Basic Life Skills You Must Teach Your Kids From Age 2 to 10 Years

There’s a lot of talk about how kids these days are being brought up spoilt. Some kids talk back to their parents, cannot take no for an answer and some just throw temper tantrums all the time. 

Though some parts of this is attributed to a child’s character, a lot of it comes back to upbringing. So how do we make sure we’re not raising little monster? 

Life skills for kids: Great for character building

Teaching your child life skills is not only important for self-care and sufficiency, but it also allows him or her to feel empowered, works on socialisation and reasoning, and helps develop a healthy self-esteem.

With so much for our children to learn in today’s high-tech world, it’s all too easy for them to miss out on basic and practical life skills.

Simple chores and activities like running the washing machine, making the bed, feeding pets or even reading a map can help them grow to be more independent.

Your child is more capable than you realise. Many parents tend to do it for them instead of teaching them how to do it.

You can start teaching them as early as preschool to instil these practical life skills in them.

Here’s a list of age-appropriate skills that will help prepare your child for each stage of his life from 2 till 10 years old.

Ages 2 and 3: Small chores and basic grooming

This is the age when your child will start to learn most basic life skills. He should be able to:

• Help put his toys away
• Dress himself (with some help from you)
• Put dirty clothes in the basket
• Clear his plate after meals
• Assist in setting the table
• Brush his teeth and wash his face with assistance

Ages 2-3: They can help clean up the dishes after meals. | Source: Flikr

Ages 4 and 5: Important names, numbers and social awareness

She must learn safety skills at this age. She should know:

• Her full name, address and a phone number to reach you
• How to make an emergency call
• Perform simple cleaning chores like dusting and clearing the table after meals
• Feed pets
• Identify money denominations and understand the very basic concept of how money is used
• Brush her teeth, comb her hair and wash her face without help
• Help with basic laundry chores, such as putting her clothes away and bringing her dirty clothes to the laundry
• Choose her own clothes to wear

Ages 4-5: They will learn the basic concept of money. | Image: iStock

Ages 6 and 7: Basic cooking techniques and cleaning

Kids at this age can start to help with cooking meals, and can learn to these:

• Mix, stir and cut with a dull knife
• Make a basic meal, like a sandwich
• Help put the groceries away
• Wash the dishes
• Use basic household cleaners safely
• Straighten up the bathroom after using it
• Make her bed without assistance
• Bathe unsupervised

Ages 6-7: They should be able to do dishes and fix a simple meal. | Source: Chinadaily

Ages 8 to 10: Taking care of personal belongings and minor household chores

By this time, your child should take pride in her personal belongings and take care of them properly. She should also be able to do chores without help. That includes being able to:

• Fold her clothes
• Learn simple sewing
• Care for outdoor toys such as her bike
• Take care of personal hygiene without being told to do so
• Use a broom and dustpan properly
• Read a recipe and prepare a simple meal
• Help create a grocery list
• Count and make change
• Take out the trash

At the age of 10, your child should be able to slowly gain independence and perform many skills independently. Start them now, start them young. You will be raising responsible children that are able to face life’s challenges.

Read also: Teaching your child basic social skills