To ask what skills and knowledge will be essential for the adults of tomorrow?

[Pumpkinpip]

Long time lurker but first time poster.

I will admit I am currently on maternity leave with DC2 and this is probably coming from a place of paranoia (so may be unreasonable) due to the lack of adult company and from watching too many rolling 24hr news channels for the last few weeks. I am so worried about what the world will look like when my DC are adults! In particular, I worry for my DD as violence against women and misogyny seems so prevalent everywhere! The misogyny seems so much more open and acceptable than when I myself was younger.

It's got me thinking about what to prioritise teaching my DC. For example. I’ve always wanted to put my DD in for ballet when she was old enough. But now I’m thinking more about boxing or martial arts (not necessarily instead of, but in addition to). This isn’t about my DC getting good grades or into a good university or even them getting a good job (although that will be a focus too). It’s more about the day to day skills and knowledge that will benefit them as adults in a world that looks like it will be quite unstable.

So mumsnet, what do you prioritise teaching your children? What skills and knowledge do you think will benefit the adults of tomorrow?

Kindness, gratitude, honesty, integrity, respect (for self, for environment and for others)

Never EVER allow yourself to be dependent on someone else. This applies to both boys/girls/men/women.

Get educated, get training/apprenticeships, save money, have a backup fund, the works.

Especially for women. Have enough money BEFORE you have a child (or even consider it) so that if the dick leaves, you're still ok. Keep it a secret (or if possible, buy it in gold or let parents hold it).

Critical thinking. Is this a scam, is it fake news, is it AI...

Proper touch typing

Critical thinking and how to maintain privacy in a world so keen on over sharing and using digital media

Critical thinking as PP have said.

Do you have a DS? Misogyny needs to be resolved by what we are teaching our sons. Modelling a household where mum and dad are equals is a big part of that.

Something i've been thinking about too. What Pp have said. Also things such as the following;

Learning to work with tight budgets.

Being able to cook (not because she's a girl, this applies to boys too) If there was ever a shortage of food/ingredients for whatever reason they need to be able to work with what they have.

Gardening, know how to grow your own food

Learn to use a drill and knowing where it's safe to drill (so you don't go through electrics) no need to wait around for around man to come a fix things.

Basic plumbing knowledge.

Know how to drive.

This all applies to both girls and boys.

Emotional intelligence, so you can read what's going on in yourself and others, feel your responses and respect your own feelings.

Understanding all the emotions not just happy and sad, but nostalgia, envy, greed, contentment, frustration, confelicity, schaden Freud etc etc.... All of them and how they relate to ego, successful relationships, friendships, work dynamics... Everything.
Without emotional intelligence you're just a bundle of reactions bumbling along, but master those and you can recognise healthy and unhealthy dynamics at home, school or work and you can surf the waves with skill.
Stands you in very good stead in every part of life.
Easy to start from day one too because you just drop it into conversation as you go along.
When they're really young, it might be saying something like, 'no wonder you're upset, that was really frustrating wasn't it, shall we do this (soothing thing) until we feel calmer and then have another go, I'll help you'

To when they're older when you say things like 'i saw you stay calm when you were telling your dad how angry you were about xyz - that was really well done, it can't have been easy, but it certainly meant he listened to you though didn't it - nice job'

I don't have children but if I did:

• Confidence (feeling valued, knowing that they are good enough, being good enough for themselves)
• Loved (knowing that you are always there for them even if they mess up)
• Self respect (their choices, their body, having standards & boundaries, what behaviour they won't tolerate)
• Critical thinking (be able to form theor own opinion, not accepting every YouTube content or online article as fact)
• Soft skills (bring able to work with others, negotiation, diplomacy, being able to male phonecalls not just email or text)
• Financial illeracy (being able to budget, plan, save, read payslips, pension statements, insurance, taxes)

The fact you are even thinking about it means they have a parent who is invested and that's even half of it.

Self sufficiency and what some deem old fashioned skills - growing veg at home ,being able to sew to mend clothes , being able to wire a plug and do DIY and car maintenance. All things that lots of people pay others to do . In an unstable world with a climate changing be good to be able to do things yourself

Respect for boundaries

If you have a girl you need to teach and show her that her boundaries should be respected from a young age. This means for example if she is given sweets as a present by someone and she doesn't want to share them with anyone then she doesn't have to.

If you have a boy you need to teach him that he needs to respect other people's boundaries particularly girls from a young age.

All your DC whether girl or boy should be taught as soon as they are communicating they should only kiss and hug other people especially adults if they want to. So if they don't want to hug grandmother then that's fine.

Is it 1985 in here?

So people don't type on keyboards still?

Plugs come attached to electrical items.

All you need to be able to do is learn to change the fuse within the plug which you can flip out with a butter knife or nail file.

Nope - in 1985 it was useful only for certain roles (essentially those that involved typewriters; computers weren't common in the mid-80s, though the BBC one had come out by then and people were beginning to realise their usefulness even though they had not reached the general workplace)

Nowadays, with so much that is computer-based, being able confidently and accurately to rattle off 60wpm whilst looking at something else is an incredibly useful skill. It males so many things easier, from state-of-the-art coding to basic data entry and word-processing, and is relevant for the vast majority of occupations. And for a fair amount of what people choose to do in their non-working lives.

It's much easier to learn properly from the off than to self-teach and risk ending up with ineradicable habits that either/both slow you down or impede accuracy

First aid, foraging, hunting, and killing defending yourself against the neighbours, at the rate we're going .... 😒

Only half joking!

There will always be the need for people who know how to teach.

Resilience. Every day we get up and we do what needs to be done. We go to school, we feed the pets, we get our homework and extra curriculars done, we take responsibility and we don’t make excuses.

Health. If you feel rubbish then you regulate yourself. Exercise, sleep, eat something nutritious, get outside in nature. Talking is encouraged but naval gazing is not.

Family values. We are kind to each other and can respectfully disagree on a subject but ultimately we have each other’s backs always.

Self belief. We trust the dc to moderate themselves with things like food and screens as we believe they are good people who will make the right choices for themselves and their future and they do.

Relaxation. Home is a safe haven where at the end of the day, we close the door and everybody gets to relax and be themselves.

In terms of practical or life skills, swimming from a young age, lots of sports, driving as soon as old enough, some kind of public speaking ability and a language. I encourage mine to grab any certificate / course offered in or out of school and keep them for future uni / course interviews.

Media literacy/critical thinking: how to evaluate whether something is true, factual, unbiased. Understanding why news agendas exist, whether a source is trustworthy, and why that matters.

How to navigate an unfamiliar place without looking at your phone constantly

How to build and maintain offline friendships

Lots of great suggestions.

• how apps and phones are actively designed by developers to be addictive and how everyone's brains react differently but we need to keep a wide eye out on the actual affects of instant gratification on our brains
• how algorithms work and why are they designed that way (money, political gain) and how your data is used to funnel specific things to you and how that might be different to someone in a different house to you on the same street
• critical evaluation of media and information and SOURCES. Don't go 'hmm I'm not sure if what [news outlet] is reporting is true' then read a couple of blog posts from random and decide that the news outlet is clearly lying because some random person put it on a blog so it must be true. Cross references your news stories, follow information back to the source, don't take a quote in isolation, but double check that the video you are watching isn't AI generated...

In age appropriate ways of course...

Honestly, I can't stress enough how we need to be going beyond the ridiculous 'too much screen time is bad/too little screen time will damage them socially' debate.... obviously the answer is 'do I understand what I'm exposing to a developing child's brain' and for most people the answer is that they don't even understand it themselves!

Friendships and relationships: how build and maintain a solid core of friends that you can rely on like family. How to spend time with other people and enjoy just being with them.

Sport and exercise. As a child experience a wide range of sport and opportunities and having the chance to pursue one or two to a decent level or just for pure leisure.

Financial management how to live financial airing a co-dependant a relationship. You can't be fully independent if you are married or living together.

Navigating the internet safely

Solid first-aid skills
Nursing unwell children at home
Financial independence
Conflict resolution
Good table manners