Educating children and preparing them for their future is complicated work. Did you know that 65% of K-12 students will be employed for jobs that don’t even exist yet? This is what the World of The Economics Forum recently stated. In fact, McKinsey Global predicts a world where most of the current jobs we have today will be automated in the future by machine learning and artificial intelligence. 

Mamaslikeme.com recommends that you have a solid plan in place to ensure your kids have a great future ahead of them. This requires some sacrifices now but what you do today will have a huge effect on your child’s future.

So how do we prepare children for the future of employment if we don’t know what kind of jobs they’ll aspire for in the future? To answer that question, here are some of the most fundamental skills K-12 students should have for the in-demand jobs of the future:

Soft Skills

When we think about the future of work, we imagine a group of workers in a computing lab developing new technology. This could be how it’ll actually look like but we must not forget that we’re humans and our soft-skills will continue to be valuable in the future. Maybe you can’t teach your kindergarten students how to build a computer or learn JavaScript, but you can surely encourage them to use their soft-skills that will be useful for their future.

Problem-Solving-problem skills or creativity could be some of the most important ones. Most of the tech-related jobs have something to do with logical thinking and creativity, so no matter what type of job they’ll choose, encourage them to use those soft-skills to help them prepare for their future.

Focus on Innovation 

Innovation has always been the main source of technological advancements, so encouraging your students to learn with innovative skills will make them more proficient in finding new paths and new solutions. There’s an interesting initiative from Dublin City University (DCU). A new program developed by Anne Looney, Dean of Education at DCU, promises to develop innovation-related skills in teachers so they’re able to educate students with innovative mindsets. 

The program consists of allowing teachers to spend some time working at tech-related organizations to expand their experience and understand the innovation world from its roots. Although this process is still in the early stages, it has started to pay off positively.

Encourage Digital Literacy

Today’s young students are digital natives, they know how to use technology more than any other adult would have done at their age. However, some children only connect with technology through mobile devices. But technology is broad and the possibilities of using it in education are endless. You can encourage young students to create digital products based on their interests. This is a fun way to motivate them to use technology for something positive and improve their digital literacy skills.

Use Emerging Technologies

Emerging technologies could be the best way to introduce children to the future of work and to give them a glimpse of how it will look like. This is a huge challenge in education because some schools don’t have access to emerging technologies. 

According to a recent PwC survey, most K-12 teachers don’t feel prepared to teach technology to their students due to a lack of available tools. However, there are great organizations and programs where schools can access emerging technology systems such as Google or Microsoft’s DreamSpace program. The DreamSpaceis program allows young students to interact with virtual reality assisted systems. In doing so, students will know how new forms of technology works and how they could be implemented in various industries.

Educate Them to Be Resilient 

The combination of resilience, innovation, and creativity is considered an in-demand soft skill in the future of employment. Technology is always changing and every day, we have new trends that will shape our future. That’s why adapting to an evolving ecosystem is important for young students.

Elizabeth Edwards once defined resilience with the best words: “Resilience is accepting your new reality, even if it’s less good than the one you had before. You can fight it, you can do nothing but scream about what you’ve lost, or you can accept that and try to put together something that’s good.”

Empathy and Creativity 

Robots are taking over some jobs, this is true. People are usually concerned about this because they believe that there is no place for humans in the future of work. But there is nothing farther away from reality. Humans have two things There is something that robots don’t have: that humans do empathy and creativity. These two skills will continue to be important in the future. That’s why the best thing you could do for your students is to encourage them to utilize empathy and creativity. You could do this by practicing design and emphasizing the importance of emotional health. 

Although you don’t necessarily have to teach your students coding skills, there are other crucial skills like problem-solving skills, creativity, innovation, and analytical thinking. 

Estate planning is a serious matter for everyone, but it’s especially important for single parents who want to protect their children. It’s never easy to think about the time when you may no longer be here, but it’s also true that you can’t afford to feel uncomfortable about the subject if you want to keep taking care of your kids even when you’re not physically present. That said, it would be wise to seek legal advice on the matter, protect your assets in time, and secure your children’s future in advance.

A Will and a Trust Are Essential Documents

A will is without a doubt one of the crucial documents that single parents can utilize in order to protect their children. After all, having an established will means that the parents can also name a guardian for their children in case of their sudden passing as well as relay their wishes in regard to the assets and estate. Aside from the will, a trust is another essential part of this preparation as it will speed up the probate court proceedings, delegate the assets accordingly, and enable the trustee to hold onto the child’s assets until they become adults who can manage their own assets and finances. It’s never a good idea to have all of the assets distributed right after the parent passes away if the children are still minors.

Life Insurance Is a Good Idea

Aside from the will and trust, many single parents also consider investing in life insurance in order to further support their children after their passing financially. If you go by the estate planning and asset protection in Arizona, you can also talk to the legal representatives in order to lessen the tax burden and include the life insurance proceeds in the entire plan you create for your children after your death. Of course, there may be some differences across the states, which is precisely why it’s so important to put your trust in reputable and experienced legal institutions. Never try to do everything on your own without the help of professional guidance as things can only get more complicated.  

Planning in the Event of Incapacitation

No one knows what the future might bring. As such, it’s also important that single parents plan in the event of becoming incapacitated. That way, they can name a person who will take care of their children before they become adults, make financial decisions in their stead, discuss the options for external care for the parents, and so on. There are several different options to consider in this case but it’s even possible to establish a process of paying for the child’s bills and expenses directly from the parent’s account even if the parent in question may be incapacitated and the child still a minor. Therefore, it’s crucial to address all possible scenarios when you’re a single parent as estate planning can effectively deal with all sorts of financial issues and different situations.

Plan for Beneficiary Designations

Not all assets have to go through probate court proceedings. Actually, there are several different aspects such as life insurance, pension, and so on, that can be passed directly to a beneficiary. However, it’s also a fact that children cannot inherit these assets until they’re of legal age, which is precisely why single parents have to name a beneficiary who will hold onto these assets for them and protect them well. As mentioned, utilizing various trusts is always a good solution, but it’s also crucial to take the time to find the best person who will act as a beneficiary until the children are of legal age. Make sure to put your trust in someone who’s close enough to you and your children and whom you can be sure will take care of your kids and their interests properly.

Business Succession Planning

In case the single parent is a business owner, it’s also necessary to plan for the future of the said business after the parent’s passing. In case you decide to go with the business succession, it’s possible to have your business operate and provide income for your kids until they’re of legal age to take over the business. However, in some cases, it might be better for the kids’ future to simply proceed with business closing and liquidation, so make sure to assess the circumstances carefully before making the decision.

All legal matters can quickly become overwhelming, let alone estate planning for single parents. This is precisely why you should make the most out of all the help you can get. With the right legal agency to support both you and your children, you’ll be able to deal with this protection plan quickly and efficiently and enjoy your life without worries knowing that your children will be taken care of. 

It’s only natural that parents want the best for their children, and the same principle applies to the choice of school. Finding the right school for your kid may not be a challenging process for some, but there are several different factors to consider if you want to make the best decision. After all, this decision will affect the happiness and success of your child in the long run. That said, address the following points before making a final decision.

1. What Does Your Child Want?

In case your kid is just starting school for the first time, they obviously wouldn’t know what to say about their own wants and preferences. However, parents with older kids should definitely involve them in the process of choosing the best school. After all, there’s a huge chance that your kid already has some preferences about where they’d like to go to school. So, before you take any further steps, make sure to talk carefully with your kid about the whole situation. If they have a school in mind, listen to their reasoning. If they don’t care, involve them in further search as it may turn out that they know better what they don’t want than what they do.

2. Consider Your Child Needs

If you’re left to find the ideal school on your own, it’s still crucial that you take into consideration the needs of your child, especially when it comes to their learning style. They might enjoy expressing themselves creatively, or they might thrive in a more structured learning environment. Socializing might be the most important aspect or they might show the biggest success when given the responsibility to solve problems on their own. Does your child have special learning needs or require a language acquisition program? Furthermore, even location can make a huge difference; do you want your child’s school to be within the walking distance or is it fine for them to take the bus? Is it possible for you to drive them if the bus is a no-go?

3. Get Information About Schools

Photo by Jerry Wang on Unsplash

Once you have a list of your priorities when choosing your child’s school, it’s important to check out the schools that could be matching your criteria. Most of the schools these days hold open-door events where both parents and students can come visit to see the facilities, get familiar with the school grounds, and learn more about the policies, extracurricular activities, clubs, and so on. Even if there’s no such event, you can most definitely do the research on your own and analyze the information about these schools through their websites or by asking questions about them on local parenting forums.

4. Extracurricular Activities Are Important

Instead of having to look for additional centers and child-friendly places for their extracurricular activities, the best schools will organize such activities and the so-called clubs within their grounds as well. Of course, make sure that you have a clear understanding of what type of activities your child would enjoy before proceeding with your choice. Great support for the community includes sporting events such as a fun run for schools, where the students participate in races, learn more about leadership, and raise money for their schools. This is the type of community connection you should be looking for, especially since it still strongly focuses on the children and their benefit in multiple ways. Whatever you decide, make sure that your kid will have plenty of options aside from studying, too.

5. Evaluate the Schools

After all the planning and information you’ve gathered, you should have a narrowed down list of schools that seem good enough for your child. Now is the time to compare them and evaluate them by making pros and cons lists. These will help you address both the advantages and disadvantages of each school, so you can wight them properly. Don’t hesitate to pay a visit to these schools once more to get a better feel of how they manage, the facilities available for best student learning and comfort, as well as the overall appearance and student satisfaction while there.

As mentioned, always include your child in the search for their ideal school every step of the way unless they’re too young to help you. In the end, it’s their input that’s most important for your final decision. 

There are more than 40% of households in the UK that own pets. These pets vary from dogs to cats, birds, rabbits, fishes, and others, including exotic animals. Each family member takes part in taking care of these animals, including children.

But why do families get pets even if they know that this entails more expenses and requires daily time allowance? Aside from the cuteness and fun animals can bring to our homes, there are many benefits.

Top Five Benefits of Pet Ownership

Kids love to play a part in taking care of household pets. Sometimes, parents bring in animals into their homes because their children asked for it. There are many benefits to owning and tending pets, whatever it may be. It also teaches them to care and be responsible, above everything else.

1. Responsibility

Caring for pets is one of the fastest ways to teach children about their responsibilities. Even at a very young age, kids become aware of people’s priorities if each family member takes part in nurturing an animal. Every kid wants to own a pet. However, children’s attitudes may differ when it comes to feeding and cleaning it. Children will understand that getting a household pet is an everyday responsibility and that it can never be cute all the time.

As a parent, you must be able to choose a pet that is age-appropriate to your child. If you have a little kid, it may be ideal to have a small animal to hold easily and pat. It will be more comfortable for both your kid and the pet to adjust to one other.

2. Hygiene and Healthy Habits

It is not easy to teach children to clean themselves on their own. With dogs around, they learn that keeping their pets free from germs makes them live longer, and the same goes for human beings. You can also have them help when you are bathing your pet.

Additionally, animals can teach children the importance of taking vitamins and a daily dose of exercise. Making kids join the daily dog walk will instill a routine activity that can keep their body healthy. A little bit of sunshine every morning will be enough for you, your kid, and your pet. It will also keep your kids away from their gadgets, even just a few minutes every day.

3. Patience

When kids see dogs for the first time, they think that training them is fast and easy. They will eventually learn that it takes some time and a lot of effort before a dog learns a single trick. It needs repetition and must be done regularly.

Just like people, pets start from zero. Potty training, teaching them not to chew on furniture and shoes will take a while. Frustrations and anger may come in, but children will realize that these attitudes do not help at all. With their furry friends, they will understand that rage is not the key to training their pets.  

4. Caring for Others

Taking care of animals need time, money, and commitment. It will help if you wake up early to feed them or bring them outside to pee. Even kids will sometimes choose between watching their favorite TV show and walking or playing with their pets.

It may be difficult for kids to give up something they love to do for animals that need their attention and care. However, the love and affection the animals give to their owners are sometimes enough for children to give their full attention to pets. They learn to care and ensure that the basic needs of their animal friends are met.

5. Trust

Pets can provide unconditional friendship and love. When children feel this affection from animals, they learn that it is okay to give their trust. However, this relationship between children and pets takes some time to build. It entails respect and understanding of each other’s needs. Kids will come to realize that animals have basic needs that they have to provide, while the pets will learn that they can always depend on these little human beings.

How Parents Can Help Kids in Taking Care of Pets

Children cannot take care of animals on their own. They need someone to lead them and set good examples. As parents and adults, it is your responsibility to show them how things are correctly done in taking care of animals.

Support, understanding, and patience are vital to ensure that children will learn the right things. This way, the animals will also reciprocate the same kind of care and love for children. You can foster this mutual relationship between your kids and their pets by doing the following:

• Talk to your child that pet ownership is a permanent thing and that animals are not toys. They must understand that the cuteness of dogs and cats wears as the animals and their needs grow.
• Give your kids one responsibility at a time. It can be feeding the animals every morning for the first few months. Then, you can give them the task of walking your dog after that. As these tasks become natural, you can give them more or more immense responsibility, such as bathing your pet. Also, please do not leave them alone and be ready to assist whenever necessary. It will also be wise to let them choose the tasks they want to do so that they will do them more willingly,
• If your children are big enough, you can let them pick the house pet, whatever animal it may be.  It would help if you let your kid read books or watch a film about animals before selecting one.
• Make each task feel like a pleasure instead of being a job. You can praise your children for every pet chore they do without being told. It will encourage them to do more and better next time.
• There may be times that your child will miss to do a chore or two. Your constant and gentle reminders can keep them aware of their responsibilities.

Conclusion

Owning pets has a positive impact on kids. It teaches them how to handle responsibility and also helps when children are faced with difficulties in life. Owning a pet is a natural way of teaching them life lessons that they sometimes have to learn with their parents on the side steps. However, children and pets also need support and love from parents and adults. With proper attention, guidance, and examples, children will better appreciate the importance of animals.