Welcome Wednesday: Life Skills Everyone Should Have!

[#1]

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Ever since our kids have been old enough, my wife and I agreed that they need to be enrolled in swimming lessons until they have successfully completed enough skills that they have a reasonable chance of surviving if they ever get stuck in water.

So my question to everyone this week, Are there life skills that you believe everyone should learn? and if so what are they?

The good news for us is that both of our kids enjoy swimming lessons so it isn’t a struggle to get them to participate.

Have a great rest of the week everyone!

[Melissa Coen]

Basic Financial/Money Management Skills!

[Andy Gladstone]

While this is something that you generally don't send kids (or adults) to lessons for, I think knowing how to properly express appreciation is a life skill everyone should learn. The tone, inflection and body language when saying Thank You can be a spectrum of expression. And sometimes thank you alone is not enough and we need to learn how to be more effusive in thanking our parents, children, partners, family members, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc.

Here are (10) ways to say thank you in different languages!

• Spanish – Gracias

• French – Merci

• German – Danke

• Italian – Grazie

• Hebrew – תודה (Toda)

• Arabic – شكراً (Shukran)

• Mandarin Chinese – 谢谢 (Xièxiè)

• Japanese – ありがとう (Arigatou)

• Russian – Спасибо (Spasibo)

• Swahili – Asante

[Calvin]

Off the top of my head:

• How to believe in themself, even if there are times when those around them won't
• How to think critically always, even if everyone is pushing them to do something
• When to be kind, and even more importantly when not to be
• How to learn! If your interested in something whether it be advanced development or trying to open a coconut. You know the steps to say "yes I can work this out"!
• Resiliency and a growth mindset. How to see a difficult situation as a challenge to overcome, as opposed to one that provides pain.
• The importance of having a guiding principle, goal or north star - which makes working towards it and in some ways life more meaningful
• To understand how we are all human, how we all make mistakes, and how we are all trying to do what we can in life.
• And most importantly, when to assign that Jira work item back because it doesn't have the proper requirements in it XD

[Robert Nadon]

The one skill all children should have is basic Jira administration!   Where as Bitbucket admin can wait until later in years.  ;-D

[Barbara Szczesniak]

Great topic, @Jimmy Seddon! I think it's great that you consider how to help your children thrive. Here are a few items:

• Respect for others
• Respect for the property of others
• How to speak out loud to people (and look them in the eyes when it's in person)
• How to apologize and take responsibility for their actions
• How to do laundry (after they're 10, but definitely before they go to college!)
• That it's ok to say "I don't know" and ask for help
• How to play games with others and how to lose

[Amanda Barber]

So many great ideas listed already. This book has some great ideas, too! https://www.reddit.com/r/20minutebooks/comments/1hw5e2a/fourteen_talks_by_age_fourteen_book_summary/

[Susan Waldrip]

Most of mine are already mentioned, but I'll repeat (doesn't hurt!):

• Respect
• Critical thinking (thanks @Calvin!)
• Compassion for self and others
• Being "different" is a gift
• Everyone has something to teach you, regardless of what you think their circumstances are
• "I don't know" is a perfectly acceptable answer (thanks @Barbara Szczesniak!)
• Curiosity and humility will take you far
• Have fun!!

[David Cowley]

Not seeing it mentioned so far:

• how to cook

[Brita Moorus]

This is such a great question! Swimming is a must-have skill for sure.

Some other life skills I think everyone should learn:

• How to ask good questions - it helps you learn faster than just memorizing things 💬

• Basic cooking - because you can’t live on noodles and cereal forever 😄

• How to deal with failure - life doesn’t always go to plan, and it’s important to keep going 🧡

Also love your point about swimming: staying calm in deep water is a great life lesson in general.

Thanks for sharing this! ✨

[Oscar Lopez Olivos]

The firsts things that I would like my baby daughter to learn:

• Respect for others
• The value of things, not only un monetary terms but in effort.
• Responsability
• How to deal with failure
• English

And of course Basic Jira project management :D. Everyone had great points in the comments!

[Trudy Claspill]

I think an important life skill (in cultures where this is common) is how to shake hands.

I can't tell you how many times in professional settings I've shaken hands with somebody whose hand was like gelatin. 

Another important skill goes hand-in-hand [see what I did there? ;-) ] with what has been mentioned already concerning respect and kindness - along with giving that to others, it is important to learn how to give that to ourselves.

[Ashutosh Pandey]

The firsts things that I would like my baby daughter to learn:

• Respect for others
• The value of things, not only un monetary terms but in effort.
• Responsability
• How to deal with failure
• English

And of course Basic Jira project management :D. Everyone had great points in the comments!

[Teodora V _Fun Inc_]

I don't think I can add something to the already existing list of great suggestions, but a life skill I missed having "explained or shown" and one that I generally miss from the world is learning the genuine feeling of empathy. 

I believe kids should grow with the mindset that they are not alone in the world, caring for their needs and beliefs, but they are part of a bigger interconnected picture.

I don't have any kids myself yet, but I see many people lacking empathy and understanding in their work or life relationships with others.

And if we talk about practical skills: cooking, alertness (noticing the world around to be fully present or avoid danger), basic survival skills are also good to have.

[Dušan Hlaváč]

How to break down large tasks into smaller ones.

[Shawn Doyle - ReleaseTEAM]

Situational awareness.

[Danielle]

Fire safety skills.

If you live near the woods at all, plant identification for at least those that can cause illness/rash.

[Matteo Colomban]

Great advices from everyone, thanks!