Curiously, most of us were raised without an awareness of life skills at all. Most of us became adults without a “life skills class” or reading a “life skills book.” Somehow, we learned the things we needed to become successful adults without a checklist of life skills we needed before age 18.

Oftentimes, we become aware of the need for life skills education when we are trying to help our kids take then next step in life and “SOMETHING” is missing. We can’t quite put our finger on it, but they “just don’t get” some things. And over time, we become frustated. They don’t fit in or maybe they just seem stuck.

I was one of those kids. And for me, the life skills that I desperately needed were in the social skills & resiliency departments! I struggled to make friends and was socially awkward…saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. I had trouble reading social situations and mostly felt like an outsider. I had to learn social skills like other kids learned math…but I learned them as an adult!

And now as a mom of 9 very different kids (ages 6 to 21), I have observed that most kids have gaps in their life skills somewhere. And the adults in their life can bridge by giving the situation a little bit of attention!