Parents can help prepare their children to survive in 21st century

The National Education Association of Alaska

In the book MegaSkills, author Dorothy Rich suggests several activities for parents who want to help build the kinds of 21st century survival skills today’s children will need.

These activities take very little time, don’t cost anything, and can benefit relationships as well as intellects according to NEA-Alaska. Parents can work with their children at home to give them the foundation for skills that will allow them to compete successfully in the fast-paced technological world of the 21st century.

Exercises include using questions to encourage thinking like asking open-ended questions that can’t be answered by "Yes" or "No" to motivate deeper thinking.

"What do you think about" is a good way to preface a question, then listen attentively to the answer. When children ask questions, take time to respond thoughtfully.

Practice problem solving by asking for more than one way to solve a problem. Don’t reject any ideas, even if they sound far-fetched. After several different solutions have been offered, ask youngsters to pick the one that seems best.

Give your children practice by posing problems like:

•You can’t find your door key and no one is home.

•You get lost on the way to a friend’s house.

•Two friends have asked you to a party on the same afternoon.

Encourage decision making. Allow children to share in decisions about how to arrange their own rooms and include them in the selection of decor and ftimishings. Plan a family dinner and let them decide the menu, place settings, times and after-dinner activities. Let children participate in mapping out routes for a family vacation.

Develop teamwork. There are two kinds of teaming: one where everyone does the same job as a group and another where each does a different job as part of a larger effort. Build teamwork skills by calling a family gathering and talking about the jobs that need to be done around the house.

Ask your children what they want to contribute. Give your child and a group of neighborhood children a task and help them work together to complete it.

Build sensitivity. It’s important for children to appreciate differences among people. Talking as a family about the things that make people, similar and different, helps build tolerance and understanding.

©2000 Anchorage Daily News