As parents we all want the best for our children. But nowadays it is no longer enough to get top marks in maths, English etc. We need to also enrich our kids with life skills or “soft skills”, to help them succeed and thrive.
Parents are in pole position to do something about this!
Surprising fact - did you know that 80% of a child’s waking hours are actually spent at home? This provides an amazing opportunity for parents to enhance their child’s development.
Parent coach Angela Schreiner told us how a child needs their home environment to develop areas “that other institutions like schools and sport teams aren’t able to teach”.
But where should we start?
Well, there are many “soft skills” that employers look for – the ability to communicate strongly, work well in groups, display empathy, be resilience, think critically, demonstrate leadership etc.
But which are the top skills that we should be developing in our kids? And what specifically can we do as parents to help?
We’ve been surveying several parenting experts to find out. We showed them several soft skills and asked them to pick the top ones that parents can be teaching their children at home…Let’s cut straight to the Top 3.
Machines can’t feel things. Emotions are arguably the thing that will keep us humans differentiated in an “AI” future– so let’s nurture this in our kids already!
Parent coach, Rosie of Orchids and Dandelions, is a “full advocate of building emotional intelligence (EQ) - not only in our children but in ourselves”. Traditionally society has favoured IQ but now there is more and more emphasis on EQ also.
Remember that empathy is a trait that parents need to develop too! Cherie the Parent Coach says that as parents “we naturally focus on the negatives”, but in order to develop empathy in a child they must first be shown it by their parents. As she says, “catch your child when they are good”, not just when they’re bad. Look for the opportunity to praise, not just criticise eg “Thank you for helping me to…” or “You are listening so well to this story.”
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The ability to communicate well is arguably what has propelled humans to the top of the food chain, according to Sapiens author Yuval Noah Harari. And parent Coach Carrington has curated this book list for parents with some excellent recommendations like “How to Talk so Kids will Listen & Listen so Kids Will Talk”. Every child has great potential to communicate really well, so let’s help them uncover it!
Experts at The Parent Practice, including Melissa Hood (author of Real Parenting for Real Kids), advise asking open-ended questions which build thinking skills in our children aka the “Socratic method of enquiry, a process by which questions are asked to help a person examine ideas and find answers for themselves”
And according to Parent Coach Karen Seiben, it is not only the child who can benefit from improved communication skills. As a parent, it is important to “refine your thinking to become more effective in your parenting and communication with your children.” Whether you are setting boundaries or showing affection, good communication creates a more positive relationship between parent and child.
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Children are often more resilience than we think. But this is still the #1 area that parenting experts we spoke to recommended as something for parents to focus in on. It is just that important!
Parenting expert, Anita Cleare, expresses the importance of building resilience in her blog Thinking Parenting. She talks about having children set their own goals, rather than being set by parents, “so they are more empowering and flexible and resilient”. Learning from mistakes and putting a child in an environment where they can make judgements is also vital for building resilience.
ITV’s This Morning parenting expert Sue Atkins, also expressed a need for developing a child’s resilience. For example – her free eBook on the 9Cs of confidence covers the role of courage and connection, among other things.
Resilience comes under what we would call a “Feeling” skill, a meta category that includes things like confidence and mindfulness. Instilling “Feeling” skills will help our children manage themselves to succeed and thrive no matter what life throws at them.
👉 Our App has lots more great stuff like this! There is a free two week trial so go and check it out now!
Just imagine.
Just imagine if we all did this.
Just imagine if as parents, we all took 5-10 minutes a day to have a “coaching conversation” with our child.
One that developed empathy, communication, resilience…and other much needed “softer” skills in our children.
What would the world look like in just 30 years time?
Probably full of children who have grown up to have clear voices, creative brains and big hearts…right?
And they will be running the world, making it an awesome place for the rest of us to live in.
THIS is what we are so passionate about accomplishing at KidCoach – and we will continue to work with parenting and other experts as we help parents to get their kids “talking, thinking and feeling”.
Join us now by signing up for free here.
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Many thanks to our parent coaches for their expert contributions: Sue Atkins, Karen Seiben, Sonya Moledina, Cherie the Parent Coach, Rosie of Orchids and Dandelions, Carrington Cunnington, Angela Schreiner, Melissa Hood and Anita Cleare.
And thanks to our Intern: Finn Edwards for managing the survey and drafting this article - great work!
Note: full list of soft skills shown in the survey completed by 9 parenting experts were Resilience, Communication, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Mindfulness, Confidence, Empathy, Leadership, Philosophy, Analytics, Interview Skills, Problem Solving, Adaptability, Teamwork, Time Management, Work Ethics
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Kavin left a corporate role to pursue his passion. He has built KidCoachApp, which provides parents with hundreds of guided conversations for parents to get their kids talking, thinking and feeling - and building skills they will need to thrive. He lives in London with his wife and 2 kids.
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