4 ESSENTIAL SOFT SKILLS EVERYONE (child) SHOULD HAVE.

4 ESSENTIAL SOFT SKILLS EVERYONE (child) SHOULD HAVE.

By Amarachi Emmanuela Azubuike...

I'm going to be directing this post to teachers, guardians and parents but you know what we say - when a child who has a mum is being advised, the motherless child can draw a few points.

Most of the time, we put in so much effort into acquiring and giving knowledge and skills, but without certain soft skills, knowledge could lay bare without ever being applied.

Knowledge on its own is not enough, it has a potential energy, which when directed through practical plans of action, yields rewards.

There a lot of soft skills children and literally everyone should have, for this post, I'll mention 2:

1. CONSISTENCY: Most of the success stories we wow😱 at couldn't have gotten to where they are without consistency.

Every child should be made to understand this fact and should be aided to cultivate habits of consistency even from an early age.

Consistency is about being regular and steady. You have to put in consistent work in order to see results.

Consistency does not mean settling, nor is it sticking with something that’s not working for you/your career/etc.

Most times a plan might not work out successfully, and should be persistently replaced with a new one until you find what works.

It doesn’t mean you must follow old-fashioned ways or ideals that no longer apply in today’s world. Because let’s face it, the world is changing at an exponentially quicker rate than ever before. No, consistency does not mean you don’t change with the times. 

Consistency means  sticking with the tried-and-true.

We can encourage consistency in children by even the very little things.

You can make your child read a page from a book everyday, write a line of code everyday, you could make them embark on a 30 days of something, or wake up by 7:00am everyday. It doesn't matter what it is or how insignificant as long as they do it everyday.

What this does is that it grows their consistency stamina.

Hardwork pays.

Consistent hardwork pays more✨✨

2. SPEAKING UP (for lack of a better word): Several times I sat at meetings and watched people get rewarded for voicing out things I had stuck in my head but was too silent to speak out.

(I preferred voicing my thoughts through writing).

When I was in JSS1, my teacher had asked us to define reproduction. (The fusion of "" + "" = Zygote)

He placed a price on it, and said he'll reward whoever gets the answer correctly. I guess he thought none of us would get the answer, or maybe he thought someone would, but suspected it would take extra intelligence and hence should be rewarded.

I knew the answer. I bet I knew it. I whispered the answer to my seat mate and urged her to say it but she couldn't surmon the courage to recite it as i did. I knew I was right, but whatever happened to me.

No one got the answer. The class went quiet. Who would bail the cat? Me. But I refused to stand up.

Was that the last time such a thing happened? No!

I was used to it, because I taught it was wrong to show my intelligence.

I felt it was a sign of humility to keep quiet and not answer questions in class or anywhere else. I needed to just be like everyone else and not get tagged the precocious one.

And this continued, up to point where I almost couldn't help it. And it cost me, A LOT.

Children should be encouraged to speak up and not stifle their voices. They need to know that it is okay to be the brightest in a group, and their is no need to play too "humble".

All these applies to adults too.

Before I drop the other 2, What other softskills do you currently have, how has it helped you? Use the comments.

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3. SELF ESTEEM: You may not know it, but inferiority complex and low self esteem hits children before we actually realise its manifestations. 

Sometimes, it stems from bullying (by friends, family), low peer perception or even abuse.

It is important to raise kids who are aware of themselves and the power they carry, children who have positive affirmations about themselves and actually believe it, Children who are confident in their potentials and courageuous to surmount fears.

Yes, these things don't form overnight, they're cultivated through intentional parenting and hardwork.

I encourage Guardians and teachers to endevour not to bash a students esteem in a bid to make them do better, or call them demeaning names like 'never do well, dullard'. These name callings can make a child recoil and feel lesser than others who they feel are probably doing better. 

It is important to help children realise there strengths even while working on their weaknesses.

4. RESILIENCE: It's a fact that nobody loves to fail. In our current education system, success often seems like a 2-way game where one either “fails” or “passes”.

We need to construct teaching and learning as a platform that encourages risk-taking, vulnerability and helps pupils get back up on their feet, even when they encounter a downward stride (failure). 

This enables them to learn from trying things out in various different ways and enhances their understanding. That is what life is actually like. Win some-lose some. Failing a test doesn't make one a failure. 

Many kids have a fear of failure, and eventually grow up to be adults who resent failure and are always seeking for ways to wriggle out of their idea of what failure is like.

Be that as it may, the kind of whirlwinds being swept up in the future global economy demand a recognition that continual improvements and changes of direction are necessary. 

That is why project-based work which can make time for invention and enhancement can often be a better learning tool than having the one correct answer to a very specific question like we have in all exams. 

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As earlier said, all these applies to adults too. As a young person, don't be afraid to try new things. Most of the success stories you hear about came after series of failed attempts. For every YES, there were many NOs you do not know about.

Don't let the fear of failure rob you of the joy of even trying. Win some-Lose some, that's the game of life. Everyone have failed at some point, but the ability to try again even after a failed attempt, is what differentiates failure from success.

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Develop a healthy self esteem, by not comparing your growth with someone else's. You're doing well, and you have to let yourself know that.

Love and Light✨