If you would like to raise happy and successful kids, it is important that you pay attention to more than their grades. While they will get them into college and university, alone, they will not land them in a successful career. Have you ever met college graduates working in dead-end jobs? Of course you have. People, unfortunately, don’t learn how to progress their lives, be assertive, question everything, and focus on their long term goals. This is something they - if they are lucky enough - pick up from family members and mentors. Below you will find a few skills not taught in school that kids would certainly benefit from.

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With so many facts and dates to learn from heart, and living in the world of information overload, it is hard to develop critical thinking skills in school. Kids are not welcome to question authority figures, such as teachers and the writers of the textbooks, and are told to take what they learn for granted. However, no invention was born without breaking up with the traditions. Instead of acting as an authority figure at home, you might ask higher level questions from your kids, so they can consider other approaches and unconventional methods.

The reason for most missed opportunities is the lack of effective decision making skills. Kids are told what to do, and they are presented with the problem and the solution at the same time. In school, most decisions are made for them. As a parent, try to encourage your child to make their own decisions and choose between different options. This will help them decide which college or university course to take later in life, or which job offer to accept. There are great decision making resources available on the internet to help you with this task.

Of course, kids learn art and music in school, but they will have to follow a pattern and official guide. Creativity is all about finding unusual solutions that work better than original ones. Whether your kid is a talented writer, programmer, painter, or singer, you will need to encourage them to follow their passion. Even if they will not end up making a living off their skills, they will be able to use their creativity in real life situations and be more innovative than 90 percent of people.

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It is a big world out there, and it is full of good and evil. If you are worried about letting go of your child’s hand and allowing them to go to college away from home, visit friends alone, or simply drive to another city, you want them to be safe. Kids should learn some basic self defense skills at an early age, so they can deal with bullying, crime, and offensive behavior. If you want to make sure that they are safe when out and about, you might want to enroll them for a self defense course where they can learn how to protect themselves. Check out Defensive Planet for information on self defense and the skills and tools needed to stay safe.

You might think that your child doesn’t need to have strong debating skills unless they want to become politicians, but this is not the case. Kids don’t learn in school how to be assertive, get their point across, and convince others through the facts and logical arguments. Debating skills will not only be useful when they go to college and university, but also when they start pursuing their careers and try to be more assertive when proposing a project or initiating change. While not many schools hold debating clubs, you might find some in your local area to get your child to practice.

For most kids today, it is all or nothing, black or white, and they are used to instant gratification. If they cannot compromise, however, they will be up for a surprise when it comes to getting what they want in real life. Negotiation skills are based on one’s ability to compromise, put themselves in others’ shoes, and coming up with a solution that is beneficial for everyone. The skill will be useful when your child is trying to manage their career, get a pay rise or promotion, or simply sort out a conflict at work.

While some schools have financial education, they don’t base their scenarios on real life situation. As soon as your child gets their first part time job and becomes responsible for paying for their fuel and car insurance, they will need to have the money management skills of adults. While you can talk to your child about different forms of credit and budgeting, saving up for deposits, and having their priorities right, they might benefit from professional advice as well. Money management courses can help young people build wealth, avoid credit traps, and make their money work for them.

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It is said that one in three adults is likely to experience mental health problems. With the increased pressure at school and at work, chances are that your child will need to develop their own coping mechanism. Without learning how to care for themselves and practice self-compassion, they might turn to unhealthy habits or cope in an unhealthy way with the problems they are facing while transitioning into adulthood. You have to teach them some of the mental health skills you are using, such as meditation or exercise, so they can be ready for the challenges.

If you would like to make sure that you are raising happy, healthy, and successful kids, you can’t rely on school education alone. Instead, make sure that you are addressing the different challenges of working life and adulthood from an early age. Teach your child to respect others’ opinion but question everything. Encourage their creative talent, and help them make better decisions using advanced techniques. Teach them about managing their money, their mental health, their relationships, and being assertive when it is needed.

You may think that disability abuse is something that has died out, along with many other outdated disability practices. However, the sad fact of the matter is that disability abuse is still a very real thing, and it happens everywhere. Sometimes this abuse is verbal or emotional abuse other times it’s physical, but either way it is not acceptable.

Many people feel so shocked and upset by this type of abuse that when it happens to them, they go into a state of shock and don’t know what to do. There’s a fear of being judged or blamed in some way, but there shouldn’t be. The truth is that abuse is never the victim's fault, no matter what, and it’s important to remember that.

Luckily, most of the world has a much stricter policy on disability abuse, with this kind of awful behaviour being taken seriously across the country. If you fall foul to disability abuse of any kind, it’s important that you know how to deal with it and put a stop to it immediately. Here’s what you should do if you feel that you’ve been the victim of any kind of abuse or have seen someone else being abused.

The first step that you should take is to report the abuse. This is crucial, never try and deal with the situation on your own, because if no one knows about it, things could get even more out of hand. Whether the abuse has occurred at work, in a care environment, or somewhere else, it’s important that you report it straight away. That way, you will be able to remember the incident more clearly in your mind.

While you may not want to take the situation any further than reporting it and having the person behind it disciplined or let go of, you might want to consider taking it further and seeing what you’re entitled to. You shouldn't’ have to suffer from abuse and neither should anyone else. That’s why there are attorneys who deal with these kinds of incidents - you can learn more about what they can do online via resources like AttorneyGuss.com/services/houston-nursing-home-abuse-lawyer. There is a lot of support out there, it’s just a case of finding out what you are entitled to.

When it comes to dealing with disability abuse, it’s important that you make a stand. Far too many people think it’s okay to ‘pick on’ people because they’re different and it’s really not okay, which is why taking a stand and making an example out of them and their behaviour is so important. If you are going to make it clear that abuse in any form is never acceptable, you need to be brave and stand up for yourself and other people who are also at risk of abuse.

There is never any excuse for abuse, in any setting. However, abuse is particularly serious when it occurs in a care setting such as a hospital, for instance. Abuse is not something that you should ever be willing to stand for, which is why it’s so important that you know how to deal with it, should a situation like those mentioned above, ever occur.