5 Crucial Skills Your Child Needs For the Jobs of the Future

Did you know that you could combine six standard LEGO bricks in more than 915 million ways? Neither did we, but 98% of children in kindergarten are creative geniuses who can think of endless opportunities. This ability is drastically reduced as children go through formal schooling and by the age of 25, only 3% remain creative geniuses.

So, today in HitBerry, we are listing 5 skills that your child needs, to remain a creative genius for the jobs of the future.


Complex Problem Solving Skills

Problem solving skills are a must for proper functioning on a daily basis at home or at work. This is an important skill for a child to develop in order to achieve a bright future. If a child is able to solve problems on their own, he/she is more likely to be happier, confident and more independent in the future. Therefore, we should begin teaching children problem solving skills from an early age. Instead of running to the rescue, give your child a chance to attempt a resolution on their own and watch how they observe and examine the problem.

“If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.” – Albert Einstein

Critical Thinking

Ellen Galinsky, the author of Mind in the Making, has listed critical thinking as one of the seven most essential life skills needed by every child. In today’s world of social media and the internet, children need to be able to do much more than just repeat a list of facts.

They need to be critical thinkers who can make sense of the information, analyze, compare, contrast, make inferences, and generate higher order thinking skills. Provide them with opportunities to play, ask them open-ended questions, and encourage them to think in new and different ways.

“Do not indoctrinate your children. Teach them how to think for themselves, how to evaluate evidence, and how to disagree with you.”  Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion

Creativity

People assume that creativity is an inborn talent that their children either do or do not possess; but actually, creativity is more of a core skill than inborn talent, and it is a skill that parents can help develop.

Scientific research indicates that exposing them to music and art is not enough. But encouraging a creative approach to the problem by solving and communicating to complete their everyday activities can help.

-“You cannot make people learn. You can only provide the right conditions for learning to happen.” - Vince Gowmon

Judgment and Decision Making

“Eeny, meeny, miny, mo, catch a tiger by its toe; if he hollers let him go, eeny, meeny, miny, mo!”

There are many variations of this playground rhyme, but whatever variation it has, it is a simple decision-making tool. Children, all around the world use this or similar rhyme to decide who their opponent or teammate will be or which chocolate they will eat.

“So. Tell me. What do you think? Which is better? To take action and perhaps make a fatal mistake - or to take no action and die slowly anyway?”  - Ahdaf Soueif, The Map of Love

The natural ability to learn through play may be the best-kept secret, for addressing the skill agenda to help both our children and economies thrive.

Cognitive Flexibility

Imagine you’re driving somewhere, and discover that a street you were planning to turn onto is blocked off for construction. Your initial plan for reaching your destination obviously isn’t going to work. So, you instantly come up with a new way to get there.

That’s what flexible thinking is about—being able to switch gears and find new approaches to solve problems quickly.

Help your children grow their cognitive flexibility through games like The Fannee Doolee, and What’s This? You can also teach them self-talk skills, which will become more critical in their adolescent and adult life.

“The measure of intelligence is the ability to change.” - Albert Einstein


What do you think is the most important skill for your children to survive in the future? Let us know.