5 Skills Teens Need for Adulthood and How to Help Train Them
As a parent, preparing your child for the real world and their future never stops.
It just changes over the years. When your child becomes a teenager, it’s time to start thinking about what you can do to help them prepare for adulthood.
That’s a little bittersweet when you think about it.
This is a child you taught to walk and talk, and now it’s time to teach them the skills needed for living independently.
But, the better you prepare them now, the higher they will fly when they’re on their own.
With that in mind, let’s cover a few essential skills teens need for adulthood and how you can help train them.
1. Communication Skills
Being a strong communicator will help your teen go far in relationships, a career, and so much more.
However, they need to understand that communication is about so much more than talking.
Healthy communication includes active listening, expressing oneself clearly, being respectful, and avoiding distractions.
One of the best ways to train them to be a better communicator is to model it yourself.
Practice communication skills at home and show them what it looks like to do things the right way.
They’re paying closer attention than you might think.
2. Decision-Making
Did you know that the prefrontal cortex in the brain isn’t fully developed during the teenage years?
This is the part of the brain responsible for problem-solving and essentially seeing the “big picture” of an issue.
As a parent, you can help your teen better understand how to work through problems and
make better decisions by encouraging them to gather evidence, weigh the pros and cons, and consider the consequences.
When they pause and go through those steps before making a decision, they’re more likely to feel confident in whatever direction they choose.
3. Financial Literacy
Now is a great time to teach your teen about things like budgeting, financial planning, and understanding how credit works.
Teaching your teenager to be financially responsible at an early age will make life much easier for them later.
Open a savings account for them, sit down and help them make a budget, and teach them about things like investing and saving.
4. Emotional Regulation
Emotional regulation might seem like something that needs to be learned in childhood.
However, emotions can change and get stronger over time.
Your teen is undoubtedly dealing with a lot between relationships, school, trying to fit in, and thinking about the future.
Foster self-awareness at home so they are confident in who they are.
Teach them how to manage their emotions in healthy ways by encouraging stress-reducing techniques.
Things like deep breathing, mindfulness, and journaling are all easy ways for your teen to manage their emotions, learn more about them, and learn how to cope when things get hard.
5. Adaptability
There’s no question that we live in an ever-changing world.
While your teen’s life might seem pretty routine right now, it will change.
They’ll have to work through those ever-changing situations to get ahead in life.
So, adaptability and flexibility are important.
You can foster those skills now by encouraging them to try new things, letting them “fail,” guiding them to keep growing and learning when they do and encouraging them to look at different perspectives when they don’t understand something right away.
It might seem like the list of things your teen needs to know before leaving the nest is endless.
Take a deep breath — you’re doing your best, and you’re not alone in this.
If you need a little help with more suggestions or you’re not sure how to foster some of these skills, you don’t have to do it alone.