Everyday Adventures: life skills

Raising a Child with an Entrepreneurial Mindset

By Mommy Donna and Kib - September 08, 2021

These trying times, it's very important to teach our kids to find ways to earn. They need to learn to be self-reliant and not to depend on others especially when things get tough. In other words, we need to teach our children to be "madiskarte."

As a single mom, it is very important for me to teach Kib to be independent. I always tell Kib that I cannot give the whole world to him. He needs to learn to be creative and to solve problems on his own. There are still times that he makes immature and hasty decisions, but with my guidance, I know that soon, he will learn to be wiser and more practical in making choices in life.

One of the things that I wanted Kib to be when he grows up is that he has an entrepreneurial mindset. If he cannot be a full-time businessman or entrepreneur in the future, at least he knows of some ways he can earn decent money instead of begging for financial support.

Here are the basic things a parent can do to encourage your child to have an entrepreneurial mindset:

1. Encourage your child to sell, no matter how cheap the items are. It's okay to sell cheap items, especially if the child will sell to his/her fellow kids. It's easier to sell cheap items like small toys than to sell expensive items that the parents won't even buy for their kids on an impulse. Your kid may feel shy at first, but as soon as the potential customers get interested in the product, he/she may feel more confident in selling.

2. Sell items together! Do not let your kid be accompanied by a relative or a yaya in selling. The parent should be his/her kid's number one supporter. Let your kid feel special if the parent supports his passion.

3. Let your kid sell kid-friendly items. It's easier for your child to sell items that can also be bought and used by a child than to let your kid sell items that he/she cannot easily relate to. The child can confidently talk about toys than about household items.

4. Let your kid do all the talking. Sometimes, adults have the tendency to intervene when a child is trying to make a sale. Let your child explain to the potential customer, or if ever, tell your kid what to say instead of you saying it to the customer. Moreover, intervene on explaining ONLY if your child asked for help.

5. Reward your child for a job well done. After he/she had sold items, let your child feel the fruits of his/her labor. Let your child buy something from his profit. Selling is not all about saving, but also all about being able to enjoy the earnings so that he/she will be encouraged to sell more in the future.

Life Skills Learned

Being an entrepreneur at a young age is not all about selling and earning money. It is all about learning important life skills and values that a child can bring with him/her when he/she grows up. It is very important that a child understands why he/she is doing it.

Image by Maria Shaburnikova from Pixabay

Here are some of the values that a child can learn from being a young entrepreneur:

1. Customer Service. A child must learn how to provide good customer service. A child must understand that good customer service makes the customers be loyal and supportive of his/her business.

2. Respect. A child will learn how to respect all kinds of people regardless of gender, cultural background, socio-economic background, fashion philosophy, religion, etc. A child will learn to treat people equally and with no biases.

3. Patience. A child will learn how to be patient in dealing with customers and to answer each inquiry no matter how trivial or basic are they. A child will learn to be tolerant even if the customer can sometimes be rude or irrational.

4. Determination. A child who is raised to have an entrepreneurial mindset will always be determined to find ways to earn. He/She will never give up to resort to begging or asking for help. He/She is determined to play the game of life fairly.

5. Confidence. A child will be confident in speaking in front of other people. He/she will be able to say what he/she wants to say and do.

6. Honesty. A child will learn that being honest and transparent to customers will make him credible. Honesty is a good value that children must have because it is a way to succeed. Cheating will not make him go far in his career.

Skills Learned

Your child can learn practical skills from doing business. Unconsciously, the parent is teaching his/her child the application of theories that are taught in schools.

1. Accounting--in business, the child is taught how to make a basic spreadsheet, for him/her to know his/her inventory, profit recording, and order processing. The child learns to appreciate numbers more. The child also learns about pricing.

2. Marketing--the child learns different techniques in promoting his/her products. The child's creativity is challenged because he/she has to learn how to make his/her products attractive to his/her potential customers.

3. Business Development--the child learns to expand his/her business by thinking of ways of doing partnerships, collaborations, etc. The child learns to be a good boss of his/her company.

Parents, don't be afraid to let your kid do business! If your child says that he/she wants to sell something, then support him/her at no cost! Give time, effort, and opportunity so that he/she will shine!

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Bert Lozada Swim School

Babies, Kids, Adults (Even Seniors) can Learn How to Swim with Bert Lozada Swim School

By Mommy Donna and Kib - June 17, 2019

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life skills

What Your Kids Need to Learn When They're Outside the House

By Mommy Donna and Kib - February 04, 2019

Parents-to-be always have this desire that they will raise their kids differently from the way they are raised. There's this desire to give them only the best things and experiences in life. There's nothing wrong on having big dreams for our kids because our parents once dreamed of the same things to us too.

Sadly, because of this desire, we tend to forget and leave some of the values our own parents and grandparents taught us. It has been said that this generation is called the "entitled ones" because they no longer value hardwork and responsibility because parents are always there to shoulder everything for their children, up to the point of parents solving problems on behalf of their kids.

But then, upon realizing our shortcomings, let us be humble enough to accept all of these things and move forward. It is not yet too late to teach our children the proper values and skills that they need to learn when they become adults. Just like what the Bible says, "Train up a child in a way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it." We should have the mindset that whatever we teach our child in his younger years will be the ones that he/she will adapt.

I have observed that parents these days are a bit half-hearted in teaching kids some life skills that they need to do especially when they are outside our home. However, for me, these things should still be taught to our children because it will help them to be more aware of their surroundings in their adulthood.

These are the things that we should teach our children when the go outside the house:

1. Commuting -- while most of us have their own family vehicles and sometimes can afford to book Grab, it is still an important skill to teach our children to ride public transportation such as bus, trains, jeepneys, and tricycles. You might argue that it is dangerous to ride public transportation these days; well, generally speaking, danger can be everywhere, even in our own house. We just have to remind our children not to flash any valuables while in public and be aware of their belongings (e.g. cling on their bags). In other countries, people commute on a daily basis, so let us not so be dependent on owning a vehicle.

2. Crossing the street -- crossing the street is the most basic skill to learn outside our homes. Look to your left and look to your right before crossing (while this rule may be different in countries whose driving on the right side). Let us also remind our children to only cross on designated areas (pedestrian lanes) to avoid accidents and being reprimanded by the enforcers for jaywalking.

3. Getting lost -- losing a child in a public place is really a horrible experience, and I just wrote about it on my recent blog (see post here). It is very important to teach our children what to do when they get separated from us so that they will also be safe.

4. Buying on their own -- as simple as asking them to buy at a small store near our home, it is very important to teach them how to pay for the merchandise that they bought. It teaches them simple mathematical skills and people skills (to tell their preferences). Also, if handing money to them, we also teach them responsibility, by weighing their wants and needs before purchasing.

When Kib chose the wrong size of pants, I told him that he should be the one to talk to the sales clerk for the change of items. He did it without hesitation. Sometimes, I would even ask him to call Sky Cable for customer assistance.

5. Lining up -- not because they are kids they are excused not to follow adult rules, including lining up. Let us teach our kids to line up and wait for their turn. My son is very vocal about this rule, that when he sees someone not lining up, he would call his/her attention to line up properly.

6. Throwing trash properly -- we have seen and experience the adverse effects of throwing trash anywhere: flood and sickness. Let us be good examples of throwing trash properly. Let us teach our children how to segregate waste and minimize the use of disposables.

When Kib and I eat at food courts, it's heartbreaking to see people just leaving their tables dirty. I tell Kib to throw the disposables at a nearby trash can, even throwing the trash of nearby tables.

7. Being polite and respectful to others -- sadly, this is one of the practices that is dying. We must teach our children to be polite to ALL, regardless of rank or position. Being polite and respectful is an indication used by others to measure how a child was being raised by his/her parents. To show this to others, the child must know how to say "Excuse me", "Please", and "Thank you." In addition, being respectful also means saying kind words to others. No matter how upsetting a situation is, a child must taught how to control his/her emotions. Parents must be the first models of being respectful and polite.

Let us remember that our kids will not be forever with us, so let us make sure that they fully equipped with life skills and values that they need in their adulthood. They are the next generation so let us be our desire to raise God-fearing, obedient, hardworking, respectful, and wise individuals.