What practical life skill should every child learn before leaving primary school? £100 voucher to be won

[CeriMumsnet]

As parents, we're constantly teaching our children life skills - from making their own breakfast and crossing the road safely to managing friendships and handling tricky situations.

But if you had to choose, what’s the most important skill every child should know by the end of primary school?

What practical skills do you make a point of teaching your children? Are there things you wish you'd learned earlier yourself? And how do you help your children build confidence and independence as they grow?

We're working with St John Ambulance to raise awareness of First Aid with Bertie - a fun programme that helps children learn essential first aid skills and feel more confident knowing what to do in an emergency.

Everyone who posts on this thread by 29 July will be entered into a prize draw to win a £100 Amazon voucher. (Prize draw fulfilled by Mumsnet - T&Cs here).

Really tough to choose just one! But probably the ability to know what to do when choking - cough, find an adult and don't go to bathroom. And what to to when others are choking.

Understanding healthy relationships in friendships and relationships

To swim
basic life saving skills
to recognise abuse in relationships and how and whom to call it out to.

How to cook healthy, affordable meals
How to manage money
What to do in an emergency (eg. 999)
Learn to swim

How to swim. How to contact emergency services. Cooking skills and nutrition. Not exactly a practical skill but the importance of exercise and movement to good health, as there are no magic bullets available for illness or poor health, but the nearest thing to that is to move/exercise every day and kitchen dancing is fine.

My main skill would be able to swim and tread water.
Also budgeting, starting very simply, if i went to shop A i could have 1 packet of sweets, if I went to B I could get 2 for the same price.

How dangerous the sea and open water is

Skill before leaving primary school? To be able to do basic risk assessment. i.e. if I jump in this lake to cool down on a hot day, what could happen?

As a child growing up in the late 70s to 80s, we had a lot of freedom to roam and play and naturally develop basic risk assessment skills. When I had my children 20-odd years later, the ability to roam and play in the alleyways was not socially acceptable. A lot of alleyways were blocked by rubbish or overgrown and to see an 8 yr old out on their own would cause many adults to question where the parent was. My friends and I would take our children to the local park which had its own wooded area to let them play and build dens or ramps for bikes.

Jump forward another 10 years and I now teach in primary school and after talking with the children, many don’t get to go to parks and do that. It’s play dates at people’s homes managed by adults or online gaming if parents are busy. They do sports but again it’s clubs managed by adults. There’s very little free play for children of that age to develop their own ability to risk assess.

When I tell them about being able to roam as a child, they say I am lucky!

If every child left primary school knowing basic first aid, they'd have a skill far more valuable than any exam result—a skill that could genuinely make a difference.

Money skills. How to save up.

first aid.

How to cope with bullies at school and work or within families b

If I could only choose one, it would be knowing what to do in an emergency. Every child should know how to call tel:999 999, give their location, and have basic first aid skills such as dealing with choking or severe bleeding. Those skills can genuinely save a life.

After that I’d add cooking a simple meal, road safety, basic money management and knowing when to ask for help. Independence is important, but confidence in an emergency is priceless.

online safety - how to keep safe online, what's inappropriate/appropriate
How to say no with confidence and assertiveness
Time management - how to work to deadlines, organising projects
Skills - How to swim, water safety, basic cooking skills
Personal hygiene - keeping clean, period hygiene
Navigating relationships (including the one with themselves) - Self esteem/confidence, stress management

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Being organised - it's so important when going to secondary school - a timetable on the wall helps mine - and they learn to check it for the next days lessons and what they need.