We want the best for our children. This is a given. But all too often we focus so much on certain areas - such as diet, exercise, living conditions, schooling and more - that we forget some of the sheer basics. When it comes down to it, there are a number of life skills that every child should learn that will help to make growing up and navigating the world a whole lot easier and safer for them. Here are some that you should make sure to implement.

Name, Address and Phone Number

Hopefully, there’s never a situation where your kid gets lost or goes missing. But it’s important that you teach them their name, address and phone number, just in case. This information can help services such as the police to more accurately find you if they find your child. It’s also useful in situations where a friend, relative or other carer needs to get in touch with you while caring for your child.

Calling Emergency Services

It’s important that every child understands what each emergency service is used for and how to contact them in the case of an emergency. In the vast majority of cases, there will be another adult present if something goes wrong, who can take the situation into their own control. But occasionally, if you are alone with your children, you need to make sure that they can call for help if anything were to happen to you and you were unable to call for help yourself. Make sure they know the phone number of emergency services in your local area, how to call them and how to ask for help.

Swimming

Swimming is an essential life skill for anyone. Even if you’re not near a source of water or don’t really spend time in the water, you need to make sure that you are able to swim just in case. Plus, learning to swim opens up all sorts of recreational activities that your children may enjoy later in life, such as swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking, surfing and other water based sports. Ensure your children have swimming lessons to teach them the basic strokes and skills. You can find classes for every age and ability, from swim classes for toddlers to swim improvement for teenagers.

Hazard Awareness

Kids don’t automatically know what’s safe and what’s not. This a learning curve that everyone has to go through and we will all make our own mistakes and learn our own lessons. But as a parent, it is your responsibility to make sure that your children are aware of the direct dangers that face them on a day to day basis. You should make sure that they have road awareness and know where and how to cross. You should make sure that they know not to climb things, not to go near train tracks, to stay away from wild animals and more. These things may all seem common sense to us as adults, but they aren’t immediately obvious to kids who can often see everything as a plaything or an adventure.

These are just a few starting blocks to work with, but each will help to protect your child in some way or another.

Disclosure: This is a collaborative post.