As time goes on, we are constantly being reminded as parents that we are not the only ones who have an influence on our kids. There are many things in this world nowadays that our kids are exposed to on a daily basis. And a majority of these things are unhealthy for them.
You must know that humans are very unique beings, most notably their kids. They tend to get interested easily in many things, and aside from this, they also learn quickly. That is to be expected since children are more readily available to absorb whatever is presented to them due to their flexible brains, regardless of whether it is good or bad.
It has therefore become very important for parents to make sure they get involved in how the world will shape their kids, as well as how their kids will perceive the world.
Growing up, the kids will definitely face adversities of their own; they will travel and go to school, and throughout all their endeavors, when they have the wise teachings of their parents guiding them through this journey called life, it will help them a lot.
In this article, we will discuss some of the things, including life lessons, skills, and values, that you must make sure to instill into your children so that one day when they retrace their steps back down memory lane, they will appreciate how much you have impacted their lives positively.
Why Do you need to teach your kids these things?
As much as you might think this is a silly question, it is not. There are honestly some parents out there who fail to have enough time for their children in terms of socializing with them, making sure of their well-being, and seeing to it that they learn the right values needed for this life’s journey, as well as reprimanding them for the bad ones and letting them know the importance of assimilating good values and leading good lives.
Therefore, the following are some of the important reasons why we must make sure to teach our kids the things provided in this article:
- To help them develop a healthy lifestyle
- To keep them positive, always
- To help them during hard times
- To help them achieve their life purpose
- To serve as their life’s guide
- To build a strong and healthy routine
- To help them build good habits.
9 Things You Must Teach Your Kids
Above are just a few of the reasons why we need to teach our children the following life skills, values, and lessons:
- Teach them to be honest
Honesty is gold and it is bold. Not everyone in this world can be honest all the time. Honest people are very much admired by others since it is not always easy to side with the truth. However, it is a value that is commendable.
Most children nowadays are pathological liars, and some also tend to hide things from their parents that they know are bad for them. It might not be a very big deal now, but sometime in the future, they will grow, leave you, and live with different people. And that habit will then turn out to be a problem.
Not many people are fans of liars, and when your kids are identified as liars, naturally people will not be safe trusting them with whatever. Therefore, as a parent, aside from doing everything to instill that value in them, make sure to live that life.
Since you are their immediate socializing partner, they would learn a lot from you and your significant other. So whenever there is a situation that requires honesty, to the benefit of your observant kids, make sure to make the right choice, since they will be learning a lot from you. In view of this, there is one Ghanaian proverb that literally translates to ” If a person will ever go mad, it definitely begins at home.”
- Teach Them Effective Money Management Skills
To be able to handle money requires skills. Yes, it is a fact, as without requisite money management skills, they will end up in some really bad place in the future, no matter how rich you may be currently or how they also will be.
Money they say is like water, and if you do not know how to handle it, then financial freedom will be a huge matter. Since the basics of these things begin from home, it all falls on you and your significant other to see to it that the child learns how to relate to money issues. Teach the child how to save at that young age.
Let them develop it as a habit gradually. You can choose to buy them a piggy bank and then give them rewards whenever they are able to save some of their allowance to make it full. It is a start. Teach them not to spend impulsively and excessively.
As stated earlier, because these kids learn quickly and are observant, make sure you exhibit healthy money habits so that they can observe and learn.
- Teach Them Patience
Patience is the ability of a person to bear through whatever unpleasant situation they might find themselves in. This journey called life is one that requires immense patience. Without patience, you would end up in places you would never have imagined for yourself.
Every child needs to be taught the importance of patience. Kids these days find it hard to zip their mouths open to tolerate a little bit of discomfort. They fail to understand the reason why their parents do not give them enough money or why the pizza guy is delayed.
They basically want things to be done their way all the time and in the quickest way possible. It is a good thing to observe as a parent, especially since it means the child sees the importance of getting certain things done in a certain way. However, that needs to be controlled; if not, it will get out of hand. Growing up with impatience will lead your child astray.
They would want things quickly, especially money and others, and they would tend to do things that would make sure they achieved those things, disregarding the benefits their methods would bring them and society. This habit is fueled by instant gratification.
It is to be expected since our world is now continuously providing. Videos, games, fast food, sex, fame, money, and a whole lot more. If you, as a parent, fail to filter some of these things from the young mind of your child, they will take root there and begin to manifest in the form of impatience.
- Teach Them To Be Determined And Perseverant
Adversities are a normal thing in this world and in everyday life. There are times in this life when you are faced with challenges such that, when you are not determined enough, you mostly end up giving up on your dreams. And it will be no different from your children.
Even in their young lives, in schools and the community, they are faced with their own versions of challenges that would require them to be determined and perseverant to be able to come out victorious. Naturally, most children have these two wonderful traits since they tend to imitate a lot; however, they easily quit when it does not seem fun any longer.
It is on you, the parent, to make sure that such lessons are as interesting for them as possible. It may be that your child is an athlete, a footballer, or loves to do anything musical or artistic. They get discouraged when they seem to continuously fail or make mistakes.
It is therefore your responsibility to make them understand that it is the norm for people to make mistakes and that we learn from and improve on these mistakes and errors. It is your sole responsibility that, whatever endeavor your child is interested in, you help them develop these two values that will guide them on their way.
As a matter of fact, the journey to greatness and perfection is arduous, and as such, you must let them know the importance of being determined and perseverant; it will take them a long way in this life.
- Teach Them Effective Time Management
When your kids are growing up, when they start going to school and start to assume responsibilities, you must make sure to teach them effective time management skills. It is what you must do because, when you fail to do so, they will learn it by themselves and they will most definitely mess up along the line. Guide them in setting up strong and healthy routines as well as seeing to it that they abide by them.
Make sure to let them know the importance of doing things the right way and at the right time. Doing all these things will guide them on the path to greatness.
- Teach Them Healthy Food Habits
We are exposed to many forms of food. Some are healthy, and others are very injurious to our health. Most of these foods are the cause of so many cases of diabetes, kidney failure, high blood pressure, and the rest.
It is therefore very important, as a parent, to make sure you teach your child very good food habits. Teach them how to cook, not how to order fast food online. In fact, whatever you expose the child to at an early age, they take it to be what is right and are liable to argue about its authenticity with anyone.
So let them know which foods are better for their health, take them into the kitchen, and take them through the steps to cook their favorite foods so that, whenever you are not around, or probably busy, they will not resort to fast foods and the like. The children do not need to learn all of these things in schools or from articles like these; you need to know the importance of teaching them yourself.
- Teach Them To Beware Of Friends
This point is very important. Good friends are rare, but bad ones are everywhere. It is important for you to let them understand that they must associate with all people; however, they must trust none, since these people might be their way to greatness or destruction.
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- Teach Them Humility
Humility, like honesty, is very admirable. Not very many people are humble these days. Almost all the youth in today’s age are rebellious, and for several reasons too, the most notable of which is the failure of their parents to let them know how important it is to be humble in life.
It is very much appreciated by this article that, for these kids, it is good that they voice out their opinions; however, there are times when most of them cross their boundaries and do things they know and understand they are not supposed to do.
But they still choose to do so. Humility is one thing we must instill in our kids from day one until the day they leave us. If not, they would end up doing some unthinkable things, all because we saw their zero humility as confidence, which although might be good, we must make sure to see to it that they are humble. We must not tolerate it once they rebel.
It is very uncouth for a child to rebel. The moment that happens, it speaks volumes about the overall capability of their parents to parent them.
- Teach Them To Love Learning
You must not only teach the importance of learning but also let them understand the joy in it. Learning is one sure way to increase knowledge and understanding. However, they must not only love to prioritize academic learning but also every form of learning in general.
It could be any field they are interested in venturing into, like music, sports, and many others. They must develop this habit of being inquisitive always; they must try to know things all the time. It helps them a lot later in their lives, as well as knowing the many different ways of doing what they love doing in this life.
Final Words
This life is hard, and you need to understand that you are never going to be there forever. In preparing your child for this hard and unbalanced life, it is important to leave them at least this legacy when one day you are no more.
Drill these life lessons into their consciousness and make them understand the need to always maintain healthy life habits.
