Every parent would be thrilled to see their child excel academically. Whether it’s acing the week’s test or bringing home a medal at the end of the year, good grades and book smarts are something both parent and student should rightfully be proud of.
However, school is not just about developing academic excellence–it’s also vitally important for your child to develop other skills and traits as they grow up. “EQ” or Emotional Intelligence is just as important as IQ. Here are five skills towards developing that as well!
Self-Learning and Independence
Your child should understand at an early age how important it is to be flexible when accomplishing a task. While many tasks within and beyond the classroom require teamwork, it’s also necessary to know how to be self-reliant. Independence means having the skills to do schoolwork and even practical life duties (which they will encounter sooner or later) by themselves based on readily available instructions and information before asking anyone for help.
The ability to finish any kind of task independently is a necessary life skill since, as any adult would know, help may not always be easy to come by. It’s best to teach your child as early as now to be flexible and have the skillset for self-learning.
People skills for different kinds of people
A child may be comfortable dealing with their peers in school but it’s also important for them to learn how to treat people that are different from their own disposition—for instance, people in different age groups, figures of authority, and working folk such as security guards and waitstaff, among others.
We live in a society as they say, and it’s important for a kid to not grow up in a bubble and be able to interact respectfully with everyone they meet along the way.
Listening is part of communication
Good academics can express themselves well whether in written or verbal form. But aside from that, you should impress on your child the idea that a key part of communication is listening.
Proper, fruitful communication is a give-and-take process. And sometimes, kids may think the world revolves around them if not reminded of that fact.
Time management
Time is a finite resource, as they say. There is only much you can do in a day. And yet, there will be moments when it feels as if the whole day won’t be enough to finish everything you need to do. A lot of times, it’s a matter of allotting a specific amount of time for each task and prioritizing what you need to do immediately. In short: time management.
This is a lesson you need to teach your child as soon as possible. Nurturing your child’s ability to manage their time properly will allow them to be unfazed by responsibilities.
Proper work ethic
What’s talent without hard work? Wasted potential at worst!
While a child should have a fun upbringing, they also have to understand that responsibilities are a thing. They shouldn’t leave a job half done—even when no one may be watching. Having good work ethic means finishing any task wholeheartedly (at the agreed-upon time, no less). It also means having a good attitude while doing a task. Doing a good job isn’t all that when you’re disrespectful, after all.
All of these skills are necessary to help a child become a more well-rounded person. While good grades at school can help kids become successful as adults, it doesn’t mean much if your child lacks the extra-academic abilities to back it up. At the same time, these skills can also help your kid excel academically even more. Should you need a helping hand, Kumon Philippines is an educational after-school learning program that offers Math and Reading Programs that aim to help a student’s analytical, logical thinking, and critical skills. Both programs go beyond the student’s school grade level through advanced, self-learning materials.
More than honing school-related skills, the Kumon Learning Method aims to help kids develop good and self-reliant character—another non-academic trait any child should learn. Kumon believes that children should learn how to learn independently, as this will allow them to find their own way in life. Apart from their online learning program, Kumon Philippines now offers a limited face-to-face learning session, which will allow children to interact (safely) with instructors and other students, making the program a well-rounded experience.
To know more about Kumon and to find out their latest promos, head on over to https://ph.kumonglobal.com
