Life Skills means abilities (aptitude) and confidence (attitudes) needed to have a successful life. When children reach a certain age (usually about 7-8 years old) there is more emphasis on letting go rather than holding on so tight. Now is the time to let them have a little more freedom to solve their own problems. This is the time when they usually know basic safety rules and enjoy playing independently with their friends without adults hovering nearby.The goal of a  wise parent is to ultimately become dispensable to their children. 

We want them to go into the world with critical thinking skills, problem solving abilities, confident and emotionally stable personalities. We want them to be contributing members of society, and most of all we want them to be happy. Keep reading and find out how working on a few  techniques will aid your child in learning facts as well as feeling good about who he or she is as a person.  

1. Discover their unique learning skill and method of gathering facts, and help their teachers to teach them the way they learn.  Often children are labeled "under achievers" or "unmotivated" when it is simply a communication problem between what is said and what is understood.  Gather books from the library or insist the child be tested for learning style, not learning  disability.
2. Help them to set goals and break projects into manageable parts. When your child is in the younger grades, it is easier to teach organizational skills and help them develop good study habits.
3. Model a love of learning.  If your child sees you reading and enjoying trips to the library, there is a good chance he will grow to love to read.  Be sure to answer his questions or assist him in finding answers. Each situation in life has at least five solutions, so help him look at problems in different ways.  

Self Confidence comes from overcoming and conquering obstacles and then recognizing what you have learned. The most confident people are the ones who acknowledge their successes and realize that many skills can be transferred to other parts of life.   Helping your child to gain confidence in his decisions will support him as he grows and develops even more.