Teaching Children Life Skills: Earlier Start Than you Think

Several years ago, my sister told me about a blog she had read that had been written by a mom who viewed parenting through the lens of leadership development – as someone who had to train these little amateurs into grown professionals. And as my sister described it to me, one thing she said struck me in the moment and has stayed with me in the years since:

A five-year-old who sets the table doesn’t really do a great job; but a six-year-old with a year’s experience does it very well.

How true is that for any of us? If I had to start doing something new, I would probably be pretty terrible at it at first. But if I kept practicing it for a year? I bet I would get much better at it. We can see the truth of this in so many areas: fitness, gardening, reading, and all sorts of professional development applications. So it stands to reason that it would apply to our children as well: just because they don’t do something well doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of doing it well… they just need a little practice. Children are amazing people and they are capable of so much more than we realize. All they need is a little training to help them shine.