Did you know encouraging a few skills at home can help your child succeed in the future? In fact, research suggests that kindergarten kids who are exposed to social competence skills may be more likely to attain higher education levels and well-paying jobs. The foundation for executive skills should be built in early childhood to enable children to succeed in school and life. Keep reading to discover the top five skills to give your child career success.
Table of Contents
1. Working Memory
Working memory is the mental sticky note used to track information. It is key to learning and can be divided into auditory memory and visual-spatial memory. It does more than just help children remember instructions.
Working memory helps children:
- Remember instructions
- Maintain focus and concentration
- Learn to read and improve their math skills
It fosters the ability to remember, sequence, and visualize information, which is crucial for career success. Simple activities like numbering directions and playing cards can help build this skill.
2. Focus and Self Control
There is a lot of information to juggle and keep up with, especially for young children whose attention keeps moving. Children with focus and self-control are more likely to excel professionally.
Focus and self-control involve four skills:
- Focus
- Cognitive thinking
- Working memory
- Inhibitory control
You can foster them through activities like reading books and completing puzzles. Encourage focus and self-control through everyday routines. For instance, ensure that they know where to put toys after playing and dirty dishes after meals.
3. Critical Thinking
Critical thinking is a life skill that guides decisions, actions, and beliefs. It helps make sense of the world and helps them solve problems. It emerges in children over time, and its use must be a priority throughout the development years for career success.
Open-ended play is one of the best ways to foster critical thinking in children. This could include:
- Role-playing (pretending to be cops or firefighters)
- Outdoor physical games
- Playing board games
Your child will learn how to formulate hypotheses, try ideas, and learn from mistakes which are elements of critical thinking.
4. Teamwork
Teamwork comes into play in daily situations like helping with household chores or playdates with friends.
Learning this skill and other pre vocational skills at an early age helps your child interact with others. From playing I-Spy to organizing playdates, there are many ways to foster teamwork in children.
Carrying this skill into adulthood is important in an ever-changing world, where a majority of employers believe in teamwork.
5. Communication
Communication is about more than just language, speaking, reading, and writing. It’s about reading social cues, listening, and healthy social-emotional skills. Communication calls on other abilities like focus, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control.
Encouraging high-touch personal interactions every day through words, gestures, and symbols builds the skill of communication. Children learn what they want to communicate and the most effective ways to do so, which helps later in their careers.
Prepare Your Child for Career Success
Many of the skills children need for career success aren’t taught in a classroom environment. To expand the realm of possibilities for your child, it’s important to nurture the above skills from a young age at career success schools. Your child will thank you for it when they land their dream job.
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