Learning daily skills is necessary for children with challenges to strive towards independence
Image source: Mount Sinai Parenting Center
Every parent knows that there are countless skills and values that they have to teach their children.
For parents of children with challenges, these skills may take more time and are practice to master. Their children may not be capable of picking up on these everyday tasks naturally Because of this, their parents must be patient and spend extra time working with their children to ensure they can handle tasks that are required for daily living.
Here are just some of the key life skills that are for children with difficulties to learn.
Household Skills
Image source: Gustavo Fring
We may not realize it, but there are hundreds of tasks we complete every day that we must be taught at some point. From brushing your teeth, learning how to cook and clean properly, making your bed, and learning to dress yourself, there is so much that these children need to know in order to become independent.
Being able to use a phone, computer, and television has also become great household skills for these children to understand. Parents have found that breaking these tasks down into smaller steps is useful for their children. Rather than stressing them out with a massive list of tasks, breaking them down into easy-to-understand steps will make the process smoother for both the child and their parent.
Safety - Both at Home and On the Go
Safety is the main priority of any parent, but those who have children facing difficulties may have to focus more on teaching their children general safety skills.
They must be aware of hot surfaces that could injure them, fire hazards, and the cleaning products and chemicals around the house that they need to avoid. The more a parent discusses these dangers, the safer their child will be.
This also applies to situations where a child may be out of the house. If they decide to go on a walk or a bike ride, they need to be aware of their surroundings and the dangers they could face. Parents must teach their children their home address and phone number, make sure they can navigate their way in their neighborhood, and know to avoid interacting with strangers.
Dealing with Stress and Being Self-Aware
Image source: Jordan Whitt
Children with these challenges handle stressful situations differently than others. They face more issues with overstimulation that other children may not deal with, so parents need to teach their children coping mechanisms to help handle these issues on their own. With this also comes to the sense of the child being aware of their own emotions.
Image source: Amazon
A great tip to help with teaching these skills is creating a visual guide. Children with special needs tend to be visual learners, so having some sort of chart or graph that lays out what to do when facing a stressful situation, or any other type of emotion, would be extremely helpful in learning how to cope with these issues on their own.
Sponsors of the Future would like to address how amazing the parents of children with these difficulties are. It takes copious amounts of patience and empathy to take the extra time to teach their children these various life skills. Without them to fuel their future, these children may not be able to live on their own.
Sources: