Presenting skills to children
Don’t talk about problems, discuss skills
Start your conversations by talking about the skills and abilities they have already learned and mastered. If you can make a child proud of what they’ve already achieved, they’ll be a lot more open to hearing about the next skill you think they should learn.
Try learning a new skill yourself! It’s easier for children to become interested in learning new skills when all their family members, or all the pupils in their class, are learning skills at the same time.
Start with the skills they have already acquired
It is easier for children to comply with orders to do something else than with orders to stop doing something that they are excited about. Therefore, instead of telling the child to stop using their gadget (e.g. smartphone, tablet, or videogame), or to spend less time on it, speak only about the things you want the child to do instead of spending time on their gadget.
Use “We” instead of “I”
“We” is a much better option than “I” in conversations. “We think it could be important for you learn how to…” usually works far better than “I think it’s important for you to learn…” In most cases, children are more motivated when they realise that other people important to them (as well as you) think they should learn a specific skill.
Learn skills together
Try learning a new skill yourself! It’s easier for children to become interested in learning new skills when all their family members, or all the pupils in their class, are learning skills at the same time.
Listen to the child’s ideas
If your child doesn’t want to learn the skill you suggest, relax. Ask them if they have a better suggestion for a skill they might benefit from learning. Once you have allowed the child to get a positive experience of learning a self-chosen skill with Kids’Skills, they will probably be willing to learn other skills as well using the same method.
This article is owned by: Kids’Skills http://www.kidsskillsapp.com/
