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Parenting and Life Skills for Children


My son and daughter attended a 24 hour long life skills training camp organized by ISPAF (Indian School Parents Forum). 
Even though you / your child did not attend the camp, the message in the mail can be understood and practiced to certain extend!............ Hence the sharing. 
Don't forget to come back and leave your experience with your kids on this, in the comments column. 
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Dear Parent,
It has been more than a week since we conducted the camp. It is important that we follow up on the learning that they underwent during the camp. We need your help to ensure that the skills become their habit. I would like to give you a few guidelines to make this happen.
Step # 1
Engage in a conversation with them : Spend some time with your wards trying to recollect the camp experience. Ask them questions like:
What did you like the most in the camp?
Why did you like it?
What are you doing on a daily basis to apply the skills in their real life?
This is just casual chat. So take it easy and don’t make them feel uncomfortable.
Step # 2 – Do it Today!
Do it today was one of the sessions we did with the juniors. This is basically to discipline the kids to understand what is needed to be done TODAY! They usually put off their daily tasks to tomorrow and then tomorrow, which is called Procrastination. If, we as parents , could inculcate the habit of doing today’s task today and not putting off for tomorrow, I would say that we are successful to a greater extend in guiding them to a successful life.
Questions to ask.
Do you know what Procrastination is?
Putting off important tasks, until later and then later and later, while one keep themselves busy with not so important activities.
Do you think that you Procrastinate things?
You will know if they have this habit or not. So they have to be honest with you.
Step # 3 – Take time to plan
Get them take action with your help.
Ask them do a list of all things they want to do in the coming week, like completing their study portions, visiting their friends, shopping, watching television etc.
Ask them to put ‘A’ on their important things as a student, then put ‘B’ on all second important things and ‘C’ on all not that important things. Also ask them put ‘E’ on all things that they can eliminate from the list. You should then check this list to make sure that they are doing it properly.
 
This list should then turn into a daily list, so they know that what exactly they should be doing daily. Get them to commit to this list and follow up with them. Again no force or blaming! Be patient until they it becomes their habit.
 
Once the daily list is ready, ask them to do all A items and not to do any B or C items until they complete all A items of the day. This will bring their focus on all important things in their life and help them to understand the items they should be eliminating.
 
The weekly list should then become, a monthly, quarterly ,half yearly , yearly and 3 to 5 year list, at a later stage. This is where they can effectively set their goals and follow through it.
I know this is not a simple task. The best way to make them practice is to practice it by yourself, if you are already not doing it. Let us be a role model for our children!
You can call me  any time between 7 pm and 11 pm, 7 days a week, if you require any clarification or assistance in this regard.
Thank you for your trust in ISPAF. Our mission is to help the young generation to be able to successfully face challenges of their life.

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