Life Skills: Tips for Children

For the classroom and beyond

Developing life skills not only leads to better academic achievement, it also gives young people more confidence to aim for a bright, secure, and happy future. Learning life skills is also recognized by the WHO as an important topic in a child’s education.

We have rounded up some practical tips and ideas for children to try out both in the classroom, and in their everyday lives. Whether it’s critical thinking, coping with stress, or communicating effectively, there are plenty of life skills to be learned and developed.

1. Critical Thinking: Digging Deeper

Critical thinking is an essential life skill that can help children in all sorts of situations. Critical thinking helps children make smart decisions and solve problems.

Promoting critical thinking at school and home is fundamental for children to learn how to speculate, criticize, form conclusions, and become self-thinking adults. Having children think to ask the right questions, do their own research, and "dig deeper," are good ways to start.

Here is a useful visual example of a step-by-step guide on how to ‘’dig deeper’’:

2. Make a Decision: Mind Map

Perhaps a child is good at critical thinking, but they struggle to make a decision or find a solution to a problem they’re dealing with. This is hard to do sometimes, even as an adult. Fortunately, a mind map is often the most effective solution. But how can it be easily explained to a child?

Getting children to create their own mind map to assess and resolve a problem is an effective and practical way of getting them to break down their thought processes. Organizing their mind map into possible options, pros, and cons is a great visual tool to show the decisions they could make.

Here is a simple example for children to use in lessons or in their day-to-day lives:

3. A Problem Shared is a Problem Halved: Learning to Listen

Being able to communicate effectively is one of the most important life skills to learn. This is especially vital in a child’s life, as without well-developed communication skills, children can fall behind academically and can become emotionally overwhelmed by the challenges they face.

Communication is not all about talking; it is just as important to listen actively. Communication games are a fun way to become aware of body language and to learn how to actively listen.

These top tips will give children the skills to communicate empathetically and respectfully:

4. Together Stronger: Seeking Support

Tough times are an unavoidable part of life. It is important for children to learn ways to deal with stress and understand unpleasant feelings such as anxiety, sadness, and anger.

If children recognize how they react to stressful situations they will have a better idea of how to manage things. Often children know deep down that they need help, but they don’t know who or even how to ask for it.

Our seeking support guide will show how sometimes, to get to the top, you need some help:

A Return to Normal?

It has been almost two years since regular school-life was turned upside-down. Now, returning to school brings with it many anxieties and concerns.

Our free-to-download support pack is perfect to help ease children back into school-life with a smile on their faces.

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