It’s no doubt that kids are fast learners. Why not teach them something worthwhile when they’re still that age? Adulthood can certainly be a lot more tricky, but teaching kids some basic, yet important, life lessons can benefit them when they’re older. In this article, adults share the most important lesson kids need to learn as early as possible.
[Source can be found at the end of the article]
I grew up in a strict home and got a little out of control when I got my first taste of freedom because I didn’t know what I was doing.
I want my son to know that it is okay to have fun as long as it doesn’t negatively impact things like personal health/school/relationships or break any laws.
no_pizza_4_u
All my kids learned signs like eat, milk, help, water, play and want really early. That communication before they learn to speak is so amazing. A baby can actually tell you they’re hungry instead of just crying and fussing.
zencanuck
Respect of others choices and decisions will lead them to respecting themselves as a person.
Andeepanda
Not the “critical thinking” that they teach with essay questions on standardized tests. Kids should learn how to question things and how to approach finding a right answer. They should also learn that even if they believe they have the right answer, to always be open to gathering new information.
awesomeness0232
Nowadays people (especially teens) are glorifying being awkward or hating people. Social skills are so important. They’ll help you in the workplace and in finding hobbies. Since so much interaction is happening online instead of face to face, kids are starting to have more trouble reading body language and vocal cues from what I’ve seen. I know I sound like a bitter old lady, but humans are naturally social creatures, so social skills are vital to functioning in society.
banananabitch
I didn’t learn to like a lot of veggies until I was in high school or later (didn’t like tomatoes until age 23). My fiance still hates eating all vegetables and barely tolerates them. I have to say, it is so much easier to eat healthy when you actually enjoy what you’re eating. People I know that love vegetables and fruit learned to love them at a young age, and I hope to teach my kids how to love them too.
kellbell500
You can’t always get what you want. Some friends of mine were clearly never told no in their childhood, and everything that isn’t to their liking must immediately be changed. Other people’s opinions be damned! It gets so tiring to deal with people like that, honestly. I make sure to not give in when my niece cries for my smart phone or whatever. Sometimes you’re going to be disappointed! You’ll live!
communistpsychoe
Kids and many adults, need to learn that it’s ok to not win a medal in every competition they compete in, they don’t need to be first in their class in every single class and they don’t need to get everything that they want. Sometimes in life, you don’t get what you want and preparing a child for that but giving them everything that they want is setting them up for some major disappointments down the road. Today kids get participation trophies and have their parents calling the school to insist that they belong in the higher tier for certain classes and whatever, but that’s bullshit. Aside from the fact that it totally diminishes the achievements of those who actually achieved, it teaches them a bad lesson, that they will be considered huge successes even without actually succeeding or doing any work. When the day comes that they actually need to do some work, or they enter something without the guarantee of success, it will come as such a shock to them that such a concept exists that they will not know how to handle it.
photoshopro
You may make good friends. They may feel like family. They are your employers and coworkers. Never forget that and never act like that isn’t the case.
Beyond that — you are not owed applause for doing the bare minimum or anything else for that matter. Don’t expect others to advocate for you. Record your own progress, your own results, and push them yourself.
Tekniqqq
To understand they are going to lose sometimes in life and be comfortable with it.
I work as a teacher and, by far, the most common phrase I hear on the playground is “HE/SHE CHEATED!” Kids these days simply cannot accept they were defeated. Usually their parents build them up so much and spoil them that they do not understand defeat. I actually had a kid tell me that after they lost the handball game, they just held onto the ball until the other kids left because they didn’t want to lose.
haysus25
The kids that get everything handed to them grow up to be useless human beings. Let them figure things out themselves first so they aren’t afraid to fail and don’t shy away from difficulties.
BitterFortuneCookie
I’d try to educate kids as early as possible on economics and responsible money spending/saving. I unfortunately didn’t have that in my life, so I ran into a credit problem in my early adulthood.
Shippoyasha
Teach them how to be conscious of others and that their actions could directly impact someone else. Too many times I go to the grocery store and some mom has 3 kids in tow and they are getting in everyones way and taking up both sides of the aisle… and the most annoying thing is the parent saying NOTHING. They don’t bother to tell them to move, or to pay attention, or to apologize. It’s almost as if you’re the jerk for needing to walk down that aisle and how dare you ask their precious little muffin to move out of the way.
mh05
That you have consequences for your actions. I can’t stand when parents don’t someway make the child see that the child is responsible for their actions. You have a screaming 2 year old? Time outs do work. My daughters 9 and listens wonderfully and I feel has a proper understanding that you are in control of your being. Too many privileged children out there who need a reality check!
harrietpineapple
I feel a skill kid’s should really learn as early as possible is observation, it’s a very useful skill that can allow you to see more about the world around you and keep you safe. Lots of kids these days I’ve seen are so oblivious to what’s going on around them that they get hurt or miss out on things that would help them become more successful.
emanrezuaton
I know this is supposed to be about moral and behavioral lessons… but on a serious note: swimming or floating! There’s most likely a toddler drowning in this very moment. Kids and water can be really bad news if things go wrong. Also, a lot of times when small children get into trouble in water, they won’t fight and struggle as you’ve seen on TV! They rather sink like stones quite often. Teach your little ones how to float. It’s easy and might save their life.
thatguyfromvienna
It doesn’t matter who/what you are, religion, ethnicity, preferences, lifestyle. Whatever. Be whatever you want. And be tolerant that the person next to you is something totally different, and that is ok. When is it okay to judge someone for their choices? When their choices victimize others. Otherwise, shut up and mind your own damn business. Judgement has no place in my family or home, the only thing I will not tolerate from my family is a lack of tolerance for others.
Wanttobegreatness
I’m a teacher, so I’m biased, but what the point of primary education actually is. I tell mine that if in 10 years, they can’t remember Newton’s laws or the equation for universal gravitation, whatever, I don’t care. I care that they are learning how to learn and how to function in a professional environment. That’s what I care about. Know how many of my kids had ever heard anything like that or thought about that? None. At all.
That thought instilled early enough would completely change education.
Kerriganszergheels
I see kids left and right who hate who they are or what they look like but that isn’t a healthy way of thinking. Sure you can’t change how you look or what people will say to you, but you can change how you view yourself. If you learn to be comfortable with yourself you will be much happier.
starfight89
You didn’t get an ‘A’ on your paper or test because you’re “smart”… being smart takes continuous effort, patience and practice at applying your knowledge. Some subjects and concepts may come more naturally, so everyone is different. All my life I was told that I was a genius and had above average reading and writing skills so when I failed one of my math courses I had somewhat of an identity crisis.
A “smart” person can fail at something.
Things happen and sometimes you need to take that extra effort to make sure you understand something.. no matter how frustrating it can be when other people breeze through it and you’re still struggling to understand it.
honeynutchurros
Developing a sense of urgency is up there when you’re bringing up kids. I used to do a star chart for my kids with categories that included “Hurrying Up”. Otherwise they’d still be larking around all day and would have hardly ever made it to school each morning.
BritishTrailerTrash
If you teach a child to be kind to animals, to their peers… the rest falls into place (respect, critical thinking, open-mindedness, love, understanding that everyone has their own life, etc).
So many people think their children are kind, when they’re really just polite and/or nice. Kindness is a different personality trait altogether.
waytoomanychoices
That they will one day become an adult, and that they should spend their time as kids learning the things they’ll need to know to care for themselves when they’re an adult.
musicalschmetterling
Don’t touch the glass. At subway/chipotle don’t touch the sneeze guards. Doors, don’t push on the glass to open it.
Thinking about it, the only time I can think of for touching glass is to repair it, and normally glass repair people are trained.
screw_all_the_names
I didn’t fail as a kid, and it messed me up. Everything in my life was perfect until I was 17, living away from home for the first time, all over the map with booze and drugs and girls, and doing (or not doing) things that would actually be consequential for the rest of my life. The first time I failed was when it really mattered. I had no idea how to cope, no mechanisms in place. The mere thought that I might fail to get something I wanted had literally never crossed my mind.
If I ever have kids, I won’t put them in that position. They will learn to fail, even if I have to thwart them myself.
I_Stand_Correct
I have a simple philosophy on this. Giving in to their demands is a strict No! But every time they demand anything they need to reason why do they want/need it. A good rational reason gets them what they want, even if they don’t actually deserve it. The idea is to be able to question the wants and separate them from Needs. Instilling to be able to decide and rationalize the importance of a thing over another is crucial down the life, something that I was never taught. I was told No. You cannot have it. Why? Just because We said so. That is not the right approach. Always explain why can’t they have it. Logic, and reasoning should begin from as soon as possible.
ChiaBanana
Children need to be spoken to like adults. They catch on to vocabulary quicker. They baby talk for a shorter amount of time. They integrate faster into school where teachers are not going to baby talk them and just generally mature far faster in every area.
But I see people all the time using baby voice with even their 6-7 year olds. Cut the crap. Stop trying to prolong them being babies because you’re creating weak adults.
One_smitten_kitten
Example: Just because a pair of padded gloves happened to be packaged as “for gardening” doesn’t meant you can’t use them FOR WHATEVER ELSE YOU’D WANT PADDED GLOVES FOR. Or that pink soap, it’s SOAP who cares what color it is.
It’s so annoying to have to argue that “gloves are gloves” or a generic uni-sex style shirt is not only for “girls” because they see it labeled a particular way.
FuffyKitty
Its okay to make mistakes as long as you admit you were wrong and make efforts to make positive changes. For some reason I see parents constantly doling out punishment without explaining what they did wrong and having them own their actions.
tooly_dually
Washing hands after using the washroom, showering properly, washing hands before eating, brushing teeth at least twice daily, flossing, that kind of thing.
Make that habitual, and you reduce your risk of getting sick, reduce the risk of expensive dental bills in the future, and increase your odds of having friends and girl/boyfriends. (People don’t hang out with smelly/gross people.)
Very simple stuff, but it’s amazing how many parents just give up on trying to teach hygiene to their kids (or don’t practice it themselves). Gotta set a good example.
Thanks-For_The-Gold
It seems so weird, and we equate “dishonesty” with “bad person”, but I’d like to challenge that idea. I mean, yeah, some people lie in needlessly cruel or brutally self-serving ways, and that’s not the same thing as what I’m talking about here, when a child lies.
In my experience, a child is lying because they are afraid of the consequences of the truth and because they think that they’ll avoid those consequences with a lie. That, and some kids lie because they think it’s more interesting and they think people will like them more than if they tell the boring truth.
I don’t entirely know the way to fix this, but I feel like I’m going through it with my son. He’s only really lied a couple of times, but there’s been a few times where I can see it coming.
Anyhow, I say all this because I know from experience what it’s like to be a dishonest person. It’s something I struggled with for a long time, I would like to my wife about stupid little things because I figured it was easier….but it isn’t. I realized at some point that, if you love someone, the truth is ALWAYS easier.
My son is so much like me, I see in him so many of the things that made me proud to be me… but also quite a few things that I struggled with. I really hope I can teach him this one, though, because if there’s anything I regret in life, it’s the times I’ve been dishonest to the people I love.
rugtoad
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