Today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders. Given the challenges they face in society today, it’s important we equip them with the tools needed to navigate through the complexities of life.
This is why I created the Kids in Leadership Workshop. I wanted to provide a fun and interactive way to teach our younger generation the soft skills required to get along with others, and build confidence in themselves.
Soft skills are the necessary interpersonal skills that help strengthen and foster authentic relationships and include abilities like:
The goal is to give the younger generation the tools they need to build strong foundations for lifelong success.
Question, would you expect a young child to sit down at a piano for the first time and play Beethoven, or to start up a computer and create a game?
In this same way, we can’t expect children to always be polite. To be kind, thankful, solve problems on their own, and collaborate in teams, without teaching them how.
Soft skills are begun within an infant’s first years of life. When a child is nurtured, their social, emotional and cognitive abilities experience growth. By contrast, when a child has their
physical or emotional needs ignored, their social, emotional and cognitive abilities
often do not develop. All skills can be grown with time, however, the earlier
a child learns the importance of these interactions, the stronger
the skill grows. This benefits them in both
childhood and adulthood.
The need to be able to communicate, problem solve, be polite, have self control and be a team player is a lifelong need. Without the feeling of confidence that they can perform these tasks, children struggle in their day to day routines. They fail to get along with others, to communicate effectively, are not focused on their tasks and may exhibit behavioral problems.
A child who has soft skills often performs better in the classroom. A 2015 study showed that for every $1 invested in soft skills programs, $11 was returned to society. The problem is that too often, these programs aren’t in our public school systems, where they could benefit children the most.
That’s why I’ve created an innovative, interactive way to teach children to master the soft skills that they need to succeed both in the classroom, and in life.
The Kids in Leadership is a book series that follows Astro and his friends as they work through challenges around acceptance, bullying,
and teamwork.
Each book comes with an interactive question and answer guide, adults can use to talk about the scenarios presented in the stories, helping children realize how to resolve difficult situations with themselves and others.
It is my goal to help today’s children on their journey towards tomorrow. Working together, we can make this generation of future leaders compassionate problem solvers with the needed self confidence and social skills to ensure our world becomes a better place for generations to come.
