First, they can be observers, then they can help with a subtask, and eventually, they can complete the task alone. Not only will this lighten your load as a parent, but it will also provide your kids with the tools needed to become self-sufficient adults.

• Prevent depression and anxiety.

In the book “Hunt, Gather, Parent”, Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff (an American mom who found herself constantly battling her toddler) visits a Mayan village in the Yucatán Peninsula to learn how they raise such helpful children without conflict, most of which grow into adults without depression or anxiety.

One of the ways they achieve this is by including children in household tasks from the moment they can walk. This teaches kids that they play a significant role in the household and that their help is necessary. In the book, the author mentions that she grew up mostly watching adults do household tasks while kids played so this one paradigm shift had an immense impact on her daughter’s behavior once she implemented it.

Responsibility does wonders for mental health. It provides intrinsic motivation to contribute to your family since your work is valuable. It also provides a sense of belonging. 

• Sharpen executive function.

Executive function includes focus, working memory, impulse inhibition, and reasoning that help individuals organize, prioritize, and manage their time. If this skill is underdeveloped, issues include impulse control and difficulty in self-regulating emotions.

How can we teach our kids these skills?

• Communication skills

Communication skills include speaking, listening, writing, and understanding body language. Teaching our children to articulate their thoughts succinctly will serve them in both personal and professional relationships/realms.

Try it today:

1. Help your child prepare for a school project presentation or a conversation with a new friend by practicing aloud.

2. Teach body language. Go to a public place like a mall and people-watch with your child. Try to identify the person's emotions based on their body language.

3. To gain listening skills, visit an elderly family member and ask them to tell you stories of their childhood.

4. Teach your child to be concise with their words by playing a game. Give them 2 minutes to tell you a story. Then have them re-tell you that same story in 1 minute. Then 30 seconds. This will teach them to avoid rambling and get to the point quickly.

• Time management skills

Source: Spica

In today’s fast-paced world, we are constantly bombarded with distractions. Time is a finite resource, so learning to manage it is essential for reducing stress while leading a productive and organized life.

Try it today:

1. Prioritize your tasks this week by using the Eisenhower matrix (pictured above). Tasks needed to get done are placed in one of four boxes, based on importance and urgency. The box that is both important and urgent is the highest priority and should be completed first. The second highest priority to focus on is the important but not urgent box, to be placed on a calendar/agenda to get to it later. The unimportant tasks can either be deleted, delegated, or rescheduled if possible.

2. Use an agenda (physical or digital) to determine WHEN the crucial tasks will be completed this week. Additionally, this will provide transparency for you as the parent to know what is on your child’s plate and how to help guide them.

3. Teach your kids how to focus by setting up a distraction-free environment for homework this week. A few distraction culprits include devices like phones and TVs, noise, toys, and friends/family. Establish clear time blocks and a place for them to focus.

• Time - You can establish a time block (3-5 PM) as a no-screen zone, where devices are under your supervision and out of sight of the child.

• Place - A playroom is a good place to avoid for kids to study because tempting toys are lurking around. Find an area that is quiet enough to focus, but not too comfortable that they may doze off (avoiding couches/beds if possible).  

For more details, read our article on 4 Time Management Lessons Every Kid Should Learn.

• House management skills

Maintaining a house in order can feel overwhelming. You need to organize, cook, clean, clean, do yard work, and so much more. Parents often do most of these things themselves. However, it’s vital to involve your kids. Not only will it teach them to be accountable (if they made the mess, they should pick up the mess) and promote self-sufficiency, but it will also emphasize the importance of contributing to their environment. 

Try it today:

1. Teach your kids to cook by delegating sub-tasks to them. If you are cooking an omelet, have them crack the eggs, chop the vegetables, season the dish, and mix it all.

2. Help them organize their room. Grab a bag to donate to help them sort all of their belongings. They will likely take better care of their belongings if they are responsible for them.

3. Teach them how to wash, dry, and fold a load of laundry. Have them read the tags on their clothing that identify the material and care instructions to make the garments last longer.

• Money management skills

Educating children about budgeting, saving, and responsible spending will establish a foundation for financial success and help them avoid common financial pitfalls. Did you know that money habits in children are formed by age 7? So if you have been putting off teaching your kids about money, this is a great reason to begin.

Try it today:

1. Teach your kids to live below their means. What they spend should be less than the money they have to avoid debt.

2. Use cash and three envelopes to teach them to give, save, and spend in that order. Let’s say your 5-year-old has $20 cash. You can help him physically by giving the money at Church (if you are a believer) or buy a friend a toy first ($2). Then, you can get a glass jar for savings so he can see the money grow ($10) for that expensive bike he has been wanting. Lastly, he can keep the $8 to spend when shopping.

3. Create a written budget together either on paper, in Excel, or using an app like Mint or EveryDollar.

4. Define money boundaries to prevent impulse spending, such as the 24-hour waiting rule before buying anything over $100.

For more details, read our article on 5 Financial Literacy Lessons Every Kid Should Learn.

• Resourcefulness Skills

As a society, we have become accustomed to instant gratification. A quick Google search or an Amazon Prime package delivered within a day has weakened our patience and resourcefulness muscles. To achieve personal growth, we need to experience discomfort. Allowing our kids to navigate obstacles without us jumping in to save them will improve their resilience.

Try it today:

1. Instead of giving your kids answers, practice saying, “Figure it out.” These three words can encourage them to foster autonomy and resourcefulness.

2. After enough practice cooking alongside a parent, assign a meal date/time that your teen is responsible for.

3. Visit the library to showcase the books and audiobooks accessible for free.

4. Let your kids speak for themselves, such as ordering at restaurants and talking to the doctor.

The bottom line.

Although it isn’t glamorous, true learning often occurs in everyday, mundane tasks.

In Brene Brown’s book, The Gifts of Imperfect Parenting, she states, "Kids learn so much more from what you do, than what you say. So be the person that you want your kids to be." As parents, we sometimes try to be the hero and do it all. But in doing so, we are robbing our kids of the opportunity to learn life skills while simultaneously burning out. 

Fostering these five skills can help mold our children into self-sufficient future adults. It may surprise you that these simple things can become their favorite memories with you.