Life Skills For Now

The term Life skills refers to the skills you need to make the most out of life.

Any skill that is useful in your life can be considered a life skill. Tying your shoe laces, swimming, driving a car and using a computer are, for most people, useful skills. Broadly speaking, the term life skills is usually used for any skills needed to deal well and effectively with the challenges of life (Skillsyouneed.com).

Let’s have a look at some of the challenges children face during the COVID-19 pandemic: 

• Anxiety Issues
• Changes in Socialisation 
• Expressing Individuality
• Self-Confidence
• Lack Of Resilience
• Inability To Handle Stress
• Time Management
• Social Media
• Access To Information 
• Relationships In School

What are the most important life skills needed for kids today to overcome these obstacles and stress factors during the COVID-19 pandemic? 

Here are some of the most fundamental life kills I teach children in FitKidz with Heidi.

Resilience Skills.

Resilience Skills are fundamental to a child’s development. Resilience is the ability to face setbacks, unforeseen events, obstacles and failures without allowing them to dominate their life. 

A recent poll by parents showed that their biggest difficulty was teaching their children psychological resilience as they were faced with tantrums and emotional dysregulation during repeated lockdowns while their kids were out of school and spending too much time indoors.

Learning To Fail.

Failure is a remarkable test every child should face. It is an excellent test of courage, determination and mindset. By failing they learn the skill of trial and error and how to accept that while they gave something a go – it’s just not for them but that failing is ok. By failing they learn, by learning they grow.

My recent blog called:  Teaching Kids To Have A Victorious Mindset. 

Fight or Flight Response.

Fight-or-flight response plays a critical role in life’s learning and survival. The fight-or-flight response can be triggered by both real and imaginary threats. By gearing up to fight or flee, the fight-or-flight response makes it more likely that you will survive the danger (verywellmind.com).

Today’s anxieties are extreme for children. Never before have our children been faced with such uncertainties, social difficulties, anxieties and stress. The absence of a schooling system and return after such long periods and perhaps isolation has lead to real fight or flight situation. Learning Fight or Flight is probably one of the most important life skills that every child needs to learn.  

Never Give Up Method. 

Perseverance and motivation are essential skills to teach children realistic goal setting. While school exams approach and children’s anxieties may lie in the feeling that they are just not ready to sit exams!

Motivational training will show and guide children to focus only on what they can control ‘now’. Perseverance training will teach children to never give up on their dreams and to recognise what it takes to persevere when they are faced with setbacks

FitKidz with Heidi was developed during the first Irish Lockdown one year ago. Through a variety of Online Classes our focus is on the resilience method, learning to fail, fight or flight and using perseverance skills to cope with problem-solving and set-backs. 

I call this teaching method Warrior Training and I educate and mentor children to overcome difficulties and adversaries through creativity, sports skills and performance practice. This holistic mindset training for kids teaches Life Skills For Now and coping mechanisms during the COVID-19 pandemic by focusing on confidence, strength and resilience. 

For further information contact Heidi – Heidi@fitkidz.ie