EP 31: Essential Life Skills for Kids
“You cannot give a child confidence by telling them how amazing they are all the time if they don’t have the skill set and experience to back it up,” says host Corinne Morahan. To ensure that her own kids are fully equipped with these necessary life skills, Corinne and her husband are compiling a “life skills list” and on today’s episode of Get Organized for Good, she’s sharing this framework with us. The list covers all the major categories—from manners to philanthropy, finances to health--that make for well-rounded, productive adults who positively contribute to society. Not only will this help kids to successfully and independently navigate a rapidly changing world, they will also gain the confidence that only comes from acquiring competence.
Basically, this is the antidote to helicopter parenting. While often done out of an abundance of love, doing everything for our children rather than allowing them to do it themselves only sends the message that we have no faith in them. And as a result, not only are they unprepared once they leave the nest but they are robbed of the opportunity to build vital confidence and self-esteem. Corinne discusses the “I do-we do-you do” approach, and how she and her daughter use this method in the kitchen.
The more competent and independent a child becomes, the less they—and the parents—have to worry.
Though we can’t predict the future, we can prepare our kids to go forth into it with the confidence they can handle whatever comes their way.
Quotes
- “I have seen a ton of really good data on how competence builds confidence and how independence builds confidence. I’m sure you’ve seen this parenting advice that says don’t do things for kids that they can do for themselves. Now, there’s a lot to unpack there for moms listening to this because I think we have so much guilt around not doing things for our kids.” (4:40 | Corinne Morahan)
- “Think about all the times we do things for our kids that we’re actually sending them a message, ‘Oh, I can do this better, I can do this quicker. I just don’t think you can do it,’ whereas if we gave them the opportunity and ability to do it, how much better they would feel about themselves. And there is the added bonus——then we don’t have to do these things. It really is win-win. No, they will not do things exactly the way we want them to. Yes, these are always learning lessons and opportunities, but this is how they build their confidence and independence.” (6:12 | Corinne Morahan)
- “Do they know how to make a doctor’s appointment? I’m sure you’ve seen these reels on Instagram or TikTok where kids don’t even know what a social security number is. They don’t know where to find it, they can’t even answer basic questions when they’re trying to make an appointment. It’s so comical, but also not, because how are they supposed to know it if we haven’t taught them.” (12:02 | Corinne Morahan)
- “I think this is so exciting from the perspective of it’s going to help us worry less about our kids, because we just want our kids to go out in the world and be happy and be positive, contributing members of society, and I feel like if we can do this well, it checks off both of those boxes and then it helps them with their own anxiety because they get to go out into the world and be happy and feel confident and know that if they’re in a situation where something happens, they don’t have to freak out.” (13:54 | Corinne Morahan)
DM me @gridandglam on IG + I’ll share my Essential Life Skills for Kids list with you!
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